Facility Profile: Rams Athletic Complex, North Reading, Mass.

On Deck Sports recently outfitted the new Rams Athletic Complex in North Reading, Mass., which opened in October 2011.

The 30,000-square foot facility features eight batting cages, a full playing field that can accommodate youth-league games, and a dedicated weight-training area. The building is equipped with OD Plus artificial turf, #36 nylon netting for the cages, ProMounds Pro Model green mounds, ATEC Casey 2 pitching machines, and custom wall padding.

The Rams Athletic Complex is staffed by several coaches and players with ties to the area. The project was developed by Cary McConnell, the head baseball coach at Suffolk University in Boston, and Jeff Mejia, Suffolk’s assistant coach. The two founded the Boston Junior Rams AAU program in 2007; the club’s numerous teams call the facility home during the off-season.

Two of the facility’s instructors played professional baseball during the 2011 season. Matt Antonelli, a native of nearby Peabody, Mass, spent the 2011 campaign with the Washington Nationals’ AAA affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., and played part of the 2008 season in the majors with the San Diego Padres. Currently on the Baltimore Orioles' major league 40-man roster, he was a first-round draft pick of the Padres in 2006 out of Wake Forest. Steve Palazzolo, originally from Winchester, Mass., pitched with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League in 2011, his eighth professional season. Palazzolo also pitched collegiately at nearby UMass-Lowell.

Instructor Roberto Valdez also played professional baseball in the California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers' systems, and spent over 15 years as a coach for several major-league organizations.

The complex is already busy, hosting a variety of five-week baseball clinics in several different disciplines (catching, hitting, fielding, arm strength) for 13- to 18-year olds, as well as camps for 6- to 12-year olds. Antonelli recently led a Thanksgiving Weekend camp for players age 8 to 15 which included video analysis of each player, and will host infield range and quickness clinics over winter break. Area youth football teams also use the indoor facility during inclement weather, while hour-long strength training lessons take place three times a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Based in Brockton, Mass., On Deck Sports is the leader in designing, installing, and supplying indoor sports facilities throughout North America. For more information, visit the Facility Portfolio page on OnDeckSports.com.