LANCASTER — Anyone who has been around Chris Zaker can feel his enthusiasm and upbeat personality. It resonates with people.
He is always cheerful and optimistic, and his love of softball and helping develop young players into elite players is his calling.
When his two daughters, Cassidy and Haley, were young, he had to take them to indoor facilities in Columbus and Newark. Zaker, an assistant coach for the Lancaster varsity softball team, felt there was a market for an indoor facility in Lancaster for area players to work out, especially during the winter months.
Zaker, along with Don Holbrook and Alan Anderson, a former Lancaster standout and Major League pitcher, decided to open an indoor practice facility in 2013 called the Field of Dreams baseball and softball training facility.
In the last 10 years, it has become mainly a softball training facility with Zaker giving catching lessons and his daughter Cassidy giving pitching lessons. Holbrook and Shawn Gillenwater, who have been at the facility since it opened, give hitting instructions.
“It fills our emotional bank account,” Zaker said. “I love it and I do it from my heart, and it is certainly a passion.”
It is no coincidence that high school teams are thriving in the area. Liberty Union won a state championship a year ago and were state runners-up this past season, while Lancaster reached the final four for the first time in school history and Bloom-Carroll reached the regional finals.
More area players are playing softball in college, with several of them receiving Division I scholarships. A lot of that can be traced back to the early and constant training they received from the Field of Dreams staff.
“I know this place and what we do has made an impact on this community,” Zaker said. “The thing that makes me the proudest or gives me the most excitement is not only getting the calls or the text … but then to see them nail it in a game. Just to see the joy in their faces, you can’t pay me enough to walk away from that.”
The facility is only 4,000 square feet. There are two batting cages, a pitching mound and an area for catchers to field and throw into a net. Things started slowly when the facility first opened, but within two years the demand was overwhelming and players began to show up in huge numbers wanting to learn and get better.
Zaker said players come from all over, including Columbus, Athens and Cambridge, and he even had a player come from West Virginia one night a week.
“The level of play has risen because these kids want to do better,” Zaker said. “The elite players are going to find a way, but without a doubt, having access to a place like this is 100% contributing to their success. The players are the ones who have taken advantage of the opportunity and they are seeing their hard work pay off. The work they put in between sessions is the key. I can teach them, but when they put practice in between those sessions, that’s when they become elite.”
Step into the facility on any given night and there is constant movement with players hitting in the batting cage, pitching on the side and catchers, in full gear, doing drills. On Thursday nights, there are around 60 kids taking turns doing live hitting.
With so many players wanting to improve, the facility is busy year-round.
“It is their dream, but helping them reach their dream is my passion,” Zaker said. “That holds true for all of our instructors.”
The impact that Zaker and the Field of Dreams facility have had on area softball players is undeniable. He is the gift that keeps on giving. He is about helping others accomplish their dreams.
His contributions and dedication to the game of softball and giving back to his community should be applauded. He has earned respect throughout Central Ohio and beyond, and the passion and love he shows while doing it is refreshing.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: For the love of the game: Chris Zaker turns his passion into reality with Field of Dreams
Reporting by Tom Wilson, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette / Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
