RIVER FALLS – Prescott natives Nate and Jes Kochendorfer packed up their things and moved their family south to Lincoln, Neb., for Nate's job in 2017. Nate is in the oil and gas refining business and he has been for the last 20 years.

Nate, a former Prescott Cardinal basketball and baseball player, passed his love of sports onto his kids. While in Lincoln, the Kochendorfer kids started playing baseball and softball and going to an indoor batting cage called D-BAT.

"Our kids were using it and taking lessons and we loved it," said Nate. "We always knew we were going to come back home and said we have to get something like this up north."

When the family moved back in 2022, they did just that. Except it wasn't an indoor baseball/softball facility like D-BAT in Lincoln, it was a D-BAT franchise. Nate and Jes Kochendorfer’s D-BAT business opened in River Falls just over two weeks ago in the Whitetail Business Park (679 Whitetail Blvd). It's one of 180 D-BAT franchises around the country.

"Most of the franchises are down south," said Kochendorfer. "It just made sense. I knew there was a market for it and nothing like it existed around here."

D-BAT was started by Cade and Kyle Griffis in Addison, Texas, in 1998. In 2009 they began franchising it. D-BAT stands for "Developing Beliefs, Attitudes, and Traditions."

"It's for everybody," said Nate. "Whether you're learning to play catch or you're a high-end high school player. You don’t need to be a part of some expensive club team. Any kid can come in with their mom or dad.”

Before walking into the training facility with 18-foot ceilings, patrons will see a sign on the wall reading, "The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday."

The pro shop area sells bats, gloves, and many other baseball and softball accessories.

"Being backed by D-BAT, we're able to offer big discounts on new bats and that's something that is normally tougher to do in a smaller market."

D-BAT has a partnership with Rawlings, one of the nation's oldest and largest baseball and softball equipment companies.

D-BAT also has baseball and softball instructors. One of them is former Los Angeles Dodger organization pitcher Dave Meyer. Meyer, a Hudson resident, had been working with Twin City Orthopedics helping train and rehab shoulder and arm injuries until he recently received a call from the new D-BAT owner.

"Nate called and he said, 'out of the 200 people I asked, your name came up 200 times, so I had to reach out," said Meyer. "I knew I wanted to be a part of it because it's all developmental."

Meyer is kind of like the Donny and Marie Osmond song, "A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock 'n Roll." He's "old school" and "new school" at the same time.

"There are so many clubs now where the fundamentals are not being taught," said Meyer. "It's all about how hard can you hit and how hard can you throw and less about mechanics and that's why you're seeing the spike in injuries."

After just over two weeks in business, Meyer is already working with close to 125 kids in the area.

"I told Nate I wanted the prices to be affordable for everyone and Nate said, 'we'll do it.' He adjusted the price down. That's what I wanted, and I think it's fantastic. Baseball and softball have always been that sleeping giant in our area. I moved here 10 years ago, and I could see right away this was a baseball town. Now softball is exploding. There could not have been a more perfect location for this."

In the short two-week tenure for D-BAT, they're already filling up with kids from Pierce and St. Croix counties.

"It's fun to be here," said Nate. "It's one of those things where I don't have to be here, I want to be here. Coaching and teaching kids is a passion of mine."

For more information about business hours, instruction, or cage rentals, visit DBATriverfalls.com.