By Emily Harrington
Do you have a future baseball star on your hands? Maybe a softball player? If you want a place to nurture your son or daughter’s budding athletic interests, The Cage is that place.
The former Leonhard Recreation Center building at 2112 Sangamon Dr. in Champaign (across from Sholem Aquatic Center) was converted into six turf-laid batting cages in the fall of 2014. Brothers Shawn and Ryan Tabeling turned a 3,000-square-foot warehouse space into a 12,000-square-foot dream come true when they moved from their original business (opened in 2008) by Prairie Gardens.
Where Shawn, the owner, is the business side of The Cage, Ryan is the instruction side using his experience as a player and college-level coach to help guide budding athletes.
“It started with providing quality instruction and coaching to people. There’s been a demand for specialized instruction in baseball and softball,” Shawn said.
These six cages or “tunnels” can be used individually or opened up and combined depending on the needs of the user. There are a wide variety of needs and uses for this facility!
The Cage is home to the traveling Mizuno teams where 28 out of 34 players within two graduating teams were signed at the college level! The Cage is also used for individual or group lessons from age 6 to college age, when baseball teams have practice rainouts or for walk-ins where, for example, two buddies or a father-son duo can rent a tunnel and practice fielding, pitching or hitting. A solo player can also use the automated pitching machine to practice hitting or throwing to a faux catcher. The Cage uses Snap Appointments to book a slot and check availability. You can rent a tunnel for 30 minutes for $20 up to three players; more than three players will cost $5 for each additional player. Same goes for the 60 minutes for $30 price.
The Cage is not only used for baseball, however. Other athletes can condition and fine tune certain skills using the facility and Cage instructors.
The level of athleticism and experience seen at The Cage can appear intimidating. The brothers want to reiterate this is a facility for all experience levels. Most recently The Cage, in partnership with Champaign Park District (CPD), introduced “Iddy-Biddy Baseball.” The camp was designed for kids ages 3 to 6 years of age as an introduction to the sport.
Manager and instructor Ryan Tabeling uses everyday terms and movements to help teach the younger set of kids.
“You have to use something that relates to them,” Ryan said.
The “alligator” mouth motion helps scoop the ball off the ground while the “butterfly” helps bring the hands together to catch.
“The first day of camp I came in with a written practice plan, but the kids really put me in my place,” Ryan joked.
Parent participation is required in the “Iddy-Biddy” camps and a big part of the fun and success of the programs.
“I try to provide tools for parents to take home and use with their kids,” Ryan said.
My own 2-year-old son walked in a cage and proceeded to take all the balls out of the bucket and put them on the tee. With Ryan’s offer of a soft bat and ball, he was able to take a whack at the ball a few times. Even if his ball was flying in the wrong direction, I couldn’t help think of him in those cute baseball uniforms and hefty college scholarships.
Watch in the CPD program guides for a suite of “Iddy-Biddy” camps to roll out over the upcoming seasons. These camps will include soccer, kickball and flag football. Because of the partnership with the CPD, The Cage is able to use an established CPD facility and market to everyone in the community.
And everyone means your little one can throw (pun intended) a birthday party at The Cage. Every family is looking for new party ideas, so add this one to the list.
Emily Harrington is a Chambana townie that left her 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job to be a 24/7 mom to a dreamy son. Still interested in writing, Emily uses some of naptime to practice her passion and keep her mind right. Emily is a happy wife with a happy life because she fell for a fellow townie. Oh, and let’s not forget her other son, a degenerate canine named Heppenheimer.