FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — Anyone who steps inside Showtime Sports Academy will notice it’s not like other batting cages. That’s because co-owner Glen Johnson is not like other batting coaches.
“It’s been my whole life, and obviously my dad’s, for a long time,” Glen told News 2.
Glen is the son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) MLB veteran Howard Johnson, who played in the league for 14 years — most notably with the New York Mets. While his physical skills weren’t enough to keep playing, his heart and mind were still in the MLB.
“When I got in to start coaching more regularly, for me it became about the kid that’s in middle school baseball and to help him make his middle school team first of all,” Howard said. “Then, help him to get to be one of the better players on his varsity team.”
The Johnson family moved to Nashville more than a decade ago. When the chance to take over Showtime Sports Academy became a possibility, they knew it would be a home run.
“The machines weren’t very well taken care of. The baseballs were lousy,” Howard says. “That’s something we noticed right away and said, ‘Hey man, this place has got a lot of potential.'”
The facility underwent a major renovation, which included the addition of new equipment. For the Johnsons, it’s all for the love of the game.
“Whenever you take swings, it calculates everything whether it’s exit velocity or launch angle,” Glen says. “It just helps guide a little bit where your improvements need to be and also even helps measure with your age group.”
Showtime Sports Academy is home base for ballplayers young and old to fix a swing and smile.
“Just to be able to be able to pass that on to other kids and be able to run something for a game that’s brought me so much joy,” Glen said. “And to be able to do it with my father, too, is nothing short of a dream.”
