- December 4, 2025
Showcase Baseball Academy players (left to right) Dorian Straka, Silas Mariano and Liam Hobbs take over the batting cages at the Volusia Sports Center at practice. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy players (left to right) Liam Hobbs, Dorian Straka, Silas Mariano and Kaiden "K.J." Schoeps wait to use the batting cages at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy player player K.J. Schoeps finishes practice at the Volusia Sports Center . Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy players practice in the batting cages at the Volusia Sports Center . Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy players wait for their turn in the batting cages at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy player "King" Michael Henry uses the batting cages during indoor practice at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
SBA players collect their gear to move from the indoor practice to an outdoor practice at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy player "King" Michael Henry - Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry's grandson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy players (from left to right) Liam Hobbs, Jordan "J.J." Lichty and Chandler Lamoureaux wait for their turn in the batting cages at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy player Joshua Bartlome. Photo by Michele Meyers
Volusia Sports Center owner Deanna Newkirk and Showcase Baseball Acadmey Clubhouse president Sean Harmon. Photo by Michele Meyers
Volusia Sports Center owner Deanna Newkirk and Showcase Baseball Acadmey Clubhouse president Sean Harmon. Photo by Michele Meyers
Volusia Sports Center owner Deanna Newkirk and Showcase Baseball Acadmey Clubhouse president Sean Harmon. Photo by Michele Meyers
SBA coaches T Mack (left) and Kyle Burkhead (right) hit balls for the team at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy player Will Opdyk runs the bases during practice on the infield at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy player Cannon Taylor runs the bases during practice on the infield at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy players practice on the infield at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy players practice on the infield at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Volusia Sports Center owner Deanna Newkirk (left) and Kim Schoeps (right), Administrative Office Specialist at Volusia County School District, hang a banner at the VSC where Schoeps' son K.J. attends baseball practice with the SBA. Photo by Michele Meyers
Volusia Sports Center owner Deanna Newkirk (right) and Kim Schoeps (left), Administrative Office Specialist at Volusia County School District, hang a banner at the VSC where Schoeps' son K.J. attends baseball practice with the SBA. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy 12U player Baylon Jackson fields a ball on the infield at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy 12U player Jordan "J.J." Lichty makes a catch during practice at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Showcase Baseball Academy 12U player Joshua Bartlome keeps his eye on the ball during practice at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
The Showcase Baseball Academy 12U team and coaches wrap up practice with a set of pushups at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
The Showcase Baseball Academy Clubhouse president Sean Harmon (left) and SBA 12U assistant coach T Mack (right) watch the players at the Volusia Sports Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
As a little girl, Deanna Newkirk did not dream of owning batting cages.
Her passion for dance led her to be a part of Seabreeze High School’s Sunsations Dance Team and also to found the Appalachian State University Elite Dance Team in Boone, North Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology and a minor in business management. She continued her prowess in dance as an NFL cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Needless to say, dancing was probably the dream.
Today, Newkirk is a mom to 15-year-old son Dallas who recently started his freshman year at Seabreeze where he will play baseball. She said it is a mother’s love of a son that loves baseball that has taken her on this journey to owning the Volusia Sports Center — a non-profit baseball and softball training facility that happens to include indoor batting cages.
“The one common denominator is a mother’s love — a parent’s love,” she said. “The things we do for our children like this whole facility, moving forward on the field, building the infield — these people who have all come full circle to help make this happen. I could have never done this by myself. It’s all teamwork. The stuff parents go through to drive it and make it happen is so involved.”
VSC opened in spring 2023 as a multi-sport training facility. Newkirk recently changed it to be predominantly a baseball and softball training facility following the addition of the SBA Elite travel league — an affiliate of the Showcase Baseball Academy based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sean Harmon, president of The SBA Clubhouse in Brooksville, Florida, will run the league with the support of his team of professional-level coaches, current and former college athletes. Newkirk has stepped into the role of administrator for the SBA Elite teams.
The one common denominator is a mother’s love — a parent’s love. The things we do for our children like this whole facility, moving forward on the field, building the infield ... The stuff parents go through to drive it and make it happen is so involved.
— DEANNA NEWKIRK, Volusia Sports Center owner
In January 2026, Newkirk said she will sell the business to Harmon, not to include the building or land which is owned by her father, Roy Johnson, and in trust for her son Dallas. She said it will be a good time for her to step away from the business and focus on supporting Dallas while he attends high school. Newkirk has already secured a grant to pay for a new Seabreeze baseball scoreboard at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex’s Wendelstedt fields.
Harmon said he was already considering expansion of The SBA Clubhouse when Newkirk messaged him the offer on Facebook in December last year. The opportunity to run the SBA Elite in Ormond Beach was serendipitous —he said yes.
Team tryouts for 10U-14U age groups were held in spring. Coach resumes were submitted and scrutinized.
“Teams were the first piece to taking this over,” Harmon said. “So now that we have a good set of players and coaches, that opens the door to creating something really special over here that’s more than just a batting cage.”
SBA Elite currently operates four teams — 10U, 11U, 12U and 13U — with the majority of coaches having collegiate-level playing experience. Former professional pitcher Scott Moss is the teams' director and pitching coach. He graduated from DeLand High School in 2013 as a top left-handed pitcher and signed with the Florida Gators. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2016.
The Clubhouse in the Tampa area is a high-level training center where college and professional players utilize the facility on a regular basis. There is also an academy for elementary through high school-aged athletes.
At VSC, he plans on having a weight center and player access to high-level coaches. He said Moss is already bringing invaluable knowledge to his pitchers who may not have had exposure to a former pro pitcher in the area.
“We’re trying to bring some of what we’ve done over there (Brooksville) and model that over here for the VSC,” Harmon said. “We’d like to create more of a higher level training center for players like K.J. (Schoeps) that are above average — players that need more than just the standard.”
K.J., 11, plays on the 12U and 13U SBA Elite teams and was recently invited to play on the SBA Bolts National team. Dallas Newkirk also received an invitation to play with the Bolts. K.J. said he has been playing baseball for six years and usually plays shortstop or pitches. His father, Kurt Schoeps, a captain with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, said K.J. was introduced to baseball at an early age by his 15-year-old daughter, Katelyn, who plays softball at Spruce Creek High School.
Kurt said it was important to find an organization that has the ability to take K.J. to the next level that takes into consideration his path to high school, eventually to college and hopefully professional ball.
“SBA seemed like a great fit from the moment we met Sean and we’ve known Deanna for a while,” Kurt said. “SBA is probably going to be one of the top organizations in the state and hopefully nationally.”
As the teams came together and practice became a necessity, Newkirk reached out to local baseball fields and sports complexes to make reservations. She had success reserving the Wendelstedt fields for the 13U team but not for the other three teams. Daytona's Bethune Point was saved for the East Coast Storm, Port Orange's fields were occupied by Crush Baseball and South Daytona was a no-go for travel teams.
Undeterred, Newkirk decided to build her own outdoor turf infield. After she purchased the used turf, her staff laid out all 3,000 square feet of it, upgraded the fencing, made LED lighting and electrical improvements, added safety netting and two complete infield baselines. Total cost of the project was just under $25,000 of which $12,750 has been secured through donations. The facility is approximately $12,000 short. Newkirk said there are plenty of opportunities for local businesses to get involved.
“We’re not just building fields,” she said. “We’re building futures. We’d love for the community to be a part of that.”
