By Tao Woolfe
Two nonprofit organizations — one that builds athletes and one that saves sea turtles — announced in April that they were moving to Boynton Beach.
Athletic Angels Foundation, an organization run by professional sports trainer Mike Barwis, will be coming to Boynton Beach in the coming months to help build and operate a training facility at the East Boynton Little League Park on Woolbright Road.
Barwis, now located in Deerfield Beach, will be partnering with Phil Terrano to build the 28,000-square-foot training facility on the grounds of the park.
Although there will be a special emphasis on youth baseball, training at the facility will be for all major sports and could be a draw for professional athletes, Terrano has told the city.
Services offered by Barwis will include speed, agility, conditioning, weight training, nutrition programs, batting cages, pro clay bullpen mounds, data assessment, physical therapy, chiropractic services, youth camps and scholarship programs.
Terrano, a major league baseball player agent, has also said he and his investors envision adding turf fields, and making the park accessible for people with disabilities.
Although Terrano and Barwis will build the facility, the city will own the building and lease it to Barwis and Terrano.
The city, which will also be involved in the renovation and maintenance of the park, plans to spruce up the existing grass fields, add T-ball and artificial turf fields, and upgrade the bathrooms and concession stands, Recreation and Parks Director Kacy Young has said.
Terrano had hoped to have the work completed by summer, but Young said a year would be a more realistic timetable.
Barwis, at a special City Commission meeting on April 11, contracted with the city to renovate Field 1, which has fallen into disrepair. He plans to repair or replace all surface areas, replace all fencing and netting, add new lighting and a high fence to keep fly balls within the park.
“This will be a destination ballpark that everyone can come to,” Terrano has said. “I want Boynton Beach to have the best — a field of dreams.”
Turtles too
ICARE — Sea Turtle Adventures, which helps monitor and rescue sea turtles on Palm Beach County beaches, has moved its operation from West Palm Beach to Boynton’s First Presbyterian Church on Southwest Sixth Avenue.
The organization also operates an educational program for young adults,
“This organization creates wonderful programs that are vocational, educational and recreational,” Mayor Ty Penserga said in announcing the move of Sea Turtle Adventures. “This is a very unique and special opportunity.”
Comments