The Alliance Fastpitch Continues Growth in Softball with EL1 Sports Partnership

The Alliance Fastpitch on Thursday announced a partnership with EL1Sports.

Alliance, a national league system for amateur fastpitch teams and stakeholders working together to grow softball, has continued to put a spotlight on future and current collegiate stars through showcase events ranging from The Alliance All-Star Game to the Summer Series.

EL1 is a leading national youth sports training company that provides expert instruction and a full suite of administrative solutions in the service of athletes, teams, organizations, tournaments, and events. Co-founded in 2010 by former Seattle Mariners prospect Aaron Trolia and former collegiate football player Jameel Cante, EL1 is adept at creating and operating instructional facilities and helping current operators to reinvigorate their facilities. The company offers career paths in instruction and management to professional baseball and top collegiate softball alumni and players who wish to continue to give back to the game once their playing days are over.

The Alliance and EL1 will create a platform to support the professional development of former and current fastpitch players in instruction, facility management, business development, and general corporate careers. EL1 has a Softball University that has instructors such as former All-SEC Alabama standout Maddie Morgan.

“The Alliance was formed out of a need for more cohesiveness in youth softball,” said
Jami Lobpries, Ph.D., CEO of The Alliance. “Almost all of the tournament providers and
softball organizations around the country operate independently and lack the ability to pool their
buying power for services or to coordinate their seasons for national tournaments and
championships. The founding partners of The Alliance thought it was more beneficial for the
sport if we worked together, and now we are joining forces with EL1 to better serve our fastpitch
community by creating new and improved common solutions to establishing training facilities,
instructional curricula, and professional networking opportunities. It’s the perfect match of two
organizations focused on the athlete.”

In March, EL1 entered into a partnership with Major League Baseball as its “youth baseball and softball training partner,” with the goal of expanding access to underserved populations and communities and growing fan interest by increasing participation In sport. The partnership with The Alliance is unique in bringing MLB and private equity into softball.

The primary focus of the agreement is on the creation of new “licensed facilities” around the
country. These state-of-the-art indoor softball training centers will operate partly or wholly under
The Alliance brand and will be operated by EL1. As part of the agreement, EL1 will become “The Official Youth Softball Training Facility Partner of The Alliance Fastpitch.”

The Alliance and its leadership currently operate five training centers, including Batbusters’ Sports Training Complex in Anaheim, California, and the Bombers’ Performance Lab in San Marcos, Tecxas. EL1 has 14 existing facilities including the EL1 Sports facility in Woodinville, Washington, and the Dodgers Training Academy in Redondo Beach, California.