‘One stop shop’ softball facility a ‘safe space’ for local athletes

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Walk through the doors of Advanced Sports Performance on any given night during the week, and there are three things you’re guaranteed to notice: smiles on numerous faces, softball players perfecting their craft and owner Leslie Heisler’s vibrant personality.

“It’s nice having that personal touch of hers, and you sense it when you’re there,” said Bob Hall, Utica Eisnehower’s varsity softball coach and an Advanced Sports Performance team member. “You see her around the place because she has a lot of pride in her facility and what we’re doing in her facility. It’s nice to have that personal contact with not only the facility, but the owner of the facility. It’s a win-win situation to be honest with you.”

Located in Shelby Township at 47959 Van Dyke Ave. between 21 Mile and 22 Mile roads, Advanced Sports Performance has become a haven for softball players in the surrounding area since its grand opening on Aug. 17.

It’s a place where softball is the focal point for obvious reasons, but it’s so much more than just a field and a couple of cage rentals.

“It’s a one-stop shop,” Heisler said. “I always say that I want the girls to come in and kind of get whatever they need. Do you need a referral for a sports performance coach? What do you need and let’s try and get that for you. It’s not just physical with how we can help them — it can be emotionally, spiritually and mentally.”

Services range from cage and field rentals to hitting and fielding and pitching lessons, but ASP also offers massage therapy, integrated manual therapy that focuses on specific injuries or dysfunctions, speed and agility training, and mental performance.

While the field and cage are primarily catered toward softball, massage and integrated manual therapy cater to anyone. Training is for all ages.

ASP has quickly morphed into the idea that Heisler first brainstormed while watching her daughter, Sam Heisler, a freshman next year at Armada High School, play travel softball at 8 years old.

“It started to develop as I watched her with the inconsistencies of what a boy’s experience is in athletics versus a girl’s experience in athletics is, and I started to see that so clearly that the girls needed a spot,” Heisler said. “They needed a place to play.”

Heisler, a Shelby Township police officer for 25 years and former military police officer, is somewhat of a local celebrity in Shelby Township for her 10 years as a D.A.R.E officer in the local elementary schools and a school resource officer at local schools as well.

Because of her familiarity with the area, Heisler, who lives in Armada, said she wanted somewhere that would provide a close-knit feel, and she felt Shelby Township was the perfect fit.

“I didn’t want it to be flashy or bougie — I wanted it to be comfortable,” Heisler said. “I want the girls to come in here and feel like this is comfortable. Sometimes after speed and agility, the girls will stay after and just pepper the volleyball. I’ll sit in here doing paperwork and I can just hear them giggling, and then they take control of my spotify.”

Sure, Heisler isn’t up-to-date on the newest rap songs the girls play or a fan of the Christmas music that gets blasted at times, but it’s all part of the dream she envisioned coming to life. Although if anyone remembers, the Shelby Township Police Department did a carpool karaoke video back in 2018 featuring Heisler, who sang some rap and rock.

For the incoming softball players, ASP has surrounded itself with knowledgeable trainers, from high school and travel coaches to collegiate softball players.

Aside from their experience and what they can bring to the table from a technical perspective, they’ve walked a similar path as the players walking through ASP’s doors.

“Everywhere that I went when I was younger was a baseball facility that could also be used for softball,” trainer Eryn VanderVlucht, the varsity softball coach at Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, said. “It was run by baseball guys, and it was just different. When I was growing up, the softball teams that were coming in were just extra money for them. They didn’t really care.”

Dr. Savvy Ferstle, owner of Savvy Performance Consulting, parlayed her collegiate softball career at University of Detroit Mercy into a career of performance consulting with athletes of all ages, focusing on the mental aspect of their games.

Mental performance coaching has seen a massive uptick the past several years at both the high school and college level for athletics, and Heisler made sure her girls had the same opportunities at their disposal.

“Leslie is amazing, and I think what really drew me to working with her and to help her build what she is trying to achieve at ASP is that she is really focused on building the culture first,” Ferstle said. “As someone who comes from an organizational psychology background, I know how important building a really healthy and supportive culture is in any type of environment.”

On weekends and weekdays, ASP has become a second home for softball players at both the travel and high school level, but the ASP family will only grow as time goes on.

It’s just getting started, but the foundation Heisler and her team have laid is strong and looking to last a very long time.

“It was so obvious that she had a passion for helping the kids and wanting to have this safe space for the girls coming into her facility,” VanderVlucht said. “As a female in coaching, I can really respect that. It’s so obvious that she has such a big heart.”

For more information on ASP, visit www.advancedsportsmacomb.com.