Arlington Heights Thunder Fastpitch Softball

The new season is upon us, which means that every player, coach, and fan (lol) has an opportunity to start fresh and set new goals for the season ahead.  With that in mind, we reached out to some of the best softball players in the world to find out how they prepare themselves for each new season. Check out the videos below to hear from Aliyah Andrews, Erica Piancastelli, Morgan Zerkle, and Tori Valdes of Athletes Unlimited and learn how they ready themselves for each new season. Thanks for the great advice AU! Aliyah Andrews 2022 AUX Season: Tallied 816 leaderboard points to place 26th in the league standings … started all 12 games … hit .333 with 13 hits in 39 at-bats, including one double … led league with three stolen bases in three attempts … also contributed a double with two walks … posted a pair of multi-hit games, including three-hit performance against Team Chidester on June 14 … had two hits with two runs scored against Team Zerkle on June 24 … earned No. 7 spot on SportsCen

Thunder Fastpitch is proud to announce that Thunder Original Payton Kee was selected for the 16u/18u Illinois USSSA All-Star team. The USSSA Illinois All-Star Games is a two-day long event designed to allow USSSA players an opportunity to continue playing softball in a fun All-Star event. There are only 50 spots per age division across the entire state, making this exclusive event invite-only. Invitations were extended to Most Valuable Opponents (MVO) from USSSA State Tournament & Premier USSSA events across 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and 18U. Kee was selected for her performance in the USSSA tournament in Roselle, Illinois this past June, which included big moments on the mound and at the plate. The All-Star Games included a skills competition, opportunities to interact with college coaches and current players, and two All-Star Games at the Louisville Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois. Though age eligible for 14u, Kee earned her MVO while playing in a 16u event and elected to play at t

Thunder Fastpitch is excited to share that long-time Thunder player Elizabeth Aicher has been named to the USSSA All-American Team! Aicher earned her spot by trying out for the Great Lakes regional team in Peoria. She was evaluated in five different areas: speed, throwing velocity, exit velocity, and then defensively at two positions.  Aicher found out that she was selected to the team via a streamed selection show on June 8th for the games, which are played in Melbourne, Florida. Though she was selected for the Great Lakes Region, they split up all the regions to make it more competitive, so she is playing with girls from all over the country.  The coaching staff includes current and former college players and coaches from the professional USSSA teams. Not only does this provide Aicher with the opportunity to play with some of the best players from around the country for some of the best to ever play the game, they've also gotten to play in one of the coolest softball venues in th