East Lyme — A new indoor facility for baseball and softball training, geared toward youths and families, has found a home in downtown Niantic.

The 9,000-square-foot space at 27 Hope St. will offer team training, clinics and individual and group instruction, so teams, youth and families can practice during the season and off-season.

Becky Hall, who will run and co-own the business, said softball has been a positive force in her own life and, as a coach, she enjoys sharing the sport with children.

Hall played softball in high school and college, coached softball in Old Lyme for the past two years and has been active in Little League as the commissioner of major softball for Waterford Little League.

The sport instills perseverance and discipline in youths, while also being fun and promoting teamwork, she said.

"It's a confidence-builder," she said. "You could strike out 20 times at the plate and then hit the next ball, and it's a home run — and that's what you're going to remember. You're going to remember the things that you do great, not all the things that you failed at."

Hall said the facility will offer teams, as well as families with children who play baseball or softball, a space to practice and hone their skills, either during the season, or off-season when field space is limited.

It's for youths of all levels, from young children to college students, who want to practice or have extra training.

The flexible space, with two training areas, will enable coaches to diversify practices and split up groups to work on different skills, she said.

The facility features 95-foot pitching lanes, batting cages and equipment for drills, so players can practice pitching, hitting, fielding, agility training and other skills.

The facility, which already is up and running, will hold a grand opening in August and is expected to offer membership-based packages.

Formally called Power in Training LLC, but referred to as The PiT, it will be the home baseball and softball training facility for the CT Nationals Travel Teams throughout the off-season.  

Co-owner Robert Marelli, a Waterford resident who owns Seconn Fabrication, Seconn Automation and Myron Mixon Smokers, said the endeavor is a way to give back to East Lyme, the community he grew up in.

He noted the importance for children to have healthy, active things to do and solid relationships.

The idea was sparked when he watched Hall coach her daughter, Maddie, his daughter, Lily, and their teammates on their softball travel team, the CT Lady Nationals 12 U. 

Marelli had offered the facility — which had been an overflow warehouse for his business entities — as a space for team practices, when it was no longer needed.

As Marelli watched the practices, Hall's perseverance, tenacity, humility, work ethic and commitment stood out to him.

"The way Becky has made these kids evolve and mature, and nurtured them as athletes and good kids, started to get me excited about giving back to the children," he said.

Then, as parents dropped their kids off for practice, it struck him that a facility at this location would enable parents to take advantage of the downtown atmosphere during their kids' practices. 

Hall said the downtown Niantic location offers not only a safe space for youths to practice, but allows parents to visit downtown's eateries, go shopping, see a movie or walk on the boardwalk.

She pointed out that sports are a positive entity for the community.

"This offers this community and the neighboring communities a very positive place to be," Hall said.

k.drelich@theday.com