Catalyst Sports Lab already has 12 high school seniors committed to play college softball next year at every level up to Division I. “I didn’t have anything like this growing up,” said Marybeth Olson, a Catalyst pitching coach and former University of Connecticut softball player.Olson uses advanced technology to measure each athlete’s individual growth.At Catalyst […]
Catalyst Sports Lab already has 12 high school seniors committed to play college softball next year at every level up to Division I. “I didn’t have anything like this growing up,” said Marybeth Olson, a Catalyst pitching coach and former University of Connecticut softball player.Olson uses advanced technology to measure each athlete’s individual growth.At Catalyst Sports Lab, everything a softball player needs is under one roof. That includes batting cages, pitching bullpens, a weight room and a study space for girls to work on school assignments.Marielle Mohs is thrilled to be telling stories in her home state of Minnesota. She grew up in Eden Prairie and South Minneapolis.Seeing this inspires younger players, like New Prague eighth grader Mya Gullickson.”It helps me realize — I can do that,” said Gullickson.Coach Olson is currently training Rockford High School Pitcher Lilly Bury. Olson helped Bury improve her pitching speed by 10 mph. As a junior, Bury is in the thick of her college recruitment process, and her Catalyst coaches helped her get noticed by six teams so far.According to the NCAA, the number of college softball programs has increased nearly 30% over the past decade.
“Being limited to just three cages at a time, when you have hundreds of girls who are trying to get training in, the ability to do that was impossible,” said Smyth.”We very rarely see girls transfer because we make sure that they’re at the right fit, and that’s something that we’re really proud of,” said Smyth.SAVAGE, Minn. — Softball is skyrocketing in popularity across the U.S. right now, and along with that, the dreams of young players hoping to play in college.
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To accommodate this growth in the midwest, former University of Minnesota Golden Gophers softball player Erika Smyth founded the Catalyst Sports Lab and Softball Academy in Savage. It’s a warehouse space turned elite training facility for over 300 dedicated softball players.”My background is in exercise science. That’s what I got my degree in, so I kind of nerd out on the data and biomechanics side of pitching,” said Olson.”They market me basically on Instagram. They’ll post me and all the good things I’ve been doing and the work I’ve been putting in, so I think that plays a big role in why I’m getting recruited,” said Bury.She says this training improved her physical and mental game.
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After Smyth graduated, she started training young players out of a facility she shared with baseball teams. But as the sport of softball grew rapidly in Minnesota, she knew something needed to change.”I feel like I hit stronger and I feel more confident in my swing, so that’s a big part of it,” said Gullickson.
