About Our Founder

Hi, I’m Catherine Nelke

Baseball mom, St. Pete native, people-person,  AND community advocate. 

Volunteering and organizing community groups has always been a passion of mine; executing ideas might just be my superpower. 

So when I realized that the St. Pete area doesn’t have a local year-round training and conditioning clinic or baseball academy to support our younger players who want to learn or improve their existing skills, Hitt The Mitt happened. 

Summer camps are available in the summer (not consistent) and other training facilities are too far away. We needed a place locally where our kids can come and train throughout the year.

My son has been playing youth baseball since he was 5. I noticed that the skills required to transition from AA to AAA, for example, are a big jump and differ in many ways. I also noted that the kids in spring ball, who are not drafted for Travel Ball, Club, or All Stars have nowhere to go consistently during the summer to practice and be ready for the fall season. This is perhaps how baseball loses players to other sports.