[ back ]
Businessmen hope Strike Force is big hit
(by Sue Hoffman - December 02, 2009)
Businessmen hope Strike Force is big hit
By SUE HOFFMAN
It may have a new name, but Solon's 19,000-square-foot indoor baseball practice center continues to be a big hit with young players from Northeast Ohio.
Manager Ken Wilson and three local fathers stepped up to the plate when Extra Innings, which opened in March 2006 at 6565 Davis Industrial Parkway, closed as a franchise on June 25, 2009.
Strike Force Baseball Academy is the new name for the indoor facility, which reopened Oct. 17. It's an indoor "field of dreams," according to new owners Michael Zweig, of Solon, Michael Moses, of Orange, and Michael Salem, of Chester, who joined general manager Ken Wilson in purchasing the facility this summer.
Strike Force has pitching machines for baseball and softball, automatic batting cages and training tunnels with pitching mounds, home plate and infield areas. There are also training rooms for individual instruction, a lounge with a plasma television for parents and a pro shop.
The baseball academy offers instructors with college baseball and coaching experience.
Mr. Wilson, a Pittsburgh Pirate turned trainer, said he found out in early May about the closing and was out of town the day the doors closed.
"When I came back, there were over 100 calls in three or four days," he said. "One kid walked up to the door and walked away with his head down. It's a story I'll never forget." During the summer, he said he received 600 e-mails asking when the facility would reopen.
Over the three years of operation, Extra Innings had 2,000 regular customers, ages 7 to 17, who trained there in addition to countless walk-ins, he said. Besides those from Solon, boys and girls came to train from Stow, Chester, Orange, Beachwood, Mayfield and other nearby communities.
"Ken reached out to me and told me the business was closing," said Mr. Zweig, whose son, Jacob, 13, has practiced at the facility since it first opened and plays in Mr. Wilson's Diamond Boys Baseball Club. "He asked me if there was anything I could do to help him reorganize the business and save it for the City of Solon."
Mr. Zweig had an organizational meeting with Mr. Wilson, Mr. Moses and Mr. Salem. "All four of us committed capital and credit to the business," Mr. Zweig said. He thanked landlord Jeff Davis and Key Bank for their support.
Mr. Moses, a real estate developer who owns an investment company with Mr. Zweig, has coached national youth baseball teams and owns a summer collegiate team that plays in Lorain. "My sons practiced here and played travel baseball. We've brought other teams to train here," he said.
"At the end of the day, we're businessmen," Mr. Moses said. "We felt it was an extremely solid business venture, with Ken running the show."
Mr. Salem, who owns tanning salons and sub shops, said he was happy to invest in the business. "I received an e-mail in May that this would close unless another door would open. All the kids knew about it and were disappointed."
Mr. Salem said his 11-year-old son, Michael, has been training at Strike Force. "I had reached my limit on what I could do for him," he said. Mr. Salem heard about Diamond Boys Baseball Club run by Mr. Wilson, and once his son joined the club, he began training at the facility. "He loved the one-on-one attention."
"Our professional trainers cover all phases of the game," said Mr. Wilson, whose Diamond Boys Baseball Club has grown from one to seven teams since 1996. All seven teams participate in training at Strike Force. The Diamond Boys boast over 85 players who have received baseball scholarships, including 70 in Division 1, and four are now professional players.
Strike Force instructors include Rich Conklin, of Twinsburg, who serves as director of youth baseball development. He is a graduate of Kent State University, where he played with the Gold Flashes from 1983 to 1988, and has considerable coaching experience at the high school and college levels.
Brian Chad, of Macedonia, who serves as director of high school player development and head coach for the 17-year-old Diamond Boys Team, was a pitcher at Eastern Michigan University and Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania. After graduating in 2007, he was drafted to play in an independent baseball league, and played two years.
Other local instructors include John Angelicchi, an Orange High School 2004 alumnus who graduated in 2008 from Ohio University in Athens, where he majored in sports management and was a four-year member of the Bobcat baseball team. He teaches pitching and hitting.
[ back ]
