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Downers Grove Dragons: A baseball team focused on player development
(Courtesy: @Downers Grove Dragons/Facebook)

Downers Grove Dragons: A baseball team focused on player development

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — Due to obvious reasons, not everyone would want to start up a sports team in a village, most especially one like Downers Grove. Most people would prefer the city where everything is happening very fast. And if the person is starting the sports team to make money, then Downers Grove is a no-go area.

But Dan O’Connell did the unexpected. In 2007, O’Connell formed the Downers Grove Dragons just because he wanted to help a group of nine-year-old children who were falling in love with baseball to continue to have fun and learn more about the game. Today, the team has grown beyond nine boys, and they play in the West Suburban Baseball League.

“My goal is to help coaches, parents …ultimately players, have a more successful and enriching experience with youth sports,” O’Connell said on one of the reasons why he founded the Downers Grove Dragons.

The Downers Grove Dragons have continued to create a fun environment for the younger generation while developing fundamentally sound skills through their training programs run by professional instructors.

The above is not the only reason why the Dragons are one of the best baseball teams for beginners and young people who want to improve their baseball skills.

Suppose you want reasonable playing time and plenty of opportunities, proven training programs, cutting edge technology, fun out-of-town tournaments, analysis and tracking of player development, great fields and knowledgeable and well-trained coaches. In that case, the best place to go is the Downers Grove Dragons baseball club.

In addition, the Dragons have a unique program called the High School Travel Program for children under the age of 15-17. This program is designed to help prepare baseball players who want to make their high school baseball team or help supplement their high school baseball experience.

In just 14 years of existence, the Dragons have won multiple West Suburban Baseball League Championships, Illinois Travel Baseball League Championships and Mid Suburban Baseball League Championships. The U13 Dragons recently won the West Suburban National League Championship after winning their division with a 15-2-1 record. They won the playoffs to become the champions. The U10 Dragons came second in the Downers Grove Memorial Tournament. Also, the 12U team was the runner-up in the National League after an incredible season.

Even though the Dragons have won many championships, they are more concerned with player development than their trophy cabinet.

The Dragons baseball team has created a family where young people relate as brothers and sisters. To most of them, one of the best parts of their day is being with their teammates.

“My favorite part about baseball is hanging out with my teammates,” Kyle, one of the U10 players of the Dragons, said when asked about his favorite part of baseball during a pregame interview.

With all the achievements so far, the team is not slowing down concerning building the best baseball players in Downers Grove. They recently partnered with the Illinois Premier Baseball Organization to bring some fascinating opportunities for their players.

If the Downers Grove Dragons baseball team can achieve all this in just 14 years, imagine how many more achievements lie ahead of them.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.