Pitching, hitting between four walls

Last April, Mike Newton was diagnosed with melonoma. His doctors were concerned that the cancer might spread and he was about to undergo more tests and exploratory surgeries.

If the melanoma had in fact spread to Newton’s lymphatic system, that doctors would prescribe what he called the “Armstrong treatment” – after cyclist Lance Armstrong’s intense treatment regime – administering chemotherapy treatments as intense and as frequently as medical standards would allow.

“They were going to hit me hard and hit me often,” Newton says.

Newton, an assistant baseball coach at Silver Creek High School, was in the middle of an 18-month process trying to open Extra Innings, an indoor baseball and softball training center, in Longmont. He found solace in the hope and challenge of his fledgling business.

“It was my driving force.  It’s been a dream of mine to do this,” Newton says. “It was more like I was going to fight like hell and get this done more than ever.”

Newton found out that the cancer did not spread. He has begun treatment for his melanoma that will continue for another two years. And Extra Innings is scheduled to open in early December.

“I compare it to playing in a big game.  It’s that nervous excitement,” he says.

Newton hopes Extra Innings will provide developing young softball and baseball players of all ability levels with a place to hone various aspects of their game, any time of the year, come rain, snow, wind or sun.

“We want to work with the kids that are trying to find that edge, get to that next level, whatever that next level might be,” he says.

Newton first got involved in baseball at age 3, as a batboy for his neighbor’s Little League team. When he went to play college baseball at Lamar Junior College and Regis University, he was stunned by the quality of the practice resources they offered their players.

“We never really had anything like that (growing up),” he says.

As he moved into a career in coaching baseball, Newton kept the idea of opening a more sophisticated training center in mind.  He felt like the present is as good a time as ever to do it.

“The environment has changed so much from when I was a kid,” Newton says.

When he played youth sports he noted that it was common for most athletes to play different sports every season.  Now he notices more young people concentrating on one sport year round. He believes constant practice is necessary to fine tune a player’s muscle memory, especially in baseball. With an offseason that can last from October to April, Newton thinks that ambitious young players have no time to lose.

“There is always some way, some how to get better.  It that kid has the drive and determination, the sky is the limit,” he says.

Extra Innings offers a unique setup that can be tailored to a team’s specific needs.  By rearranging the hanging nets in the 12,000-square-foot practice area, Newton can create different combinations of fielding areas, batting tunnels and pitcher’s bullpens. The practice area is covered in synthetic turf and the ceilings extend to 17 feet 4 inches.  This allows players to get what Newton calls a “true read” on their hits. Newton envisions training sessions where players move around the facility, working on different skills at different stations to get a quick, effective workout with minimal interruption.

Newton will work with a group of instructors, teaching fielding, pitching and hitting skills during practice sessions and frequent camps.

Newton’s Longmont facility is one of around 40 franchises beneath a Middleton, Mass. company. Newton says he likes being able to rely on the company’s buying power and its proven methods and practices, developed since opening in 1996. It makes things easy, he says.

“Here is the wheel.  Go.  You don’t have to re-invent anything,” he says.

For Newton, Extra Innings will provide another opportunity to do what he loves, coach young people.  He especially enjoys witnessing the exact moment one of his protégés overcomes a challenge they have struggled with.

“The greatest is when all of a sudden the light clicks on and they grin and I know they understand,” he says.

Trevor Platt, head coach of the Silver Creek baseball team, plans to conduct offseason training at Extra Innings as soon as it opens. Platt says Colorado’s unpredictable weather makes it an ideal place for an indoor practice facility. And he says Extra Innings has one thing some indoor facilities don’t.

“Space.  It’s got a lot more room and it’s to a purpose.  There is plenty of room there,” Platt says. “Hopefully we will make it our second home.”