About six years ago, John Magri and Adam Froemming met while coaching their boys in Alexandria Little League. Now they’ve teamed up for a new pitch to the community: a place to practice indoors year round.
The veteran-owned D-BAT ALX West End opened Nov. 2 at 6200 D Little River Turnpike just outside city limits in Lincolnia. The 15,000-square-foot facility includes 10 batting cages, three machines throwing baseballs and softballs at varying speeds, five cages for hitting and infield lessons, two dedicated pitching lanes and a Rawlings and Easton pro shop.
Froemming had been working in a corporate job while Magri recently retired from more than 20 years in the U.S. Army. Since coaching together, they’ve talked about opening a baseball facility, but the conversations got more serious in the last few years.
“We decided this was the time to finally chase those dreams and help grow diamond sports, not only really in just Alexandria but in all of Northern Virginia and throughout this region,” Froemming told ALXnow.
While the core group of athletes served at D-BAT are between ages 6 and 12, the facility is open to the general public. D-BAT offers memberships, one-on-one instruction, small group clinics with coaches specializing in different aspects of baseball and softball, and space for team practices. Day camps are being scheduled on school holidays such as the upcoming Veterans Day and Thanksgiving break as well as throughout the year.
The owners hope the facility provides a place to learn the sports and train amid limited field options while Eugene Simpson Stadium Park’s renovations are underway. November to the beginning of March is also the time when athletes need indoor space to practice.
“I grew up in Omaha playing baseball, and there wasn’t anything like this. We didn’t have indoor facilities, and so I always wanted a place to get better,” Froemming said. “Really, in a way, I’m able to provide that for our boys, my son, and the next generation of diamond sports athletes in this region to give them something that we didn’t have and give them a place to be welcomed and feel welcomed and to have fun.”
Magri, who enlisted in the Army in 2001 and has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and parts of Africa and Latin America, is looking forward to continuing to serve the community.
“We’re able to offer something to Alexandria, but specifically the West End that at times maybe doesn’t get the love as other parts of the city,” Magri said. “I think it just means a lot to us to be rooted in the community, continue to serve great people of Virginia and really Alexandria.”
Magri and Froemming still coach Little League as their boys participate in local and travel teams. Along with their connections to families through Little League, the owners are championing a greater focus on softball as college and high school programs grow.
“I’m looking forward to having this place packed with a bunch of kids with their helmets and bats, and just corralling them as they get through the batting cages, and just [provide] a safe spot for kids to enjoy the sport that I love and grew up playing for most of my life,” Magri said.
Froemming added, “At the end of the day, you’re not just teaching a kid how to be a better youth baseball or softball player. You’re preparing a kid for the rest of their life. You’re preparing a kid to be a positive member of their community, be a good student.”
