USA Patriots

ABOUT USA PAtriots

Team Roster

Board of Directors

Join the Team

Be A Patriot

OUR MISSION

The USA Patriots (formerly known as the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team) has been a registered nonprofit since 2011 after the need for continued rehabilitation options for our wounded warriors had begun to rise. Through the sport of slow pitch softball, the organization has grown in significant ways by providing athletic programming, youth programming initiatives to teach the abilities of adaptive sport by our veterans, and to engage our veterans in communities to show off the abilities they now have as post-trauma athletes.

The Mission of the USA Patriots is to bring athletic and like-minded veteran amputees together to promote the benefits of inclusive sport and therapeutic recreational activities, to inspire and motivate communities of people, to support children with physical challenges, and to operate as a vehicle that offers national opportunities for continued service to our country.

Likewise, we established a vision to move our vehicle forward. With all of our programs and goals in mind, it is our hope that the USA Patriots will take action as a leading veteran-centric athletic team that serves beyond the uniform by empowering, inspiring, and investing in communities across America with the belief that achievement is not without sacrifice.

The USA Patriots are a certified Platinum Nonprofit by GuideStar.

Our HISTORY

The organization started with one week of spring training to veterans who were just learning to walk at Walter Reed hospital. After the week was over, it was clear that the ability to use softball to heal these veterans in both a physical and emotional capacity was significant enough to establish a constant program in support of these opportunities. The team was then established in 2011 and took off quite well. After a great deal of success as a team, the veterans came together asking how they could give back to the communities who supported their 3 year journey to health. It seemed most natural to give back to the amputee community to use their service to show that life without limbs can be limitless. Soon, a kids camp was established. This camp is funded by the team who now has the opportunity to not only be a player, but to use their military leadership skills to become coaches for young children who also may think that their limb loss will limit their athletic opportunities in life. This program has been a successful way of giving leadership skills to our veterans, while also directly impacting a community of people they are most connected too. The team has continued to grow since this program addition, and we are now in a place where we are able to provide multiple streams of programming: 1. Team (softball), 2. Adaptive Skills Training through Spring Training Week, 3. Kids Camp and Leadership/Coaching and sharing Adaptive Sport Techniques, and 4. Educating Communities in the areas of Adaptive Sport and Prosthetic Care.

Other Information

As an organization that has a great deal of travel to complete our mission, our biggest hurdle is travel and programmatic funding. We have a high expense rate and it is crucial for us to maintain strong and consistent partners and sponsors to recover those expense levels. Through our organizational rebrand, we have been able to distinguish ourselves as a stand alone nonprofit (differentiating ourselves from Wounded Warrior Project or other WW organizations due to the name association), and have really clarified our mission, vision, goals, and values. This has set us up to be in a place to better showcase what intangibles are happening within our organization and positioning us to be a viable opportunity for support from donors and sponsors.

Our Programs

Our program serves in a few capacities:

Team: We travel with athletes giving them opportunities to play the sport of softball while also being part of a team setting once again. This aids to their physical and emotional wellbeing and supports their abilities to work collectively and in a more social setting which increases the emotional intelligence of the veteran and serve as a form of therapy for intellectual limitations caused by PTSD or TBI.
Spring Training – Adaptive Skills Training: This is a week long opportunity to bring the entire roster together for a refresher on skills and adaptive techniques. We have grown this program in terms of length of time as well as offerings. We have softball professionals on site, along with a Physical Therapist who works specifically with the amputee population. We have also begun to incorporate services by individuals who are professionals with the DAV and the VA to ensure our athletes are getting their medical needs met properly. I would like to incorporate more mental health wellness opportunities here in the future. This program is serving as a “check in” on the physical and emotional state of our players as individuals.
Kids Camp – Leadership/Coaching: Kids Camp is a program that we host for outside the veteran population and focuses specifically on children with limb loss. While we do have preference for children of veterans, this opportunity is open to any child in the amputee community. This program benefits our veterans by giving them the opportunity to serve in a leadership capacity which gives them confidence and the ability to work on their interactions with others. This also is an opportunity for our athletes to become coaches and to teach adaptive techniques to children who may have the same limitations they do. They are able to physically and emotionally coach these children who may feel that an amputee cannot play sports.
Education and Community: During our travels, it is a priority of this organization to work with communities on educating them on the abilities and needs of wounded veterans, specifically those with traumatic loss. We educate schools, corporate offices, and other new amputees in VAs and hospitals across the country about the abilities of an amputee. We also provide this education to our new athletes and have provided a great deal of resources to our athletes on upgrading their prosthetics to be more adaptive for an athletic setting.

Team Roster

Player

Pos.

B/T

Team Service

Randy Raper

Head Coach

Team Dog, Huey

Jessica Bosquez

Rob Vande Zande

Kai Schjang

Asst. Coach

Andrew Peden

Saul Monroy

Michael "Mike" Gallardo

INF

R/R

5 Years

Reese Hines

Michael Brown

UTL

R/R

3 Years

Saul Bosquez

INF

R/R

8 Years

Zachary "Beef" Briseno

P/INF

R/R

5 Years

Thomas "Tom" Carlo

P/DH

R/R

7 Years

Heather Carter

Asst. Coach

R/R

2 Years

Nicholas "Nick" Clark

R/R

8 Years

Manuel "Manny" Del Rio

INF/C

R/R

5 Years

Justin Feagin

INF/OF

R/R

6 Years

Timothy "Tim" Horton

INF/OF

R/R

7 Years

Nick Salerno

Utility

R/R

2 Years

Cody Rice

OF/INF

R/R

4 Years

Randy Tedder

P/UTL

R/R

2 Years

Joshua "Josh" Wege

OF/INF

R/R

8 Years

William "Rick" Wilk

INF/OF

R/R

4 Years

Christopher "Chris" Hutton

P/INF

R/R

4 Years

Dan Lopez

UTL/C

R/R

3 Years

Ben Mitchell

Catcher

L/L

3 Years

Brent Nadjadi

UTL

R/R

3 Years

Gregory "Greg" Reynolds

L/R

8 Years

Matias Ferreira

INF/C

R/R

6 Years

Brian Gentilotti

UTL

R/R

3 Years

Danielle Green

C/DH

Utility

4 Years

Jeff Hackett

C/1B

R/R

2 Years

Player

Pos.

