Members of Youngstown Ballers to compete on national TV

Staff Report

LOS ANGELES

The members of the Youngstown Ballers who will compete in the nationally televised Sky Ball League were announced on today’s episode on Fox.

The team consists of Danny Aldish from Struthers, Nickolas Dean from Girard, and Jason Martin of Youngstown; from Pittsburgh are Al Nighter, Clare Berenato, Austin Ransom and Bill Sasser.

The team will represent the region and travel to the Tournament of Champions in Los Angeles to compete for a $40,000 purse.

Sky Ball is a new national co-ed pro sport, which was created by Boardman native Brian Kessler, who designed the Sky Ball, and sports executive Danny Swartz.

The eight members of the Youngstown Ballers were selected from a field of 125 hopefuls at the original tryouts at the Covelli Centre last April. The event was hosted by Brian Dunkleman, formerly of “American Idol” with CW Brandi and Greg Linnelli judging.

Slightly larger than a softball and constructed of a special combination of plastic and rubber material that is pumped with oxygen and helium, Sky Balls are capable of bouncing up to 75 feet. “Besides the requisite physical dexterity, the challenge to players,” says Swartz, “is that they must not only excel in controlling the ball, but the skillful manipulation of a challenging piece of equipment.”

“Age knows no bounds,” Kessler added. “Across the league, this season’s players range between 18 and 39, and neither age nor gender has made a bit of difference on how well anyone plays.”

While the first season’s tryouts attracted almost a thousand hopefuls, since Sky Ball League started airing this summer, more than 4,000 requests have come in for next season’s tryouts.

Sky Ball league expects to significantly expand the number of teams participating in 2012. The other teams in this first season of Sky Ball League are the Tampa Dragons, Austin Starz, and the Los Angeles 405s. Sky Ball League airs locally Sundays at 11:30 a.m. on Fox affiliate WYFX in Youngstown.