AUBURN, Ala. – With rain falling on a January afternoon, Auburn softball coach Mickey Dean watches a pitcher practice while discussing the facility that's keeping him and his student-athlete dry during their training session.
"Good movement," he says, complimenting the student-athlete on her latest pitch.
Dean stands inside the brand new 11,000-squre-foot Gregg E. Heim Player Development Center, complete with six batting tunnels, a netting system, a team meeting space, pitching machines, LED lighting and the clay pitching circle from where Dean observes.
"It's had a huge impact because we're able to bring our hitters in in the mornings now so they can really focus on hitting and the weather is not a factor, so they can get out here and focus on what they're doing," he said. "Our pitchers can get in and use the mound area and our infielders can take ground balls."
Rainy afternoons and frigid winter mornings? Not a problem anymore.
"When you're working on something, it's difficult to stay focused sometimes, even if it's not raining but if it's cold, especially in the mornings," Dean said. "It opens up time for our players and it also allows them to work on the things they need to work on without having to worry about the weather elements.
"Of course, there are times you want to train in those elements because you've got to play in those elements, but you also have to have that time where you can just focus on you and not have to worry about those outside elements. That's very, very beneficial."
The new facility proved instantly popular with Auburn's softball student-athletes.
"They're excited because they understand what a difference-maker it is for them to be able to work on themselves," he said. "We have tons of TVs and video monitors. It's user friendly. They can come in and all they need is someone to hold a cell phone and they can watch themselves on video on the TVs. It's very powerful for us right now."
Not only will the facility help develop current student-athletes, it will help Auburn recruit future Tigers.
"It looks great on social media," Dean said. "Any time you put in something that allows a student-athlete to enhance their development as a player it's going to draw the attention of recruits because they want to get better. This really expands that."
Gregg Heim graduated from Auburn University in 1965 in business administration. He served in the Army Reserve and enjoyed a distinguished insurance career for Liberty National. He loved Auburn, and when he passed away in 2019, his seven-figure estate gift, along with donations from other softball supporters, funded the facility that bears Heim's name.
"Without donors, you really don't have this level of college athletics," Dean said. "Donors are the lifeblood of your program. They are so much appreciated, whatever the amount given. When we receive an amount such as this, it has a tremendous impact on our program, on our university, even on our community because, you think about the things that we'll be allowed to do once we get through the pandemic, we can open up this facility for kids in the region to come and do camps and clinics. It has a huge impact.
"Sometimes it's really hard to understand the impact that it has not just on your program but on the community as a whole. We truly appreciate it. I feel badly because of the COVID and the pandemic because our donors weren't here to see our players' eyes and the excitement when we opened the facility up for them. There was a lot of excitement."
Fueled by their new facility and the hunger that resulted from the 2020 season ending prematurely, Auburn opens the 2021 season at home against Southeast Missouri State on Feb. 12.
"We have a lot of new faces," Dean said. "Our team is excited for people to see them and to see the results of the work they've put in.
"With this facility, it allows us to not have to continue to change our practice times so randomly because of weather. We have might have to change it by a half-hour but it's not like we have to change it by six hours. It helps our athletes stay in a good rhythm. We seem to be in a pretty good rhythm at this point."Auburn Softball's Gregg E. Heim Player Development Center
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer