our team

DJ Santiago

DJ founded Aspiring Athletes in 2003. As a succesful entrepreneur, DJ has created a company that caters to the young athlete of today with a focus on responsibility, accountability and character. Teaching young athletes both on and off the field has become a passion for him.

DJ played one year of collegiate baseball before signing a professional contract where he spent 5 seasons with the Cincinatti Reds and Cleveland Indians organizations. He also is a part-time scout with the Cleveland Indians. Other past baseball duties include assistant baseball coach at Cuyahoga Community College, Urbana University, and talent consultant for the Rockford River Hawks in the Frontier League (professional baseball) as well as the hitting/catching coach in 2006.

Gary Thielman

Gary is a Medina Ohio resident and owner of Cubit, Inc., a Technology and Business Solutions consulting company. He is a 25 year veteran in the field of information technologies offering consulting services to companies like Goodrich, TRW, Lucas Aerospace, Hoover, Circuit City and many small businesses here in northeast Ohio.

Gary is responsible for keeping Aspiring Athletes technology needs and capabilities at the top of our industry market helping us to gain a competitive edge and making our internal operations more productive. Gary has also launched a successful media venture handling all video and website needs for Aspiring Athletes showcase, college placement and USA Baseball events.

Melissa Ballachino

Melissa was born in Cleveland, but grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated in 1994 from North Catholic High School. After studying Business Management at the Community College of Alleghany County, she returned to the Cleveland area in 1997 and began working at Softball World in Brook Park, OH. She worked at Softball World as Office Manager until its closing in 2009. She brings more than 10 years experience in business administration.

Melissa was recently brought on to the Aspiring Athlthes staff in April to oversee the day to day office opperations. She currently resides in Columbia Station, OH with her husband and two daughters.

Ashley Thielman

Ashley graduated from Medina High School in 2008. Shortly after graduating, she moved to Akron, OH where she is currently working on her Bachelor's Degree in Marketing at the University of Akron. She expects to graduate by 2012 with a major in e-Marketing and Advertising and a minor in Information Systems Management.

Ashley started at Aspiring Athletes in 2006 and slowly transitioned in her current role as the Marketing Director. Many of her responsibilities attribute to the current public image that is presented by AAthletes.com. All advertisements, promotions and communication to the public for various events and programs stem from the work in the marketing department.

Josh Bieneman

Originally from Baltimore, MD, Josh Bieneman played 4 years of collegiate baseball at Baltimore City Community College, Georgia College & State University and Notre Dame College. As a catcher, Josh was also selected to play 2 summers in the highly competitive Shenandoah Valley League, in Virginia. After a brief experience in professional baseball with Chillicothe Paints in 2008, Josh decided to put all focus and efforts on the coaching and development of younger athletes.

In 2007, Josh joined Aspiring Athletes as an Assistant Coach for the 16U Orioles. Since this time, Josh has been the Head Coach of the 2009 16U Great Lakes Giants, the 2010 18U Great Lakes Giants, the 2010 16U Ohio Orioles Black and Coach for 2010 USA Baseball 15U Regional Team. Josh is also the Head Catching Instructor for Aspiring Athletes and is the Varsity Assistant Coach at St. Ignatius High School, where he works with the catchers and hitters.

Ryan Franks

A native of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Ryan Franks spent the majority of his upbringing in Kalamazoo, MI, where he attended Portage Northern High School. During his senior campaign, Ryan finished his high school career on the Michigan All-State Dream Team.

After high school, Ryan then continued his education and playing career at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. In Kalamazoo he earned back to back All-American honors at first base. From Michigan he then took his talents to Cleveland State University where he finished his career and earned 2nd team All-Conference his junior year. While at CSU he majored in Psychology.

At Aspiring Athletes Ryan Cleveland-West Region Assistant General Manager. He has coached at the 14u, 15u and 16u levels with the Great Lakes Giants and the Ohio Orioles.

Matt Suhay

Matt Suhay is a Northeast Ohio native, growing up in Seven Hills where he attended Walsh Jesuit High School. While attending high school he won 1st Team All-Conference and Plain Dealer Honorable Mention Outfielder and Pitcher in his senior year. After a successful high school career, Matt chose to attend Baldwin Wallace College where he continued his education in Sports Management and eventually finishing his degree at Cleveland State University.

This is Matt’s second year with Aspiring Athletes. He currently is Director of Special Events Operations and is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of the company’s events. Beyond the office, he is head coach of the 16u Great Lakes Giants.

Mike Louis

Mike has been with Aspiring Athletes for 8 years now. Mike was a former minor league power hitting first basemen for the Boston Red Sox. Mike has also been coaching at Normandy High for 15 years and is currently the Varsity Head Coach.

Shawn Milich

Shawn Milich grew up in Marshallville where he attended Smithville High School. Playing baseball his entire high school career he received recognition as All Northeast Ohio in his senior year. Following high school, he played Class-A baseball in Canton.

This is Shawn’s fifth year with Aspiring Athletes. He has coached for several ages within the Ohio Orioles program. Most recently, he was appointed as the Akron-Canton Region General Manager. He will be responsible for the growth and development of Aspiring Athletes within that region.

Bill Sero

Bill Sero attended Garfield Heights High School where he received 1970 State Runner-up. After high school, Bill continued his baseball career at The Ohio State University where he was shortstop and team captain in 1974.

This will be Bill’s first year with Aspiring Athletes. We are excited for Bill to share his extensive baseball knowledge and experiences with our youth athletes. He will be the 13u Giants Head Coach.

Chris Goodrum

Chris Goodrum grew up in Mentor where he attended high school. He was All-Conference Catcher and attained the 2nd highest batting average in school history in 1991. Continuing his baseball career and education, he attended Lakeland Community College. Later he transferred to Coker College (Hartsville, SC) where he participated in the 1994 NAIA College World Series. In 1994 his team was inducted into the Coker College Hall of Fame.

This will be Chris’s first year with Aspiring Athletes. He will be coaching the Great Lakes Giants and be focused on the Cleveland-East region growth and development.

Mark Sankovich

Mark Sankovich attended Ohio Northern University. He was the Team Captain for two years where he stood out as a talented athlete. Receiving 1st Team All-OAC Pitcher, 2nd Team ABCA Rawlings All-Mideast Region and holding the school record for opponent batting average and complete games, Mark left a strong impression on Ohio Northern’s baseball program.

Following his collegiate career, he coached pitching, outfield and strength and conditioning at Defiance College for two years. He is currently the Pitching Coach at Lake Erie College. This will be Mark’s first year at Aspiring Athletes where he will be a coach for the Great Lakes Giants.