Former Valdosta State standout Matt Costello teaches a drill to local youth during a baseball boot camp training session last week at On Deck Sports. Costello serves as a pitching and hitting instructer for the new business.

On Deck Sports, which opened near the end of 2011, is changing how baseball can be practiced.

The new complex offers baseball and softball instruction to local youth in a controlled environment.

“We just felt the need growing up for a place like this,” Jake Summers, who acts as the manager of On Deck Sports said. “It was always in the back of our minds that we would like to do it. We just got hit with the opportunity and we ran with it. We are in a place that didn’t have a facility like this, and we just figured that somebody needs to get one up and running, and there is nobody better than us.”

The new building, located at 4510 Val North Drive, offers four batting cages — three of which can be transformed into one large area that can be utilized for defensive work, with the fourth also serving as a bullpen.

The facility also features several new gadgets, including the Right View Pro, which allows for the ability to compare the swinging motion of the local youth to top level Major League players.

“It is one thing for us to tell kids, but when they can see it and see how a big leaguer does it, it makes it a lot easier to relate it,” Summers said of the new program.

Along with Summers, two other former Valdosta State players — Brett Kennedy and Matt Costello — also help provide instruction at the facility.

“We are giving back to the community that we grew up in,” Summers said. “I see the things that I missed out on, and the things that would have helped me and that is what I am able to implement here.”

Summers serves as the main hitting instructor, while Kennedy serves as a pitching instructor. Costello serves as both a pitching and hitting instructor. All three are more than qualified for the job.

After all, Summers led Region 1-AAAAA with a .491 batting average during the 2005 season when he was with the Lowndes Vikings. He then went on to help Valdosta State claim the 2010 Gulf South Conference championship, finishing the season with a .378 batting average with 48 runs batted in.

Kennedy served as the pitching ace for Valdosta State during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, leading the team in wins each season. Costello currently holds the VSU single season batting average record, after he posted a .462 average during the ’09 season. He also pitched 97 innings that season, posting nine wins and 85 strikeouts. He was later drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, where he posted a 2.89 earned run average in two minor league seasons.

“A lot of people come in here and don’t even realize that we just got done,” Costello said. “I mean, I am still playing. We are still in the game, and that is what makes it even better for these kids. They get to learn stuff that we are still dealing with.”

While not everyone initially realizes the accomplishments of the three former GSC champions, some parents are taking note at the level of instruction they are providing.

“They are doing a great job,” said Jason Anderson, who admitted he had no idea about the accolades the three have garnered. “In general, our community really needed this place. Kids can learn advanced skills at a young age.”

Right now, the guys say about 30 youth players come in on a consistent basis for instruction, but the company is always looking to expand.

“I mean, right now we are basically basing our whole business on 30 different kids,” Costello said. “We definitely need to expand that to about 100 or so.”

Along with individual lessons, the facility offers times for entire teams to come and train, something that offers teams the chance to get out of the unpredictable weather conditions, says Summers.

“You can get out of the cold and rain,” Summers said. “And you can get in here at night. In the summer, it will be place to get in the shade and during the winter it will be a place to get out of the wind.”

As for what the future holds for the company, Summers says he will likely stay to run the day-to-day operations, giving up his professional playing career. Costello and Kennedy are looking to continue their baseball playing careers this upcoming season. Costello remains under contract with an independent team based out of Chicago, Ill., while Kennedy says he has tryouts scheduled for early February.

“I will probably end up staying and that is fine,” Summers said. “That is cool. I am going pro in baseball one way or the other.”

On Deck Sports can be found online at www.on-decksports.com, or via telephone at 229-563-3138 (Summers’ cell phone) and 508-737-5343 (Costello’s cell phone).