THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Through a different lens ... First and Third indoor facility opens in Hayden with eye on the mental side of baseball, softball

Everyone wants to hit the ball far.

Anyone that pitches wants to throw as fast and hard as anyone on the field.

But the ability to do it consistently, that takes work.

And that’s what Jon Stockton hopes comes out of the First and Third Indoor Baseball/Softball Facility in Hayden.

WHEN STOCKTON moved to North Idaho from Folsom, Calif., in 2019, he saw a need for a place for baseball and softball players to not only get an opportunity to hit and throw, but how to do it better, and for longer.

“There was definitely a need for something like this,” Stockton said. “My older son, Bryce — who went to Coeur d’Alene — when we moved up here, there wasn’t anywhere like this up here. There was a location in Post Falls, but it was closing its doors.”

Northwest Premier opened in 2013 in Post Falls, eventually putting together travel youth travel baseball teams. That facility closed last year.

“Once they closed, I knew we needed to continue what Troy (Nowell) was doing,” Stockton said. “And he’s a good friend of mine, so we found a location and it’s perfect for all of our needs, as well as parking.”

The facility is located at 11416 N. Carisa Court in Hayden.

“The overall concept was to give all the area teams and players a place to come play, practice and enhance their skills in a safe, fun environment,” Stockton said. “We have all the TVs that have MLB.com and eight batting cages and a few pitching tunnels. Whether it’s hitting or pitching, the beauty of it is that everything slides, so you can also do infield work.”

But, at the Hayden location, the results go a little deeper than just swings and misses.

“We’ve got state-of-the-art technology that gives the kids the analytics they need to really improve,” Stockton said. “With Rapsodo technology, they can see themselves on each hit or pitch in super slow motion with all the data tied to it. How fast you’re throwing it, what the vertical and horizontal break is, what your curveball, knuckleball and slider is. And you can tie it to the video and make the adjustments to what you have depending on your age.”

As for hitting ...

“We can look at your front foot, back foot, hands and if they’re staying close to the body,” Stockton said. “That’s been something that’s been a big factor to our success is to be able to offer kids this technology, which you’ll see in Seattle, Southern California and Texas because it’s so brand new for people up here.”

Both Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high schools have their own hitting facilities on campus. Timberlake is in the process of building one.

“When you look at the high school programs, you’ve got a very small window of when you can practice and train,” Stockton said. “And then you get right into games. There’s practice here and there as well. When you go to a high school practice, you might get 25 to 30 swings, and then the next guy is in. Here, in an hour, you can get 150 swings, and they’re quality swings. More importantly, you get the data and video clips with the Rapsodo, with the exit velocity and distance to identify your hot spots and what pitches you’re hitting the best and what pitch you hit the worst, so when you get older, you can take advantage of that.”

The facility opened last November, and maybe most importantly, is family friendly.

“We’ve got a family area that’s away from the cages so players can focus on what they’re doing and the parents can observe from a safe distance,” Stockton said. “If little brother or sister gets bored, we have an area for them with a game room and arcade games as well where they can go and spend time as well. Families don’t just have to drop players off and come back later.” 

WHILE THE facility is still in its infancy, players have learned from the knowledge they’ve received, with Cooper Reese (who signed with New Mexico State) and Jon’s son,  Bryce Stockton (who pitched at Sacramento State this past spring), now at the Division I level.

Jon Stockton added they try to honor those players for their effort with an alumni wall.

“We’ve had some high school kids that have come in and trained here that are going to play in college,” Jon Stockton said. “Whether that’s Division I, Division II or junior college, we’re trying to honor them a little bit by saying ‘you did it’ and putting up banners to celebrate them. That’s the goal to have them come in, train and get better. We’d like to see them achieve their dream, accomplish it and make sure they’re remembered for it.”

The facility is open seven days a week from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

“For me, this has always been a passion,” said Stockton, who has coached baseball for some 20 years. “Coaching is something that I’ve always wanted to do. Now that we’ve got the ability to provide something like this, we don’t charge a lot of money and want to make it affordable to come in and get what they need. We’ve got brand new players that haven’t played before and we have kids like Cooper Reese, Cooper Smith (Lake City High, signed with Scottsdale Community College) and Austin Dillon (Sandpoint High, played this spring at Yakima Valley College) that are really good and they’re coming in.”

Stockton added that players, roughly 110 in the program right now, are seeing a difference.

“They notice the difference, and that’s really what it’s about,” Stockton said. “We can coach them and lead them in a direction they need to go. But they’ve got to do it. When they get the results, it’s because of the time they’re putting in and what they’re doing. I’ve had parents that send videos of the kids, whether they’re 9, 10 or 15 to 18 years old. They’ll either have a triple, home run or strike out five, and they’re so happy with that success and tell me about it. But it’s not about me or the facility. It’s just making them look at the game through a different lens.”

Stockton added they’re planning to add a few travel baseball teams in the coming years as the numbers continue to grow within the program.

Information: firstandthirdidaho.com

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jellliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress. 

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lars Bazler takes a swing in a batting cage at the First and Third Indoor Baseball/Softball Facility in Hayden.