SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — A new state-of-the-art baseball and softball training facility in South Boise is helping athletes hone their skills — one pitch at a time.
“I’d really like to be drafted in the first round for the MLB when I’m older," said 12-year-old Ares Bowen, who is on a local Boise baseball team.
He has become one of the regulars in the batting cages at D-BAT which is just five minutes from his house.
"I work on technique. I come here pretty much every day to just hit practice and such," Bowen said.
The facility, which opened a few months ago in a former grocery store space, features four automatic pitching machines along with plenty of traditional batting cages and coaching options.
"Before it opened up, I really didn't do anything. I kind of just practiced with my team and as soon as my parents figured out that this place opened up and they did all the training stuff, my parents were like this can help him become such a better player," Bowen added.
D-BAT is open to anyone looking to hit some baseballs and softballs, amateur to pro.
"Our goal really here is to promote to the 8 to 12 year old range," said Bryan Thunborg, General Manager of D-BAT Treasure Valley.
He says they see about a 65%-35% split of baseball players to softball players and the majority of their users are student athletes like Bowen.
"In the game, I'll go over everything that I've learned and it stays in my head and that my technique is the best it can be," Bowen said. "I feel like this place has really helped me in the actual game to become better."
"I had a high school kid here two days ago that said I hit my first two home runs in high school thanks to the training that happened here and that's what we're here for," Thunborg said.
