Indoor Baseball Facility Blessed
In 2017, Hurricane Irma hit South Florida. By and large, Belen Jesuit was spared any major damage. However, the batting cages and awnings in the baseball field were damaged. As plans for a new baseball training facility began, so did the the willingness of Belen dad Roberto Curbelo Jr. to lead the charge. Now, after a year of planning and construction, the state-of-the-art Indoor Baseball Facility is set to debut just in time for the 2019 baseball season.
Featuring four retractable sets of netting, artificial turf and a wide-open floor layout, the 5,000-square-foot facility will enable Belen’s baseball athletes to run a wide variety of exercises, from infield drills to bullpen throwing to hitting practice, no matter rain or shine outside.
“Here in Florida it rains sideways sometimes,” said Belen Baseball Head Coach Jerry Albert. “This will allow kids to get a workout in even during inclement weather.”
The possibility of constructing an indoor facility had been thought about for the last two or three years, he said, but after Hurricane Irma the opportunity was ripe for the new building. With the generous support of Curbelo, as well as support from fellow Belen dad Carlos Huembes, who was architect for the project, the Maury family, the Cruz family and several other families the Indoor Baseball Facility transformed from plans to reality.
“This building is simply one more step towards turning these baseball grounds into a premier baseball facility,” said Belen President Jesuit Father Guillermo García-Tuñon ‘87 about the future for the Belen Baseball program. “We haven’t finished. Not by a longshot.”
Among the special guests who attended the blessing ceremony on February 9 for the new facility was Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz. Diaz also participated in the ceremonial first swing in the facility alongside Father Willie, Belen Principal Jose E. Roca ‘84 and Athletic Director Carlos Barquin.
The Wolverines have an exciting future, and an exciting upcoming baseball season. The home opener for Belen is on March 5, when the Wolverines take on Doral Academy at 3:30 p.m. And thanks to the generous support of the Belen community, the team now has one more tool in its arsenal to carry on the Belen tradition of excellence in athletics.
Click here to view pictures from the blessing ceremony.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.