Kevin Smith Memorial Batting Cages

Since 1948, the Berkley Dad's Club baseball program has been an important part of summer activity for the kids in our community.  This past summer, over 500 kids played in the league - from Berkley, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Royal Oak, Southfield and other local cities.

In addition to the fun and game related memories baseball provides, Dad's Club Baseball also shows our kids the value of hard work, practice, preparation, poise under pressure, confidence, and how to achieve your goals.  Baseball and other sports provide kids a usable roadmap to future success in their lives.

The Berkley Community Fields are a source of pride to all of us.  These are consistently rated as the most playable and well maintained fields in the area.  But maintaining the fields is expensive.  Over the past few years, the Berkley Dad's Club has lead major upgrades to all of the fields to maintain their playability and high end reputation.

For several years, the organization's long term plan included but could not fund the addition of batting & pitching tunnels (or cages) to the Community 1 high school field.  These tunnels allow more kids to use the same space during high demand practice times.  For instance, 4 batters can be warming up while fielding practice occurs on the main field.  Before and during games, multiple pitchers and batters can warm up without endangering walkers and spectators in the park.  With the planned location, the tunnels can be used by players on all 3 fields at the community park.  Most of the high schools in Berkley's league recognized the value of these warm-up tunnels and already installed them. 



This is where we as a community can help... 

Last April, after a brave fight, we lost a good friend, Dad, husband, and coach Kevin Smith to ALS.  Kevin was an active member of the Berkley Baseball programs, coaching many recreational and Cubs travel teams over the years.  He also served on the volunteer board for the Berkley Dad's Club.  His love of baseball was deep.  He passed his love for baseball along to his sons Tyler, Ben, Ian, and daughter Aynsley who have been and continue to be part of BDC teams and the Berkley Bears high school program.



Kevin's wife Aimee is leading a grass roots fundraising campaign to fund the batting/ pitching tunnels for construction at Community 1 field.  Her plan is to help make this unfunded plan a reality and a legacy to Kevin so that future generations of Berkley baseball players have continued access to top end facilities.

So, if you love Kevin, Berkley Baseball, baseball in general, or our community, please consider sharing a donation to help make this project a reality.  Thank you for your support!!