Not much room to play with when connecting the motor wires to the esc wires anyone have any tips for the eflite apprentice?

Now that I understand the electrical setup, extending the wires between the esc and motor wires is probably the easiest.
Remember, never extend wires between battery and esc. You can use bullet connectors, however, if you can solder,
then that would be much better. The added advantage of extending those wires is to place the esc in a more ventilated
are of the plane. Good luck

I take it you disconnected the motor from the ESC. I did that once to replace the motor mount, and it is a PITA to get them reconnected. Two pairs of long needle nose pliers is how I got them back together.