Colquitt County High ’ s Carli Pearson , center , is shown with Tony Kirkland , left , and Greg Tillery after she signed to play collegiately at Winthrop . Photo by Richard Pearson
And when Kirkland retired , Tillery wondered what his friend would do with his time .
“ I thought we might have to have him committed somewhere ,” Tillery said with a smile . “ His passion is baseball . This place literally started as a place he could go for baseball .” Kirkland doesn ’ t disagree . “ I ’ d sit in those cages at Packers Park on Sunday afternoons for hours with kids coming in ,” he said . “ That ’ s what I was used to doing .”
The Fundamental Factory has allowed Kirkland to continue his outreach .
As the facility grew in both numbers of players served and its scope , it became the home of a number of travel ball baseball teams , all playing as The Farm .
The 8U team is coached by Tyler Perryman ; 9U team , by Justin White ; 10U team , by Raines Plant ; 11U team , by Shawn Deloach ; and 12U team , by Will Southwell .
There also are several girls softball Wildfire teams who call the Fundamental Factory home .
The facility is busiest when weather keeps players from practicing or playing outside .
“ This is where they come and get their work in when they can ’ t get on a field ,” Kirkland said . “ The coaches can call us a day ahead or early that morning and we will get things set up for them .
“ We let the coaches , parents and kids decide what they want to do and how often they come in .”
The Fundamental Factory is open from 4 p . m . -8 p . m . Monday through Thursday ; 4-6 p . m . on Fridays ; and 2-5 on Sundays .
“ Anytime we ’ re open , members can come in and practice , get lessons , whatever they need to do ,” Kirkland said .
Kirkland and Tillery work closely with individual athletes , not only from Colquitt County , but from Tifton , Thomasville , Camilla and Sylvester .
One player comes from Albany every Tuesday to work with Kirkland on his swing .
Both Kirkland and Tillery have schedules on their phones to help keep up with their lessons and other Fundamental Factory duties . Kirkland calls Tillery “ our young kid guru .” Some might have the impression that Tillery is on the gruff side . But he is far from that once he enters the Fundamental Factory . “ With those kids , he is the most positive person in the world ,” Kirkland said . And it ’ s not just baseball players that Kirkland and Tillery work closely with .
Colquitt County softball player Carli Pearson , who has signed to play collegiately at Winthrop , has been taking lessons from Kirkland since she was in seventh grade .
Her travel ball team is based in Atlanta , so being able to work on her game close to home has helped her stay sharp .
“ Having the Fundamental Factory open has allowed me to keep working on my game ,” she said , adding , “ Coach Kirkland has always been there to listen and help and he always made it fun .”
Pearson appreciates that even if she was working on her own , if Kirkland or Tillery had a break , they would toss to her .
And she said that even after she leaves for Winthrop , she plans to continue working on her game when she returns to Moultrie .
“ When we opened , it was about providing a service that was not available here ,” Kirkland said . “ I still think it is one of the best deals around .” Tillery agrees . “ This is something that has been good for this community , good for these kids ,” Tillery said .
More information on the Fundamental Factory is available at www . fundamentalfactoryga . com and on its Facebook page . Kirkland can be reached at ( 912 ) 429-2068 .
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