“Offer a first class training and development facility that will allow baseball and softball players a means to reach their full athletic potential while promoting skill development, personal character and sportsmanship.”

Marc Secontine, Managing Partner of his family’s business, The Varsity Shop sporting goods store in Birmingham has been involved with sports his entire life as a player, a fan and a coach. Jim Weissenborn, Managing Partner in a Bloomfield Hills financial advisory firm, has also been an avid sports fan, local baseball coach for ten years, and the father of both high school and little league baseball players. Marc and Jim shared a common vision to construct a convenient, first-class facility in Oakland County for girls and boys wanting to develop their skills to the fullest potential…their vision has become The Varsity Shop Training Center.

The Varsity Shop in Birmingham has been an “institution” in the Detroit Metro area for more than 50 years. The shopping experience is an athlete’s dream. Marc and his team offer the personalized service of an old-fashioned sports shop with a tremendous selection of today’s goods. Throughout the years, Marc has developed hundreds a relationships with various teams, associations and sports institutions. Many of these relationships have provided insight and feedback into the formation of The Varsity Shop Training Center operation and service offering. “We’ve talked to our eager customers and planned our operation to meet their needs.”

Our focus and programs will revolve around four separate and distinct baseball and softball customer groups:

• Team Training: Full facility rental with flexible use of all equipment.
• Clinics-Camps: Various sessions for all age groups throughout the year developed by our highly qualified instructors and staff.
• Private Lessons: A full compliment of first-class instructors who employ the best practice teaching programs for all ages either individually or in small groups.
• Open Time Cage Rental: Batting cage and field time will be available to our members by appointment and reservation to continue their development goals and objectives.

The Varsity Shop Training Center is Oakland County’s premier sports training and instruction facility for baseball and softball players of all ages and abilities. Our 11,000 square foot facility offers a 9,500 square foot fully turfed practice surface. Based on a team or individual’s choice, the space can be fully outfitted with our top of the line training equipment or completely cleared for open surface training and drills.

Here is a list of what our facility has to offer:

• Training Surface: 110 feet long x 85 feet wide
• 6 Full sized batting cage nets. All fully retractable for open surface training.
  Cage 1: 55 feet long x 14 feet wide
  Cage 2: 70 feet long x 14 feet wide
  Cage 3: 70 feet long x 14 feet wide
  Cage 4: 70 feet long x 14 feet wide
  Cage 5a: 70 feet long x 14 feet wide (Dividable)
• Cage 5b: 70 feet long x 14 feet wide (Dividable)

• Top-line Pitching Machines:Sports Attack “Hack Attack” Baseball: Straight & Breaking balls
  Atec “Casey Pro 3G” Baseball: Straight & Breaking balls
  Atec “Casey Pro 3G” Softball: Straight & Breaking balls

• Little League and High School Pitching Mounds
  ProMounds “ProModel” Baseball 9’L x 5’W x 10” mound height with rubber
  ProMounds “Little League” Baseball 6’L x 5’W x 6” mound height with rubber
  ProMounds “Softball” 9’L x 3’W flat with rubber

• Full Line of Hitting, Fielding and Pitching Nets
  Professional Baseball L Screens and Softball Pitching Screens
  Full Fielding Screens, Soft-toss Hitting Screens with Pocket

• Full Line of Practice Accessories
  Pitching machine dimpled baseballs and softballs
  Turf practice baseballs and softballs
  Demo baseball and softball bats
  Baseball, softball helmets and protective gear

All of our batting cage nets are collapsible and offer a customized open surface for Team Training which can involve any combination of the equipment listed above, along with bases and target nets.

Please contact our facility for more information.