Spots Available at 12u and 14u for tHe 2025 Season

The Gorilla Baseball Club Difference

  • Player Development GUARANTEED. Metric driven evaluation and monitoring throughout the off season and in-season

  • Paid, Proven, Professional coaching, custom individual goal setting and progress monitoring

  • Academy style training - Flexible practice times…weekly age specific hitting, defense, throwing and baseball Power and Speed

  • Full Facility membership for all players (use of hitting cages, pitching mounds, hittrax, Radar Guns, online scheduling) and 4 private lessons included

  • Age appropriate Strength, Power and Speed work is a Part of our Program

  • We train Tools. Hit for Power, Hit for Average, Throwing Velo, Run Speed, Defense. We will prepare your player to play at whatever level he aspires to.

  • Gorilla Mindset Included. We don’t throw helmets. We don’t blame Umps. And We are good Teammates

  • We will keep it fun.

    Our commitment is to making EVERY player better.

    NOBODY WILL HELP YOU DEVELOP MORE

2025/2026 Tryouts Start in July

 

The chapionship game of the Nov/Dec Gorilla Indoor Hitting League was ELECTRIC!

 The Gorilla Indoor Hitting League - Jan/Feb 2025

Hitting League Schedule and Standings

Sports league management software powered by LeagueApps.

 

Gorilla All Skills Kids Classes

Gorilla Kids All-Skills Classes

Our Gorilla Kids All-Skills Classes are a great way to get younger kids the practice they need to be successful next baseball season in a fun, friendly, development-First Environment. our Kids classes are tailored to ages 6-10 and focus on the fundamentals of baseball (hitting, fielding, and throwing), and overall Athletic development. kIds who take our classes get better at baseball, make new friends, and gain confidence that they can take to the field.

Classes are offered at the 4-6 year old, 6-8 Year Old, and 8-10, and 10-12 year old levels. classes are limited in size and run every 5-6 weeks at various times throughout the week. Chose which level is right for your young Baseball Player and follow the links below to register!

 
 
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Gorilla Athletic Training is a 7,000 sq. foot facility dedicated to creating remarkable athletes through strength, power, and speed development, paired with a "gorilla” mindset. Specializing in baseball and Softball, our facility has six batting cages that can be retracted to form an infield as well as the latest in technology (Hittrax, Blast Motion), for data driven training and development. In addition, Gorilla Athletic Training is outfitted with strength and conditioning equipment to support our goal of building athletes in any sport with physical tools that exceed those of their competitive peer set.

 

PRivate Lessons

 
 

HItting Lessons

Each of our individual hitting lessons takes place in our Hittrax cage, allowing us to to understand each hitters capabilities and progress on every swing through the use of slo-motion video and batted ball data. We work with each individual to develop optimal movements and mindset to be a great hitter. Fitting with our name, we also incorporate some aspects of strength, mobility, and flexibility into all of our private hitting lessons.

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Throwing/Pitching Lessons

Our Throwing lessons are for both pitchers and position players, and emphasize the building of an effective warm up process, athleticism, practicing and playing with consistent intent, command, and ultimately velocity. Arm Health is our highest priority, and we work with our throwers in pursuit of building efficient, connected high level throwing patterns that make use of the full body.

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Strength Training

Whether it’s an 8 year old just starting to work with their own bodyweight or a college athlete looking for help with their squat technique, we offer individualized strength training and short and long term programming for our clients. Specific to baseball, we are also able to train rotational aspects of the sport as well as speed and power development as we move from general physical preparation to sport specific preparation.

Instructors

Gorilla Baseball Academy is always on the lookout for coaches who want to work with us. Call or email us to discuss opportunities to join the gorilla team or to use our space for your private lesson business.

jason dolenga

Coach Dolenga is the founder and head trainer of Gorilla Baseball Academy, and the leader of the Gorilla Baseball Club Teams. He has expertise in the area of hitting, throwing, infield, and strength and conditioning and has delivered over 3,000 lessons with Kids and Adults ages 4-54 years old since opening Gorilla in 2019. He is a Driveline certified instructor and has attended camps and clinics with Eric Bakich, Justin Stone, Ron Wolforth, Randy Sullivan, and Nate Trosky.

Prior to opening Gorilla, coach Dolenga spent 20 years in the fields of accounting, consulting, and marketing after attaining a Bachelors Degree at Michigan State University and an MBA at the University of Michigan.

