CHICAGO – The baseball stars of tomorrow have been honing their skills in Chicago with the help of former Cubs star Jason Heyward.
Intentional Sports in the Austin neighborhood is hosting the J-Homerun Derby, kicking off on Monday, the first of its kind held in the state-of-the-art batting cages.
Teaching Kids Baseball:
Players get to hit and see their speed and exit velocity live on monitors inside.Â
The Jason Heyward Baseball Academy teaches baseball fundamentals to thousands of young people at the facility. They’ve been operating for three years and run three travel teams ages 10 through 12.
Heyward, a former Cubs outfielder, is using his success and platform to mentor and inspire young people.
“You talk about community and have something you’re proud of and take pride in. It’s nice to have facility be here in Austin just outside of Chicago,” Heyward said. “But not only that, in the middle of the country, where other people can kind of take note [and] hopefully come through, and which we have.”
Heyward said they’ve had about 25,000 kids come through the program annually through three years.
The event kicks off on Monday from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Intentional Sports, located at 1841 N. Laramie Ave. in Chicago.