Marek gives young ballplayers a place to develop skills
Jul. 10—Marek Baseball Academy is allowing local baseball and softball talent to hone in on their skills closer to home.
The business started in February of 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to shut down for several months, but the facility was back up and running later that year. Since then, the academy has seen a steady flow of young talent as well as experienced instructors join the team.
"Kids come in usually four or five hours a day and then the biggest thing is you have to be able to switch it up if it's the same thing every day," Marek instructor and former Missouri Western pitcher Preston Bailey said. "These kids kind of get tired of coming in here. She had to find ways to keep kids entertained while also getting better at everything."
Instructors have their own particular style and experience from the levels they played their respective sport at. Among the instructors on staff, former North Platte Panther Regan Nash could have the most experience of the group. Nash played softball at the University of Missouri from 2016-2019, playing against Southeastern Conference competition, which has her equipped with advice she can share with all her players at the academy.
"You just have to be able to kind of work each game pitch to pitch and not let a strikeout bother you or an error bother you for the rest of the game. It's kind of giving yourself a mental reset and then hopping right back into it," Nash said.
Familiar faces at the academy don't stop at Nash. Brady Holden got his first taste of Marek in his final two seasons as a St. Joseph Mustang, working out in the facility where he now coaches kids on hitting, pitching and fielding.
"Always to give instructions when I got done playing, and then when Truman [Marek] reached out to me and was perfect and we both knew he needed another instructor and it's exactly what I always wanted to do. Our worlds met perfectly," Holden said.
Marek Baseball Academy operates Monday through Friday from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 am to 3 p.m.
Jacob Meikel can be reached at jacob.meikel@newspressnow.com.
Follow him on Twitter @NPNowMeikel.