Book a Lesson Pack with Coach Dolenga (4 packs and 8 packs available)

eddie acosta

Coach Eddie Acosta started offering private lessons out of our facility at Gorilla in late 2024. Prior to working with us at Gorilla, Coach Eddie has enjoyed a long career of playing and coaching baseball. Most recently, he was the head coach at Judson university and has spent several years running his own travel programs with the 29ers.

Acosta was drafted in the 35th round of the 1991 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Acosta elected to play college baseball before being selected in the 48th round of the 1993 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Acosta spent the 1993 season in the Brewers system, where he appeared in 38 contests in rookie ball for the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League and the Arizona League Brewers. In 1995, Acosta joined the Montreal Expos organization as he played 51 games with the Class-A Albany Polecats where he was teammates with MLB great Vladimir Guerrero, Sr. In 1996, Acosta appeared in 32 games with the Class-A Delmarva Shorebirds, where he was teammates with former White Sox player Orlando Cabrera and former Cubs Michael Barrett, Jose Fernandez, and Jose Macias. In 1997, Acosta played his final year in professional ball with the independent Chillicothe Paints of the Frontier League. In total, Acosta appeared in 121 games in professional ball in four seasons. From 1998-2000, Acosta returned to the Brewers organization as an area scout.

Book a Lesson Pack with Eddie (10 packs only)

joe dolenga

Joe finished his HS baseball career at Stevenson High School in 2024. Varsity team member in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Part of a sectional championship team in 2023 and a Regional Championship team in 2024. Middle infielder and Senior Captain in his final year.

His high school club baseball career includes three years with Top Tier North including a trips to the PBR national semifinals and the PBR national quarterfinals in consecutive years. In addition, he played for the prestigious Trosky National Team in the summer of 2020

He has trained under Justin Stone (Chicago Cubs, Elite Baseball Training), Ron Wolforth (Texas Baseball Ranch), Randy Sullivan (Flordia Baseball Armory) and Nate Trosky (Trosky Baseball), and has played baseball and trained on three separate occasions in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Book a lesson pack with Joe

Andrew Margolick

Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Barry University in Miami, Florida, where he was an All-American selection in baseball after transferring from the University of Southern California.  He went on to play two years of professional baseball before retiring due to injury.

Call or Email Directly to Set up Lesson Time

1.847.345.2828

 

Memberships Available

All Memberships Include:

unlimited Cage Sessions per month

easy on-line scheduling

Hittrax Cage when available

Hand fed Pitching machines

Pitching lane with Mound and radar gun

10% Off Private Lessons

10% off Classes and Camps

10% Indoor Hitting Leagues

15% Discount on all equipment purchase through baseline sports website (www.baselinesports.com)


 

The Baseball Gym

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6000 SQ Feet of Baseball Space

The Gorilla Baseball Gym is comprised of 6,000 Feet of Turfed Space. All of our nets can be retracted to create an infield space approximately 45’x70’. With cages in use, the space becomes Five 35’ hitting tunnels suitable for tee work, soft toss, or overhand toss, with one additional 70’ pitching/hitting cage with a pro style mound to support pitching workouts, batting with our hand fed pitching machine or “live” at-bats

Cage Time Rates (December - April)

30 Minutes - $25

30 Minutes Hittrax Cage - $40

500 SQ FEET of Strength and Conditioning Space

Within our space, we have the tools to make rotational sport athletes faster, stronger, and more powerful. Barbell work is accomplished on our Elite FTS power rack. we are well equipped with kettlebells, medicine balls, bands, ropes, plyo boxes and other tools to enhance power development and we use these tools in private lessons and group training. To assist with speed development, we employ Freelap Electronic Timing systems to ensure accuracy of measurement

 

DATA

DRiven

Development

 

All of our Private Lessons and Group Hitting Classes use hittrax Technology. The hittrax system captures batted ball data (launch angle, exit velocity) to simulate a real field hitting in over 30 Big League, minor League and college Stadiums

The hittrax also allows us to keep track of progress in individual or group lessons. As we record hitting data, 90% of our students break a previous distance or exit velocity record in every lesson (since opening in 2019)

The hittrax cage is also available for Hitting Leagues, Team tryouts or individual Rentals. Call us for more info.


 

Contact Us

 

Gorilla Athletic Training is conveniently located in Vernon Hills near Milwaukee Ave and very close to both I-94 and a Chick-Fil-A.

 
 

Gorilla Athletic Training / Gorilla Baseball academy

958 Corporate Woods Pkwy

Vernon Hills, IL, 60061

1.866.850.VELO

 
 
 

Let’s Talk

Have questions? Send us an email through the form on the right, send us a text at 312 504 8439, or give us a call. The Head Gorilla will get back to you as soon as he can (and usually that’s pretty quick)