Charleston natives open 21,000-square-foot indoor baseball, softball training facility in Champaign (2024)

CHAMPAIGN — Siblings Heather Landrus andDerrick Landrus have years of experience with youth sports, her as principal ofMahomet-Seymour Junior High School and him as a PE teacher and coach at Charleston High School.

The two Charleston natives no longer work in public education, but they have reconnected with youth sports in a whole new professional capacity by opening a 21,000-square-foot D-Bat franchise indoor baseball and softballtraining facility last fall in Champaign.

"I love it. I have always loved working with kids," said D-Bat Champaign owner Heather Landrus, who was a Mahomet-Seymour administrator for nearly a decade before joining the private sector four years ago. She said it has been fun watching the youths at D-Bat practice for their school, rec league and travel teams. "This is an opportunity for me to have an impact on kids in a different way."

Heather Landrus said she and her brother, who taught PE in Charleston from 1999-2021, heard about D-Bat franchises offering year-round indoor training services and were intrigued enough by this business opportunity to travel to the corporate office in Carrollton, Texas, for further research three years ago.

The two siblings, who both reside in Champaign County, subsequently leased the formerCounty Market/Value Check supermarket building at1912 Glen Park Drive, renovated this space, and opened their D-Bat Champaign location there on Oct. 4.Derrick Landrus serves as the general manager of thislocation near the east end of Interstate 72. southeast of the Parkland College campus.

D-Bat Champaign offers rentals of its 15 batting cages for baseball, fast pitch softball and slow pitch softball training. The facility also features lessons, camps and clinics, and a pro shop stocked with Rawlings, Easton and D-Bat items. Birthday party or other special event options are available.

Derrick Landrus, who served as the Charleston High School baseball team's head coach from 2005-2021, has assembled a roster of more than 10 instructors for the facility. The instructors include two of his former Charleston Trojans ballplayers, Kevin Beard and Calvin Bertrand.

"I love the game. It's what I have always enjoyed," Derrick Landrus said. The veteran coach said he has gotten to meet many new student athletes at D-Bat and see their skills improve with each visit. "Being able to provide opportunities for softball and baseball players has been the most rewarding thing."

Heather Landrus said they have been happy to see ballplayers ranging in age from young children on T-ball teams to retirees on softball teams train at D-Bat, as well as sports history enthusiasts playing 1850s-style baseball.

While owning and operating such a facility has been new to her, Heather Landrus said she has been able to utilize business experience gained from starting herHappy Frog Delivery service four years ago in partnership with Amazon. She said Happy Frog, named after her nickname from her Jefferson Elementary School basketball team days, has grown to 35 delivery vans and 60 drivers.

"That is where I learned more than I ever thought I could," Heather Landrus said of Happy Frog, adding that she feels driven to try to use her professional skills to help her employees and her athletes meet their goals in life.