— A new training resource for baseball and softball players is opening soon in Alexandria. It is located in the former Perry’s Furniture building at 210 North Nokomis Street in Alexandria.
The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy,
co-founded by Josh Waltzing along with his wife, Dani, and their son, Jackson, is set to open Jan. 1 to founding members and then there will be an official grand opening sometime in March.
At least that is the plan right now.
Josh and Dani also own
Alexandria Martial Arts and Movement in Alexandria.
Josh and Dani Waltzing, along with their son, Jackson, are the co-founders of The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy.
Contributed photo / Josh Waltzing
The Hitting Yard will have six batting cages for both baseball and softball players to use – 24 hours a day. Josh explained that those using the facility will have to have the mobile app, which will allow them access any time of the day or night. He said there will be pitching machines for those wanting to practice their hitting and mounds for those wanting to work on their pitching skills. The mounds will be able to be moved with the 70-foot cage space.
The 70-foot cage space is full size so that baseball players at the high school, college or pro level can throw the correct distance from the pitching mound to home plate, Josh said.
The Hitting Yard will be using HitTrax technology
Josh said the biggest thing they are bringing to the facility – and to the Alexandria area – is the major league baseball technology system called HitTrax.
According to the HitTrax website, hittrax.com, this is an all-in-one system that captures metrics for hitting, pitching, catching and even live at bats. The system allows players to see their performance and then make the needed adjustments for improvements.
This graphic shows the floor plan for The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy, a new baseball training facility opening soon in Alexandria.
Contributed graphic / Josh Waltzing
He said they are still working on acquiring the HitTrax system through sponsorships and businesses in the community that are interested in helping them in that process.
Josh explained that HitTrax is kind of similar to a golf simulator but players are not hitting against a screen. He said they are using real balls and hitting in the cage. When in the hitting mode, the system will be able to determine if the hit was a strike, a pop up, fly out, ground ball, double play and more, he added.
“You will get to see evidence of your progress on the screen,” said Josh. “You’ll get what you can build on moving forward, what was successful and what you need to do to get to the next level, to accelerate your game and be more confident on the plate.”
In addition, Josh said the system will also allow players to experience real game-time situations. A team of four, for example, could play against another team of four in an entire seven inning game. The system will determine balls, strikes, outs, runs and more. Players will have a chance to get 10 to 12 at bats in a simulated environment, complete with people cheering, Josh said.
The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy is currently being built in the former Perry’s Furniture on North Nokomis Street in Alexandria.
Contributed photo / Josh Waltzing
“You will have a scoreboard in front of you and you will get to see what’s working,” he added. “For example, it’s the bottom of the seventh inning and you’re down by one run. You’ve got a runner on third but there are two outs. You can’t strike out. You can’t pop out. You have to hit a line drive base hit to score. Those are the situational things you can do. You can’t simulate anywhere else except in the game time scenario.” Especially, he added, when the weather doesn’t allow for it, like when it is snowing.
The Hitting Yard is a training resource for players
He said that HitTrax will let them bring players together and bring players to Alexandria instead of having players go to the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Fargo because they have this type of resource, these types of tools.
“We want this to be a training tool and not an entertainment platform,” said Josh. “There are several HitTrax facilities in Minnesota, but many of them are run as a form of entertainment. We want this to be a training resource for players, both baseball and softball, so that they can come in and work on improving their game.”
The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy will soon occupy the space that was once Perry’s Furniture in Alexandria.
Contributed photo / Josh Waltzing
Josh and Dani are familiar with the membership-based business model because that’s how their martial arts business is run. Their new business will operate the same way. The Hitting Yard will be available by purchasing a membership.
Josh said that right now, they are looking for families who would like to become one of their “Founding 50” members. Those 50 families will be the first ones to use the facility when it opens in January, and they will receive many other benefits as well. For more information on the Founding 50 program, go to
sparkpages.io/cart/2/?i=_rs4b&c=&ocu=.
What is the reason for opening The Hitting Yard?
Josh and Dani’s three boys – Jackson, 17; Derek, 17; and Dayveon, 13 – have been playing baseball since they were young. Josh said he has seen the boys, as well as many other players, work really, really hard at baseball. But, the only time they get to see evidence of their success is from one game to the next where they might get one at bat one game and maybe two the next game.
He said baseball and softball players have no place that is local for them to train indoors, whether it is between games or between seasons. And in Minnesota, especially this time of year, players could use somewhere to practice and hone in on their skills.
Alexandria’s Jackson Waltzing waiting to bat in a game against Detroit Lakes that took place on May 2, 2025.
Detroit Lakes Tribune file photo
“I have watched so many players over the years work so hard and have the desire to improve, but have no place for them to continue building their confidence and their success, especially in the off season,” said Josh. “Players get frustrated and lose confidence because they can only see if they are succeeding when they are at bat in a game when everything matters.”
In his martial arts business, Josh said he works with people to help them develop confidence, grit, perseverance, self-esteem and to become better at what they do. At The Hitting Yard, he wants to see some of those same lessons applied to baseball and softball players.
Jackson has been involved in his parents’ new business from the beginning, said Josh, adding that Jackson plans to play baseball in college. Jackson has asked a lot of questions about the business and has done a lot of research, said Josh.
Josh asked Jackson what he would want in a dream facility or what other players might want to help them improve their game. He said Jackson has provided a lot of great answers and insight into building the new business.
“He is kind of the heart and soul of the formation of what will be going into it,” he said, adding that Jackson’s feedback has been invaluable.
Josh also noted that the name and the logo also were Jackson’s ideas.
The logo for The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy was created by Jackson Waltzing, son of Josh and Dani Waltzing.
Contributed graphic / Josh Waltzing
As the family is in the process of building The Hitting Yard Batting Cage and Academy, Josh said if there are businesses in the community who would be interested in supporting and helping to build the yard, they have a Builder’s Campaign going on where businesses can purchase a sponsorship. He said businesses can sponsor items within the facility from a bucket of balls all the way to sponsoring an entire cage, pitching stations or even having their names put on the turf.
“We have so many great businesses in our community who step up often for our local youth teams to help grow those teams so we are hoping those businesses can step up beside us and help us impact not just Alexandria, but the whole region,” he said.
Josh added that is the reason they are building The Hitting Yard – to help players in this region, which is more rural, to be just as competitive and just as successful as the players who are in the bigger city programs and who have easier access to similar types of facilities.
“We want our players to have all the same tools and resources to help them succeed, too,” Josh said.
For more information, go to
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