SEQUIM — John Qualls says it isn’t talent level that is preventing more North Olympic Peninsula athletes from having opportunities to excel beyond high school.

It’s all the other stuff.

“Our kids have all of the potential to achieve greatness,” Qualls said.

“Unfortunately, they just don’t have the resources available to maximize their potential here on the Peninsula, which means they miss out on scholarships and opportunities that are common in bigger cities.”

Qualls and his partner Lisa Jones are opening 360 Sports Performance Training, or 360 SPT, to help provide kids with the more opportunities and to be more prepared when those opportunities arise.

Opening Tuesday

The official opening of 360 Sports Performance Training — located in Sequim at 71 Ruth’s Place No. 8, just off Carlsborg Road — is Tuesday.

To celebrate the opening, the business will hold a kickoff event that includes baseball and softball clinics put on by former Major League Baseball player Brent Lillibridge, softball Olympian Danielle Lawrie.

360 SPT will train kids athletically and mentally, while also helping them beyond their chosen sports.

“Just looking at the whole child,” Jones, who also manages the Starbucks in Sequim, said.

“So if one of the kids in our program is struggling with school, or struggling in any way, shape or form in their life, being a resource for them, and looking to help them.”

The program also will teach kids how to connect with college coaches by helping them do such things as put together videos or personalize the emails they send to coaches so they will get noticed.

“What the difference is today for recruitment, is kids have to advertise themselves,” Qualls said. “So the days of sitting back and allowing yourselves to be seen by a college, is not going to happen.

“So we’ve got to create portfolios and we’ve go to show the kid is well-rounded in the community, we have to show that they’re eligible for grades, and we also have to show what kind of grit they have. And by grit, we’re meaning are the resilient when it comes to failures, can they overcome those obstacles, can they deal with those issues and still be productive?

“Colleges do not want to have to worry about those things when they get there.”

360 SPT has two batting cages and specializes in baseball and softball, but Qualls said the program is for athletes of all sports.

The program uses the same training principles and systems as Seattle-based Northcore Performance Training, which was founded and created by former Sequim resident Jeff Millet. The training system’s objective is to not only maximize performance, but also to minimize injuries.

“As a graduate of Sequim High School, I have always dreamed of having the opportunity to impact youth athletes in my hometown,” Millet said in a news release.

Qualls previously worked with at-risk youth for 10 years for Clallam County Juvenile Court System and has been coaching baseball and softball for 20 years.

That includes the Olympic Crosscutters, an American Legion baseball team Qualls helped found and coached in their first year in 2015. Qualls will still be involved with the Crosscutters, but says Quilcene High School baseball coach Darrin Dotson will take over the coaching duties this summer.

Kickoff event

The kickoff event for 360 Sports Performance Training will begin Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. with an open house and question-and-answer session with Qualls, Jones, Lillibridge, Lawrie and Millet.

Following that, Lillibridge and Lawrie will put on 90-minute clinics in 360 SPT’s batting cages.

Lawrie’s softball clinic will run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by Lillibridge’s baseball clinic from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The cost is $75 per kid, and each clinic will be limited to 20 participants. Register in advance online at www.360sportsperformancetraining.com, or by phoning Qualls at 360-461-0482 or Jones at 360-216-5401.

Lawrie, from Langley, B.C., was an All-American pitcher at the University of Washington from 2006-10. While there, she helped the Huskies win their first national championship in 2009.

She was also a member of the Canada women’s national softball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Lillibridge, who grew up in Everett, played college baseball for the Huskies for three seasons and was named All-Pac 10 all three years.

He then embarked on a nine-year professional career, during which he played parts of seven seasons in the major leagues with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox. Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees.

Since his playing career ended, Lillibridge has turned his focus to mentoring young players through Base by Pros.

Other professional athletes will be involved with 360 SPT going forward, and Qualls says that will be crucial to the success of the business and the kids who train there.

“In order to make a change in a community that has been set in a certain standard, the only way you can make a major change is by having the highest level of instruction,” Qualls said.

“Without the pros, it would be really, really difficult.”

For more information about 360 Sports Performance Training, visit its website at www.360sportsperformancetraining.com.

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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.