Long Island Nationals : SSBA

South Shore Baseball Academy (SSBA) is a facility devoted to making dreams a reality. Many former students have succeeded in earning scholarships and professional status. This facility gives private professional baseball and softball instructions for all aspects of the game (batting, fielding, pitching and catching) to students ranging in age from 8-18. The knowledgeable staff includes owner and instructor Steve DiMarco who played professionally for the Baltimore Orioles and Instructor Michael Hughes who played professionally for The Cleveland Indians, The Montreal Expos and The LI Ducks and instructor George Schulthiese who caught for the Minnesota Twins organization. Our institution's goals are to instill confidence, refine mechanics, teach fundamentals, and promote a good work ethic for kids who want to realize their dreams.

Steve DiMarco
Mike Hughes
Matt Prokopowicz

Steve DiMarco is recognized as a premiere athlete of his time by coaches and players alike. In the course of his career he earned many awards and accolades for his talents. As a freshman at West Hempstead High School he was the starting shortstop and a starting pitcher for the varsity Rams; he earned All County status for three of those four years. In 1987 he was the first ever elected recipient of the Diamond Award as a shortstop which acknowledges the best player in Nassau County. (At that time only one award was given, unlike today which recognizes pitchers and fielders separately.) In addition, Steve was chosen by coaches and umpires nationwide to represent the East's baseball team at the first ever Olympic Festival held in North Carolina in 1987. In this same year Steve was inducted into the WHHS Hall of Fame.

Steve's high school summer career was devoted to playing for the illustrious Long Island Tigers where he earned the starting position of shortstop as a freshman. After playing for the Tigers for four years, Steve was inducted into the Tiger Hall of Fame where he still holds the record for the most RBIs (10) in a five inning game. Because of his ability, Steve was granted a full scholarship to Long Island University- C.W. Post where he was the starting third baseman as a freshman. In the summer of his sophomore year, Steve was invited to play in the Great Lakes League, the Mid West's equivalent to the Cape Cod League, where he earned the MVP award and Batting Title for the League. He was also named to the All Star Team which played at Boardwalk and Baseball in Florida.

All of Steve's hard work paid off when in his junior year of college, in 1990, he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles as a third baseman. He went on to play with the Orioles for the next three years. In 1993 he was inducted into the LIU- C.W. Post Hall of Fame.

Because of his love for the game, Steve has spent the past 18 years giving private batting instructions. In 2003 he created S.S.B.A. in order to share his passion with kids who also love baseball. The facility has also expanded to include softball instruction too. Steve's goal is to, "instill confidence, refine mechanics, teach fundamentals, and promote a solid work ethic in kids who want their dream of becoming the best that they can be to become a reality."

Mike Hughes known as one of the top lefty pitchers of his time. He was a three year varsity starter for the East Meadow Jets who earned All County status for two consecutive years. He held a high school record for pitching 6 no-hitters in four years. His talents earned him 14 full scholarships to Division I schools. In addition, he was elected to the Empire States Team in 1993 where he pitched a one-hitter and a complete 5-0 shut out game.

As a junior at St. John's University, Mike was named an All-American; at this time he led the nation with a 1.61 ERA. Soon after, he was drafted in the 12th round by the Cleveland Indians. Mike played 5 years of professional baseball in total and reached the AA level. After 2 ½ years with the Indians Mike was traded to the Montreal Expos where he again earned a spot as a starting pitcher. He continued with the Expos for another 2 years before he played for the Long Island Ducks in the first year of that team's existence (2002). Mike ended his professional career with a 3.95 ERA.

Matt Prokopowicz was a standout All-American player at Division 1 Hoftra University from 2007 - 2010. Matt is Hofstra's all-time leader in hits with 271.He also ranks fourth all-time in games played (191), second in RBIs (162), sixth in runs (143), third in doubles (46) and sixth in home runs (23). While at Hofstra, Matt was First Team All-Colonial Athletic Association where he led team and ranked third in the CAA in batting with a .431 average...In fact his average was the seventh-highest single-season total in program history...In his senior year Matt ranked 18th in the nation in batting...Was 19th in the nation in on-base percentage (.519) and 39th in doubles per game (0.42)...Recorded a .638 slugging percentage...In 2008 Matt was voted one of College Player top 50 Players to Watch. 2009 named to 3rd All CCA Team and in 2010 voted to 1st All CCA team.

In his first season as SSBA Nationals - White coach, Matt led the 16u SSBA team to Second place finish at the NABF High School World Series in Tennessee, July 2010.