Baseball Academy '23
ABOUT US
About the Reds Baseball Academy (RBA)
The Reds organization was founded in 2005 by Steve Hanson with a vision of providing year-round baseball instruction with a high level of competitive play during the season.
In 2020 Bobby Kuntzendorf (@bobbykuntz3) became the new President of the Northern Illinois Reds. Bobby is a former NIU Pitcher, a pitching instructor and the 16u head coach. Bobby has coached since he finished his collegiate career and brings with him a lot of first-hand experience with high level baseball. Bobby’s goal is to develop committed players and provide as many opportunities to play after high school as possible.
The summer of 2020, as part of the effort to further develop the Reds Organization and it’s athletes, Bobby brought in as co-owner and Vice President, former Reds coach Joe Grimaldi. Bobby and Joe immediately began work on building a new home and name for the Reds organization. The Northern Illinois Reds became the Reds Baseball Academy. In November of 2020 Bobby and Joe completed construction of the Reds Baseball Academy indoor training facility located at 111 W. Hydraulic Ave. in Yorkville Illinois.
The Reds Baseball Academy (RBA) facility is roughly 8000 square feet in total that is split for dual use. The baseball side of the facility is 5000+ square feet of turf containing 2 - 70 foot and one 55-foot retractable batting cages that allows for not just conventional batting practice but the ability to hit against live pitching. Retracting the cages allows for a wide range of throwing and defensive practice uses. The physical training side of the facility is over 2500 square feet that is dedicated to physical development of RBA athletes containing a complete weight training facility. The RBA indoor training facility is owned and operated by the Reds Baseball Academy.
Over the last 6 years the Reds organization developed over 50 baseball players who committed to play in college. RBA boasts a professional coaching staff with decades of playing and coaching experience to include the college and professional levels. In addition to having its own facility, RBA strives to provide year round competition, training and developmental services to their athletes at affordable prices.
RBA works to schedule its teams in some of the best events in the country in an effort to get its baseball athletes an opportunity to perform in front of as many college coaches as possible. The RBA 17u team played in front of over 200 college coaches from all over the country last year.
For Bobby and Joe, it is not just baseball, their goal is to connect and build lasting relationships with their athletes and provide guidance and development that will carry beyond baseball into their adult lives.
Individual lessons and seasonal clinics, as well as partial and full facility rentals are available to members and non-members of the Reds Baseball Academy organization.
What do the REDS offer that other local teams don't?
While the RBA are not the least expensive team in town, they are the most specialized. RBA believes we offer competitive pricing for a superior product. We offer the serious player an arena to grow and develop at a pace suitable to him and his family.
Our coaching staff is experienced and well-trained in the areas of player development and baseball fundamentals. Individual lessons and seasonal clinics are also available to members of the RBA.
All RBA teams compete in regional, state, and national level competitions because Coach Kuntzendorf believes "in order to be the best, you have to beat the best!" RBA teams play a highly competitive schedule, playing some of the most elite level teams in Illinois and across the country. In recent years, RBA teams competed against teams from, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, California, Florida, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico--just to name a few! In the eyes of the coaching staff, the REDS aren't for everyone, but they do offer the area's most complete baseball experience for the serious baseball player.