The Barnes Academy re-opens for back and better

The Barnes Academy is back and swinging things out of the park.

They’ve heightened their hygiene measures due to COVID-19 however, co-owner, Devin Barnes says that business has actually picked up during this time.

“I mean I really missed my kids. It was times when I wanted to see a team or see my players or hitters and seeing them come in smiling and excited to be back is awesome.”

The Barnes Academy and the crew are back in the swing of things now that businesses have been given the green light to open safely.

Co-owner, Tre Barnes, says that they’ve been very proactive in making sure that they maintain a safe environment.

“When they come in, we make them wash their hands. In between breaks, we make everyone Germ-X. We spray down the balls with Lysol. We try to keep it to where the parents feel safe and the kids feel safe that way and that way they can keep coming out.”

A blessing in disguise, business has picked up tremendously. Now that athletes are out of school, some games and tournaments still on hold, they have the opportunity to train at the academy.

“It’s been really really good. We’ve had more people coming in because more people are getting out of the house now. A lot of kids didn’t get their baseball season so they’re coming in and trying to keep up on their skills.

Having to come up with a different work agenda, Devin says that they’ve adapted well with smaller sessions.

It allows more attention for each athlete and more importantly, staying safe.

“It’s actually working out in our favor because we’re getting a lot of kids in each age group so it’s helping us divide and stay safe. Even when we have 10 kids in here, we still have 4 instructors so each instructor can take 2 kids and its still safe.”

Like many coaches all over, being away from your athletes can be tough. But now that they’ve resumed business, Tre says that having the parents trust means the world.

“I was thinking that maybe parents wouldn’t want to bring their kids with all of this stuff going on but to see them, and for them to give us their kids, it means the world.”