NORTHFIELD, Ill. — Northfield-based Illinois Baseball Academy’s objective is to bring professional-level instruction to the doorstep of both young and elite baseball players in their host community and beyond.

The club was founded in 2005 by Chris Beacom in a church gym. Today, it has two facilities that service over 2,000 children every year. In addition, Illinois Baseball Academy owns a baseball facility in Northfield called the Yard. The Yard is a 5,000 square foot facility that provides spring, winter and fall baseball programs for children ages three and older.

The Yard has space for private lessons, team practice and clinics. It can cover fielding, catching, pitching and hitting. Outfitted with pitching tunnels, hitting cages and an open area for fielding work, the facility also manages a 14,000 square foot indoor facility at Rosemont called the Dome. In addition, the Academy uses the facility for their home tournaments.

One reason why the Illinois Baseball Academy is a standout academy is that it is run and managed by people who are passionate about baseball and child development. Trey Frahler is one such person. He joined the Academy in 2011 and is now the president of the Academy with a unique vision.

“To grow the game of baseball and help develop the leaders of tomorrow,” Frahler said about his vision for the club. “To re-pay those who have gone before us by teaching proper fundamentals and instilling core values in the players of today.”

Other instructors who are helping Frahler achieve this vision are Bobby Garrick, Alex Vannucci, Andrew Earvolino, Liam McKeough, Michael Jahns, Tyler Kopp, Matt McTague, Jason Meger and John Rosinski.

Aside from the training and mentorship by the instructors, the Academy brings in alumni who have done well or are doing well in baseball after leaving the club to consolidate on the mentorship and training they offer. One such time was when Sean Marshall, a former pitcher of the Academy, came to spend time with the ARFF raffle winner.

“A huge thank you to former Cub pitcher, Sean Marshall, for coming to The Yard and spending time with our ARFF raffle winners,” the Academy posted on Facebook.

The Academy further cemented its place as one of the forerunners of baseball academies when it comes to age-appropriate instruction by putting all ages in their academy into consideration with three specific plans for them: social-emotional, character and physical.

For example, the Academy understands the special needs of children who are between the ages of three to five. They know that children of this age group are cautious and reluctant to try new things, hence they provide a nurturing environment with fun-focused instructors and thoughtful curriculum under the social-emotional plan.

For the character plan, they focus on sportsmanship, respect and hustle, while the physical plan focuses on getting the children active by breaking their programs into smaller, more manageable chunks of time with many contests and drills to keep all of them engaged.

This is how the Academy plans baseball training for all ages knowing that every age comes with different challenges that need different approaches. No matter what age group the child belongs to, if he is part of the Academy, you can rest assured he will get the best.

For the past 16 years, the Illinois Baseball Academy has given top-notch baseball training to thousands of children within and outside Northfield. They are not ready to slow down anytime soon because baseball is a way of life and they are passionate about it.

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