Garrettsville – Garrettsville G-Plex, which was once known as an indoor soccer facility with batting cages, is now a softball and baseball training facility. Ed Carpenter took over the facility in August and has been busy updating it and turning it into a state-of-the-art training facility for softball and baseball. Carpenter resurfaced the soccer field that is now used mostly for baseball and softball tournaments and long distant throwing practice. He eliminated one of the batting cages so he could expand the length and width of the two remaining cages allowing more room for the hitter. He added more lighting to the field area and added carpet to the entry. He then added a fresh coat of paint everywhere, tiled the restroom floors and created a video room along with a coach’s lounge. The former basketball court is now a weight training center to help players work on strength and agility.
Private coaching sessions are available thru the G-Plex and currently they have Wyatt Toregas who is a former Cleveland Indian/ Pittsburgh Pirate player and coach willing to offer private coaching sessions. Toregas availability is limited to the professional baseball off-season and he will offer lessons at $65 dollars an hour. There will be other coaches available for private coaching sessions as well. Call the center 330 527-9000 for more information.
The facility also offers video analysis. They will video tape your training session then evaluate it, checking for mechanics and form while looking for ways to improve them both. One can use the coach’s lounge to view the videos on the large screen television and create a game plan.
The ball field and batting cages are currently available for rent. The cages rent for $50/ hour, one must wear batting helmet to use cages. The baseball field is for rent for $200/hour. Soccer clubs are also welcome to rent the facility as well.
Currently, the weight room is not open to the public, but will be as soon as they can find a trainer who is trained for core, strengthening and agility training.
Everything at the facility follows the motto “Safety first.” All protective gear is required when using the batting cages, ball fields and weight center. Some safety equipment is available, but clients are expected to provide their own. No one will be permitted to use the facilities without the proper safety equipment. Besides safety, they also run a very clean facility. They have a cleaning person, who comes in daily to wipe down all the equipment, vacuum, clean rest rooms etc.
Recently the facility held an open house which had about 75 coaches from high school and college teams along with the summer league coaches looking to see what the facility had to offer. During the open house they held a fundraiser that raised $500 for the People Tree. The G-Plex then matched the funds raised.
The hours at the facility vary but they are generally open from 3:30 pm throughout the evening hours. Anyone who wants more information on the facility can call 330 527-9000.
