Baseball players in Âé¶čAV wonât have to alter their off-season training regimen during the winter months anymore.
The new Yardhouse indoor baseball facility will be equipped with batting and pitching practice equipment, designed to bring together all the outdoor and indoor aspects of baseball.
âWith a lot of baseball programs, we found that weâre at three different venues typically in a week,â said Yardhouse general manager Derek McPherson.
âYou hit in one place, you do your gym work in another, and you throw in another; itâs a one-stop shop for all that stuff.â
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McPherson said that there has been a lot of interest from Âé¶čAV baseball organizations to book out time in the facility, which opens April 8.
The Yardhouse includes gym equipment, batting cages for both pros and amateurs and pitching mounds, that will be available for use to all Âé¶čAV baseball team players along with groups who just want to come out and hit some balls.
âWeâve got the ability to have guys doing something the entire practice, where at a lot of indoor facilities thatâs a lot tougher to do because space is limited,â he said.
âIt allows us to facilitate more kids at one time, which I think is really appealing to the kids and to parents to have it all in one spot. Putting it all under one roof makes a lot of sense.â
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McPherson, who coaches the Âé¶čAV Sun Devils college prep team and has been involved with Âé¶čAV baseball since growing up in Vernon, said that the tight-knit community of Âé¶čAV baseball will continue to grow and attract players with year-round baseball practice available.
Yardhouse will offer memberships to Âé¶čAV baseball organizations, and will provide the opportunity for young baseball players to rub shoulders with older players whoâre playing in college or at a professional level.
âIf we can get kids in here, and keep them engaged, and put them through camps, and lessons, then I find with the with the technology that we have, we can be engaging, fun and competitive,â said McPherson.
âYardhouse is a place that we expect will be busy for kids, especially come fall and winter.â
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The main interest for Yardhouse will be from local Âé¶čAV baseball players and teams, but with programs throughout the Okanagan including West Âé¶čAV and Penticton, the amount of interested teams in Yardhouseâs facilities will grow as baseball seasons begin to start back up for all levels of leagues including softball, McPherson says.
â(Âé¶čAV) is a town thatâs unique because it has a college program, it has a premier program, it has the biggest association outside of the Lower Mainland in the province. Thereâs a lot of quantity and a lot of kids, and you can concentrate a lot of baseball in one day here.â
Not just for baseball, Yardhouse also comes with an upstairs lounge area where kids and students can do homework after school, hang with friends and other players while studying the sport, or get a work out inâa sort of baseball player day-spa.
But itâs not exclusive, friends and groups are welcome to Yardhouse to hit âdingersâ and check out the fun technology Yardhouse has including a HitTrax machine that will tell hitters if they can hit a home-run in any MLB stadium from the Blue Jaysâ Rogers Centre to the legendary Wrigley Field.
is located on Spedding Court off Baron Road in Âé¶čAV.
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