Hague family preparing athletes through Elevate To Celebrate

NORWICH — Audrey Hague had dreams of playing college softball.

Those aspirations were derailed by an unforeseen hip injury discovered after her sophomore year of high school.

It was devastating news to Audrey and her family, but it created a new path that kept Audrey connected to her passion.

She runs Elevate to Celebrate, with her father Michael and brother Dylan, where baseball and softball players of all ages can train. They offer pitching, batting, fielding and throwing lessons, hitting and pitching assessments and cage rentals.

"I went in for a torn labrum (in my hip) and ended up talking to nine different doctors before being told I couldn't play anymore," recalled Audrey, who underwent hip surgery after the diagnosis. "I missed playing the game, but I wanted to use that lesson to help others. I continue to learn about the game and want to use my knowledge to benefit and help the next generation."

The facility, located on the family's property at 290 Sundale Road in Norwich, was originally built for Audrey, noted Michael. It features a batting cage and a pitching area for individual instruction and use.

He admitted it was an emotional time after finding out the diagnosis, but the family decided the building could be repurposed to provide assessments and lessons for other athletes.

They started offering those in 2019. It took time to grow the client list as they had about 40 lessons per month in the early going, but are currently around 150 lessons per month.

Audrey noted most lessons are given to local players, but athletes from as far as Toledo and Huntington, West Virginia have made the trip.

"We wanted to get use out of the facility so we started this business," Michael said. "Our purpose is more about injury prevention and education. We use technology and data to help players stay healthy and get the most of their abilities."

Michael noted they are certified by On Base University, which offers physical assessments and training plans for baseball and softball players. They traveled to San Diego for a conference in December where top college programs like Oklahoma and UCLA also had personnel at the event, noted Michael.

"(OBU) provides education and shows their research in helping with injury prevention," he said. "It offers physical screenings so we can review the range of motion and set up the right combination of workouts and stretches for each athlete. It's like how owners invest in players where they want to get the most out of them. Families are the same way, and we're offering this to assist them."

Those assessments are vital to the training, said Audrey. She focuses on softball where an array of tests, including pelvic tilt and rotation, wrist hinge and ankle rock, determine the best course of action to help athletes reach their potential.

"People want to imitate someone else's style, but we focus on finding the right style for each player," she said. "For pitchers, I can watch the wrist and figure out what pitches will work best for them. You can see most things through video, but these assessments show underlying factors you can't see so we can help them try to avoid injuries."

This technology could have helped shape Audrey's career, said Michael. It may not have fully prevented her injury, but it could have predicted it, allowing Audrey to possibly prolong her career by changing positions from pitcher to first base at an earlier age.

Michael hopes this approach will benefit athletes and their families who have aspirations like his daughter did.

"It was tough and emotional. We invested a lot of time and money then suddenly her career was done," he said. "We have seen the benefits of our program. We want to help others any way we can."

Private lessons are offered by appointment. For more information, visit elevatetocelebrate.com.

bhannahs@ganntt.com; @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Hague family preparing athletes through Elevate To Celebrate