CHICAGO — The softball and baseball players at Little Village Lawndale High School don't have official practices during the offseason.
But that's about to change after a successful $2,000 fundraiser this month that will allow the school's athletic program to buy a pitching machine, 60 baseballs and softballs, and other items so they can practice inside.
The fundraiser, which quickly acquired the needed money from community members, was so successful that the school's athletic director, Will O'Neill, started a $5,000 one on Thursday.
"We're very limited in what we can do indoors, and by adding an indoor hitting facility it will get us closer to what 90 percent of high schools in Illinois already have for their programs," O'Neill said.
"Little Village Lawndale High School has made a commitment to supporting student-athletes in any way we can. However, due to budget constraints in the CPS, we're limited in what we can provide. With the help and support of the community we can invest in extracurricular athletics in ways most suburban and parochial schools already have."
O'Neill said most of Little Village's softball and baseball players have never played in the sports until they start high school. He's hoping the soon-to-arrive pitching machine will allow more students to attend college like recent graduates Juan Brizuela and Luis Brizuela, who both play baseball at Morton College.
"For many kids, we're not only reinforcing the fundamentals, but we're teaching the fundamentals for the first time," O'Neill said. "With improved facilities we're hoping to send more kids to the next level and use them as an example that ballplayers from Little Village can continue their career beyond high school."