B/T

Randy Raper

Head Coach

Team Dog, Huey

Jessica Bosquez

Rob Vande Zande

Kai Schjang

Asst. Coach

Andrew Peden

Saul Monroy

Michael “Mike” Gallardo

INF

R/R

Reese Hines

Michael Brown

UTL

R/R

Saul Bosquez

INF

R/R

Zachary Briseno

P/INF

R/R

Thomas Carlo

P/DH

R/R

Heather Carter

Asst. Coach

R/R

Nicholas Clark

R/R

Manuel “Manny” Del Rio

INF/C

R/R

Justin Feagin

INF/OF

R/R

Timothy Horton

INF/OF

R/R

Nick Salerno

Utility

R/R

Cody Rice

OF/INF

R/R

Randy Tedder

P/UTL

R/R

Joshua Wege

OF/INF

R/R

William Wilk

INF/OF

R/R

Christopher Hutton

P/INF

R/R

Dan Lopez

UTL/C

R/R

Ben Mitchell

Catcher

L/L

Brent Nadjadi

UTL

R/R

Gregory Reynolds

L/R

Matias Ferreira

INF/C

R/R

Brian Gentilotti

UTL

R/R

Danielle Green

C/DH

Utility

Jeff Hackett

C/1B

R/R

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Josh Wege

President

Josh Wege, retired Lance Corporal in the United States Marines Corps, currently plays for the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. On his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, his vehicle struck a two hundred pound improvised explosive device which resulted in the amputations of both his legs below the knees.

Jack Jones

Chairman of the Board

Jack Jones brings in-depth softball experience to the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team Board of Directors. He has participated in ASA softball for 43 years in Indiana, South Dakota and North Dakota. He has played, managed and sponsored teams that have won 26 North Dakota ASA State Championships and 6 ASA National Championships.

Bob Eisiminger

Treasurer

Bob Eisiminger’ s military career started when he enlisted in the Army as a Helicopter Crew Chief in 1983. Bob then attended the United States Military Academy; West Point and was commissioned an Air Defense Artillery Officer upon graduation. He served as a Tactical Control Officer and Platoon Leader in HAWK units in Germany and as a Public Affairs Officer at Fort Bliss, Texas. He is a graduate of the US Army’s Airborne School and Jungle Warfare Course. In October of 1992, he was medically discharged from the Army due to numerous shoulder operations. His memberships in Military Organizations include the following: Lifetime Member of Disabled American Veterans (1993 - Present); Member of the American Legion (1993 – Present); Lifetime Member of the Air Defense Artillery Association (1989 – Present); Lifetime Member of AUSA (2011- Present); and Member of The Military Order of the Carabao (2015 – Present)

Jeanne Tumanjan

Secretary

Jeanne Tumanjan began working for Tumanjan Homes Inc., a family owned development company in 1977 and is now an administrator. She was also a Licensed Acupuncture in California for 25 years and served on the California Medical Board, Acupuncture Committee as a Governor appointee. Ms. Tumanjan has also been an event planner for over 30 years and has devoted the last 14 years to fundraising for non-profits and Veteran charities. In 2018 she was the recipient of the “Women of the Year” Award for The State of California.

Brian Gentilotti

Player Representative

Brian has served with the USA Patriots for 4 years and has dedicated much of his time helping and mentoring children who face the challenges of limb loss. After a deployment while serving in the United States Air Force, Brian was hit by a vehicle on his motorcycle, which caused the amputation of his right leg below the knee.

Brent Nadjadi

Player Representative

Brent has traveled with the team for 3 years after an injury occurred while serving in Afghanistan while in the United States Army resulting in the amputation of his leg. When not on the field, Brent is spending time with his family. Brent holds an MBA in Business Administration from the American Military University.

Steve "Pup" Shortland

Softball Operations

Steve “Pup” Shortland is an Air Force retiree and brings a great deal of softball experience to the organization. He served as a highly successful Head Coach of the Air Force team from 2002-2015, winning the Armed Forces Softball Championship eight times. He was also the first ever head coach of Team USA (the US Men’s National Slow Pitch team) and served in that role for nine years.

Tom Plant

No Bio Available.

Interested in Becoming
Part of the Team?

The USA Patriots are always looking for Active Duty Military Personnel and Veterans with amputations to tryout and potentially become part of the team.

For more information, contact us.

JOIN US TODAY

Do you have what it takes to Be A Patriot?

You can become and Associate Member of the team by clicking HERE!

ABOUT USA PAtriots

OUR MISSION

Our HISTORY

Other Information

Our Programs

Team Roster

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Josh Wege

President

Jack Jones

Chairman of the Board

Bob Eisiminger

Treasurer

Jeanne Tumanjan

Secretary

Brian Gentilotti

Player Representative

Brent Nadjadi

Player Representative

Steve "Pup" Shortland

Softball Operations

Tom Plant

Interested in Becoming Part of the Team?

Do you have what it takes to Be A Patriot?

Interested in Becoming
Part of the Team?