RETIRED SLUGGER MO VAUGHN knows how to handle a baseball bat. But when it comes to handling a giant pair of scissors, the 1995 American League Most Valuable Player needed some help Saturday from a pro.
Scott Singer knows his way around an oversized pair of photo-op-ready shears. As mayor of Boca Raton, he has sliced through plenty of ribbon-cutting ceremonies with snip-snip precision.
At the grand opening of the Vaughn Sports Academy’s new Performance Center, Singer was only too happy to lend a hand, even if it took three big scissor-swings to snap the ribbon.
“Three strikes and you're out!’’ Singer joked as Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce President Troy McLellan and more than a dozen VSA staff applauded.
“We are thrilled to have you and your whole team here in Boca Raton,’’ Singer told Vaughn. “It means a lot. I’m a huge baseball fan. What you keep doing to propagate America's game for our youth means a great deal to everyone.’’
The opening of the Performance Center essentially converts the Vaughn Sports Academy, which opened in 2018 at 7622 NW Sixth Ave., into “a one-stop shop” for young athletes, Vaughn said.
While the academy helps young athletes hone their skills with one-on-one instruction, travel baseball teams, and camps, the Performance Center offers gym training and recovery therapies.
“The performance center goes together with the academy. You get your baseball skill work in and you can get your training in,’’ Vaughn said. “It’s for everyone, from major leaguers all the way down to 8-year-olds.’’
Vaughn said he invested about $1 million in the center, from Keiser fitness equipment to a “recovery room” stocked with amenities like an infrared steam sauna, an ice-plunge pool and a “Shift Wave nervous system recovery chair.’’
“I really love this gym.” the retired Boston Red Sox slugger said. “I'm here by myself every day at 5:30 a.m. getting my work in. I never even did that when I was playing.’’
With focuses on improving strength, performance and body composition, the Performance Center offers a variety of workout programs with trainers certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
It’s a perfect complement to everything the baseball school offers, Vaughn said.
The Vaughn Sports Academy coaching staff includes former major league players Mike Easler, Omar Moreno, Ben Rivera and Yamid Haad. And because Vaughn is an investor and assistant with Perfect Game, the world’s largest amateur softball and baseball platform, the academy’s youth players get opportunities for exposure to amateur drafts and college teams.
“We love having Mo,’’ said Perfect Game Chairman Rick Thurman, who attended the Performance Center’s grand opening.
“We are really fortunate because we have 25 former major league baseball players who are investors and work with us. They run events for us around the country. They all love to instill their knowledge on the kids. Mo is amazing because he gives back so much on so many different levels. Everybody wants to play with this guy because he has a plethora of knowledge,’’ he said.
Vaughn, 56, will always be known for his baseball exploits. “The Hit Dog,’’ as he was called, was a three-time All Star and Silver Slugger winner over his 12-year career from 1991 to 2003. He retired with 328 home runs, 1,064 RBI and a .293 batting average over 1,500 games with the Red Sox (1991-98), Anaheim Angels (1999-2000) and New York Mets (2002-03).
But it was tennis that brought the retired slugger to Boca Raton.
“We were living in Ohio. My daughter Grace was playing tennis and everyone was saying, If you want to play tennis, you have to come to Boca Raton,’’ Vaughn said.
Grace didn’t stick with tennis. But her father fell in love with Boca Raton and got involved in baseball again, coaching his son Lee and other youth players in Little League games.
“We are playing baseball 12 months out of the year. It was perfect for me,’’ said Vaughn, who also fell in love with ocean fishing on his boat, “Old School 42,’’ a tribute to his hero, Jackie Robinson.
But it wasn’t always perfect.
One year early in Lee’s youth career, Vaughn said, “we were awarded an opportunity to play in a state tournament for Tee-ball in June. And it rained 29 days out of the month. We couldn't practice. I said, ‘This is never going to happen again.’’’
The washout led to the Vaughn Sports Academy.
“This is how it all came to pass,’’ he said. “My son is the reason we have the facility in the first place.’’
VSA Performance Center
7622 NW Sixth Ave., Boca Raton.
Monthly memberships are $100 for the gym, $165 for the recovery room and $200 for access to both.
Discounts are offered to friends and relatives of Vaughn Sports Academy clients.
For a full fee schedule, click here or call 561-708-6067.
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About the author
Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, the birth of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. View all posts by Joe Capozzi.
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