Field of Dreams Indoor Practice Facility in Lancaster-Grand Opening Nov 2 !!!!

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FIELD OF DREAMS
Practice and Training Academy
731 Slocum Ave
Lancaster Oh 43130
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"If you build it, they will come."

Most of us recognize this line from the outstanding baseball movie entitled Field of Dreams. Well, we built it! After over a year of thinking about this, and months of planning it is our pleasure to announce that what was once only a Dream, is soon to become a reality!!! With the combined experience, knowledge and passion for the game, partners Chris Zaker, Don Holbrook and Allan Anderson are opening an indoor practice facility in Lancaster Ohio. It will be an 8,000 square foot, ALL TURF facility with 3 batting cages (2 are 54' and one is 70' long).

• The facility will offer lessons for both softball and baseball for all aspects of the games including pitching, hitting, fielding and catching. In addition to sport-specific lessons, additional training will be offered by some extremely qualified athletes for speed and agility as well as running techniques.
• Running technique perfection and speed development clinics will be offered by a former USA Olympian world record holder!!
• Discussions have taken place with high level, very accomplished and well known instructors to provide lessons for hitting and pitching. Their names will be announced once the deals are finalized. We can't announce these names as of yet, because they obviously work out of other facilities in the area!!!
• Weekend clinics for pitching and hitting will be offered. More info to come as these materialize!
• We will offer various contests for the kids to enable them the chance to earn prizes during their time spent at Field of Dreams. These contests will earn the kids some bragging rights amongst their friends and teammates.
• Free high speed wireless internet access, cable television and plenty of seating will be available for parents and onlookers!! The seating area will be completely safe from stray balls with a floor-ceiling netting system.
• Healthy snacks and drinks are available for purchase
• Dairy Queen is just one block away (oh no!)
• There is plenty of additional space for players to work on fielding techniques, throwing, pitching and catching.
• A catching lane is available with enough space to work on the throw-downs to 2nd base for softball players!!!
• Slow motion video recording of mechanics may be provided. I'm not talking about 60 frames per second that makes the video look like the clay-mation Christmas specials from when we were kids...I'm talking about high quality video recording at frame rates of up to 240-480 frames per second. At this speed, you can easily pick out the littlest of swing flaws! At 240 frames per second, 1 second of life takes 8 seconds to watch. Amazing clarity!!!!
• We have one Iron Mike pitching machine as well as several Jugs-type hand fed pitching machines that are available during hitting practices. The Iron Mike is capable of throwing baseballs as well as 12" softballs!!!

***Hitting leagues are forming now, and will begin the week of November 4, 2013!***

Live pitching & hitting leagues are also being organized!!!
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Hourly cage rentals are available and the entire facility will also be available for rent to area travel balls teams, rec balls teams and school ball teams as well. As if that wasn't enough....imagine bringing your entire team to the facility at 9PM on a Friday night...hitting, pitching and fielding until 1:00 AM, then sacking out with sleeping bags as a team. Yes, we are working out the details to offer overnight team practice/sleepover parties. Wouldn't that be a fantastic team building and fun opportunity for the kids??? What a great way to have a birthday party for one of your players, without messing up your own home. Adult coaches and additional chaperones will be required!

The Grand Opening is Saturday, Nov 2! :yahoo:
Coach's Tour is set for Wednesday, October 30!
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Visit our Facebook page by going here: https://www.facebook.com/fieldofdreamsohio . We will make more announcements as the grand opening draws neared. We will use our Facebook page for most of our announcements so be sure to Like the page! We are in the process of developing our website, but for now use the Facebook page to stay up to date!

For more information you can PM me, or contact any of the following:
Chris Zaker 740-503-7563
Don Holbrook 740-243-7137
Allan Anderson 740-503-0452 (Former MLB pitcher for Minnesota Twins for 6 years!!!)

 

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Visitors to our Facebook page have the opportunity to help us come up with our company slogan. Go to the page and send us your suggestion. The winning slogan will become a part of our company logo and the contributor will be given a t-shirt, as well as their slogan's becoming a permanent part of this business!

 

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The place is really taking shape. We have already set up hitting leagues for 10U-HS division, starting Nov 4. Pitching & hitting lessons have been planned as well.
Go to www.facebook.com/fieldofdreamsohio for more information or call/text 740-243-4054.
Looking forward to seeing lots of local talent working on their skills.
Chris

 

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I look forward to see pics of the facility soon! Best of Luck!

 

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Thank you SteamRollers. I could post some tomorrow, and what you'll see is some construction pictures, remodeled bathrooms, walls built, area painted, etc. Not much to get excited about until the indoor turf gets installed this Wednesday & Thursday & the cages are installed. THAT's when this place will really take shape.
I will keep you all posted.
Thanks for the good wishes!

 

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Well so far about 400 square yards of indoor athletic turf was installed in the last two days. The batting cage support system was attached to some of the walls and the service counter was made. The place is really starting to take shape. The decor is very much a combination of baseball and softball to ensure we cater to our entire customer base.

It is starting to really look like an indoor training facility!! View attachment 1397

 

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There was a feature article in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette today about Field of Dreams.
Here is a link to the online version. http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20131017/NEWS01/310170032

 

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As an update...the facility is really coming along. The customer service desk area and parents/friends holding tank received a fair bit of attention this week. We were granted early access to our other 4,000 square feet, which enabled us to move all of our tools and supplies out of this area which makes it easier for us to get our work done.
We are still on schedule for the Grand Opening on Saturday Nov 2 at 12:00. We are having several special events throughout the day, such as pitching contests, hitting & bunting contests, food & refreshments, special guests (ex-major league ball players).
I will put up a separate post about the "Sneak Peek" coaches tour for Wednesday Oct 30. We are inviting all Central Ohio coaches to come view the facility before the Grand Opening.
Call or text 740-503-7563 for more information.

 

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Tomorrow is the big day! The place is ready. Hitting contests & pitching contests, as well as hitting and pitching clinics have been scheduled. All events are free of charge so bring your players in to come see Field of Dreams.
For details regarding the times of the special events, go to http://www.fieldofdreamsohio.com/pdf/Field-of-Dreams-Grand-Opening-Schedule-of-Events.pdf.
If you go, please find me & introduce yourself and tell me that you heard about the place on OFC.
I look forward to meeting new people from the softball community.
Chris

 

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What an incredible turnout this past weekend! Wow....I'm thinking tonight I might be able to finally catch up on my sleep!
Saturday was amazing. There were about 150 kids who came to Field of Dreams this past Saturday to participate in the Grand Opening celebration and all of the free events we offered. My favorite part of the day (besides watching a 12U girls softball player show the boys up by winning the hitting contest) was the 45 minute question and answer session we had with two ex-MLB ball players. As our special guests, we had Allan Anderson who played 12 years of professional baseball, many of them in the Major League. We were also blessed with the presence of George Spencer, one of the last few remaining members of the historic 1951 New York Giants, who recorded that amazing comeback of the century by overcoming a 13 1/2 game deficit to end up in a tie for first place in the division. This resulted in a 3 game playoff for the pennant which ended with the fabled "Shot heard round the world" the 3-run walk-off homerun by Bobby Thomson in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 runners on. This was put into legend due to the infamous radio call by Russ Hodges when he exclaimed "The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant".
Well George was a pitcher on that team and was there for that series as well as the 1954 Series where they won the World Series.

Beyond that session we had pitching contests, hitting contests, free clinics, open hitting with some instructors looking on and offering some minor tips, etc.
It was amazing.
To see some pictures of the event, follow this link...
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.418837228239191.1073741830.393558687433712&type=1