{"id":38705,"date":"2025-12-15T13:44:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T18:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=38705"},"modified":"2025-12-18T10:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T15:35:12","slug":"on-deck-athletics-opens-providing-young-players-big-league-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/12\/on-deck-athletics-opens-providing-young-players-big-league-development\/","title":{"rendered":"On Deck Athletics Opens, Providing Young Players Big-League Development"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Brett Rodriguez opens On Deck Athletics to give young players high level baseball training. Courtesy Paul Post<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Paul Post<\/p>\n

Brett Rodriguez wants to level the playing field for local kids who dream of playing in the big leagues someday.<\/p>\n

A three-sport star at Queensbury High School, he reached Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners, a teammate of Cal Raleigh who set big league records this year for most home runs by a catcher and a switch-hitter.<\/p>\n

But Rodriguez can\u2019t help wondering how far he might have gone, given the opportunity to play ball year-round like kids from California, Texas, Florida and the Caribbean islands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere you come from matters,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was a senior in college, my coach said, \u2018Think how many more reps this freshman has had, being from Southern California compared to you from upstate New York.\u2019 I asked the kid, \u2018How many sports did you play?\u2019 He said, \u2018What do you mean? I play baseball all year round\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy big vision, what I want for this community, is something I didn\u2019t have,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI want to give kids a chance. This gives them a place where they can come and get high-level development during our harsh winter months.\u201d<\/p>\n

His new baseball training center, On Deck Athletics, opened this month at Aviation Mall, filling a 10,000-square-foot space previously occupied by Sears Auto Center. He\u2019s sub-leasing the site from Jeremy Treadway, owner of a new entertainment complex, ADK Karting Experience, in the mall\u2019s former Sears store.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought about this for a long time,\u201d said the 27-year-old Rodriguez. \u201cIt was a big step for me, if I wanted to do this or continue playing because I do have a couple more years left on my contract in Puerto Rico. I\u2019ve already told the general manager and players, I\u2019m not going to be able to start my business, my baby, and go play this winter. I want them to win, but I have this going on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/b>In addition to his Mariners minor league career, Rodriguez spent several years including last winter in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, Puerto Rico\u2019s most elite league. Its champion advances to the Caribbean Series, featuring the best teams from other island countries and Mexico.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, primarily a center fielder, got there twice, playing with and against many former big league stars including one of his boyhood heroes, former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano from the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the first Yankee games I ever went to, he hit a walk-off home run,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cNow I was playing against him. Before the game, I shared the batting cage with him. It was just like a big surreal moment for me. I got to meet a lot of different cool people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big league catchers Yadier and Jose Molina, pitchers Edwin and Alexis Diaz, former Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorius, 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu and third baseman Pablo Sandoval are just some of the stars he\u2019s rubbed shoulders with<\/p>\n

Rodriguez plans to invite former college and pro teammates to help conduct baseball camps in winter and summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already done camps for 180 kids in Queensbury and Glens Falls Little Leagues,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of following, a lot of good relationships with different Little Leagues. They were asking, \u2018When are you going to grow bigger?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Most recently, Rodriguez has given private lessons in a batting\/pitching cage at The GYM in Aviation Mall. The much larger On Deck Athletics venue will have three main 13-foot-high by 72-foot-long cages that can be divided for a total of six, all on newly installed turf.<\/p>\n

A separate room will have hitting and fielding stations, equipped with high-tech machines such as a HitTrax simulator (for immediate data feedback and virtual gameplay) and a swing analyzer to help pinpoint mechanical adjustments.<\/p>\n

Several smaller rooms might eventually be used for basketball drills, golf simulators, birthday parties and an apparel shop.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez is banking on the mall\u2019s convenient location, near the Northway, to attract kids from north and south in addition to the immediate Glens Falls\/Queensbury area.<\/p>\n

At Queensbury High, where he graduated in 2016, he helped the Spartans reach the state baseball finals two times. From there he went to Division I Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. where he majored in business with a focus on finance and accounting.<\/p>\n

Such studies, in addition to his strong baseball background, provide all the impetus needed to launch On Deck Athletics. Financing for the project is from NBT Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cI developed a business plan, detailing how many teams and how many clients we expect to have,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cWe\u2019ve already got bookings into January. There is demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez was eligible for the major league draft after his junior year at Wofford, but suffered a foot injury and decided to return for his senior year in 2020. Both he and the team (15-2 record) got off to great starts, but the season was cut short by COVID.<\/p>\n

The draft was still held, but reduced to five rounds, to help offset the pandemic\u2019s economic impact. Rodriguez wasn\u2019t picked, but the Mariners called early the next day and he signed as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n

He had entered the transfer portal and was committed to play at Creighton with a year of college eligibility left, but turned pro instead. \u201cIt was a very tough decision,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI told myself, I\u2019m not saying no to two pro contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Triple-A Tacoma, his locker was next to Raleigh\u2019s, now one of baseball\u2019s biggest superstars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a bat that Cal gave me,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cHe was one of my favorites. He\u2019s a great dude. I have a lot of Mariners friends like Colin Davis, who played with me at Wofford and in the minors, who are going to come and do camps with me. The baseball world is way smaller than you think. Everyone knows everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of work, but it\u2019s coming together nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n

For information go to: www.ondeckathletics518.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Post Brett Rodriguez wants to level the playing field for local kids who dream of playing in the big leagues someday. A three-sport star at Queensbury High School, he reached Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners, a teammate of Cal Raleigh who set big league records this year for most home runs by a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":38706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nOn Deck Athletics Opens, Providing Young Players Big-League Development - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/12\/on-deck-athletics-opens-providing-young-players-big-league-development\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On Deck Athletics Opens, Providing Young Players Big-League Development - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paul Post Brett Rodriguez wants to level the playing field for local kids who dream of playing in the big leagues someday. 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