Back in high school, Katie Moody played softball, so naturally going to the batting cages to take some hefty swings after a rough day is a pastime of hers.
Her spot of choice was – and is – Sam’s Community Batting Cages at 1425 N. 1st Ave. in Melrose Park, which serves a large radius, including Oak Park, River Forest and Elmwood Park.
“I go there a lot,” Moody said. “I find it to be a great stress reliever. Sometimes I put my kids to bed, go up there, grab a beer and hit some balls.”
One day, she attended a STEM event at Julian Middle School in Oak Park, STEM standing for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
As luck would have it, she ran into Sam’s owner Scott Friesen, who was hosting a booth at the fair focused on physics, and raved about his facility.
Months later, she was at Sam’s, buying some tokens, and there was Friesen. By then, he had shifted the business to a nonprofit model. He needed a board president.
Here I am, Moody said.
“Being a nonprofit allows us to apply for grants, it allows us to keep costs low for families and opens up the door with donors and community organizations,” she said. “Keeping this batting cage open and being able to offer low prices and help donors help us is incredible.
“It’s an asset to the community.”
Sam’s is more than just a place to hang out and hit some balls on a summer evening with kids from area little leagues, beer leaguers and couples on dates.
Call it fun with a purpose for the kiddos. As Friesen puts it, it’s analog fun.
“I was a science kid,” he said. “I was a biology major. I used to do a lot of interesting enrichment things. I was working on the [pitching] machines, I had a machine open and I was watching the mechanism that throws the balls.”
That was the birth three years ago of STEM at Sam’s, an hourlong activity in the late spring and early fall where he demonstrates physics concepts related to his favorite game – baseball.
“We measure the balls, they get to use the mechanics of what they are studying,” he said. “We talk about friction and gravity. They get to use a speed gun.”
Moody said the value is learning outside the classroom.
“It’s a cool way to have some of the kids in baseball and softball learn about the batting cages, but it allows us to work with the community,” she said. “Horace Mann Elementary School is less than a 10-minute drive. It’s helping them learn STEM a different way. It’s hands-on learning.”
Friesen bought the batting cages in 2021, formerly known as Bat-a-Ball, which had been vacant for about a decade, and his first season in business was 2022. His common customers are youth baseball and softball players, including their parents who drive them over. That’s different from his youth, when youngsters would ride their bikes to batting cages and hit all afternoon until their arms were sore.
For a couple of years, in running Sam’s as a for-profit business, there was a positive community response. The problem, like a lot of small businesses, was breaking even, to say nothing of making a profit.
“I’ve been supporting this with my personal finances since I started,” Friesen said. “I’m left with a decision. We have two options – we sell it and it gets knocked down, or I find a way to close the gap and break even like a nonprofit through fundraising.”
That led to Sam’s Community Batting Cages, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. He put together a board last May, which ultimately included Moody.
Making the move to nonprofit status wasn’t actually as hard as it might seem.
“On the tech side, it’s just a little tedious, but it’s not super-challenging,” Friesen said. “It’s just time consuming. I got some help from ChatGPT and I really appreciate the board, the folks that have been willing to come to board meetings. It needs proper oversight like any nonprofit.”
To learn more about Sam’s Community Batting Cages or to donate, visit SamsBatting.org.