Cubs Caravan stops at Libertyville Sports Complex
The Libertyville Sports Complex recently was a host site for the 2012 Chicago Cubs Caravan.
Cubs players and coaches used the indoor batting cages and fields to instruct young baseball players in hitting, fielding and pitching, as well as a talking baseball session with new manager Dale Sveum.
Along with Sveum, the Cubs contingent included starting second baseman Darwin Barney, starting pitcher Randy Wells, hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, bullpen coach Lester Strode, pitchers James Russell and Jeff Beliveau and former Cubs star and current WGN Radio broadcaster Keith Moreland.
“The Libertyville Sports Complex, Chicago Cubs and the Libertyville Little League all earned ‘W’ flags for this special event for kids,” said Conrad “Connie” Kowal, director of the sports complex.
“Little leaguers learning baseball from the big leaguers, in our batting cages and on our fields, was a great sight to see. The youngsters from the Libertyville Little League were thrilled. Mother Nature tried to throw us a curve ball, but we knocked it out of the park as everyone had fun.”
A former executive with the Cubs for 15 years, Kowal contacted the club in November to inquire about the Caravan schedule. There was a potential opening, so team executives visited the sports complex in late December and agreed the venue would work.
The village and Cubs agreed to make it more of an intimate, interactive event geared toward kids. Admissions were limited to allow for four rotating stations for hitting, fielding, pitching and talking with Sveum.
Kowal contacted the Libertyville Little League, which promoted it within the organization to encourage registration for the upcoming season and as a fundraiser. About 70 kids attended.
“It was really fun getting to pitch to Randy Wells of the Cubs,” said Billy Bennett, a 12-year-old in the Libertyville Little League majors division.
“It’s cool to see Major League players in our hometown, and it gets me pumped up to play baseball.”
The Libertyville Sports Complex is at Peterson Road and Route 45 on the northwest side of Libertyville.