DannyG
01-09-2007, 03:54 PM
Howdy! from far west Texas!
Locally, we are starting up a new program of five sports: basketball, baseball, inline hockey, indoor soccer, and indoor lacrosse. The name of the facility is "Xtreet Sports." Each game is a smal-side, small-floor version, either 3v3 or 4v4, of the sport, and promises to be a lot of fun.
Picture in your mind a residential street in Brooklyn in the 1940's. That's where kids played everything in their neighborhood. In various sports, the streets of the big cities, the sandlots all over the country, the frozen ponds of the northern climes: these are the playgrounds where our sports "grew up."
That Brooklyn street is the playing field of Xtreet Sports. The Mateflex(tm) surface is colored tiles made up to resemble an actual city street. The game fixtures and equipment are made up from the things you would find on that big city street. Manhole covers and sewer grates are the baseball 'bases.' Trash barrels turned on the side are the hockey and lacrosse 'goals.' Bus stop corrals are the team bench areas, a hot dog stand is the scorekeepers area. The spectators may sit comfortably on one of the brownstone porches along the street. There is a cafe, a train station, and other shops/stores along the street. Both of the rink end board areas are flanked by 'warehouses.' The reception/information/registration desk is a news stand.
I have noted several facilities around the country that house two or three sports, but none that does all of the five that we have planned. The small-side format should be great for player development, as well as just plain fun. Weren't those the best neighborhood games you played as a kid, anyway? The idea is to take the positive elements of the nieghborhood games we all enjoyed as kids, and organize them "just enough" to keep the fun, but make sure the organization "stays out of the way so the fun can happen."
This week, we finally got the building leased. I have now signed away my pension from my former job & my life savings. We hope to finish the equipment construction and set up by January month-end. Registration and preseason in February, and our first season (March through May) is on the way!
We'll let you know how it goes over the next few months.
Locally, we are starting up a new program of five sports: basketball, baseball, inline hockey, indoor soccer, and indoor lacrosse. The name of the facility is "Xtreet Sports." Each game is a smal-side, small-floor version, either 3v3 or 4v4, of the sport, and promises to be a lot of fun.
Picture in your mind a residential street in Brooklyn in the 1940's. That's where kids played everything in their neighborhood. In various sports, the streets of the big cities, the sandlots all over the country, the frozen ponds of the northern climes: these are the playgrounds where our sports "grew up."
That Brooklyn street is the playing field of Xtreet Sports. The Mateflex(tm) surface is colored tiles made up to resemble an actual city street. The game fixtures and equipment are made up from the things you would find on that big city street. Manhole covers and sewer grates are the baseball 'bases.' Trash barrels turned on the side are the hockey and lacrosse 'goals.' Bus stop corrals are the team bench areas, a hot dog stand is the scorekeepers area. The spectators may sit comfortably on one of the brownstone porches along the street. There is a cafe, a train station, and other shops/stores along the street. Both of the rink end board areas are flanked by 'warehouses.' The reception/information/registration desk is a news stand.
I have noted several facilities around the country that house two or three sports, but none that does all of the five that we have planned. The small-side format should be great for player development, as well as just plain fun. Weren't those the best neighborhood games you played as a kid, anyway? The idea is to take the positive elements of the nieghborhood games we all enjoyed as kids, and organize them "just enough" to keep the fun, but make sure the organization "stays out of the way so the fun can happen."
This week, we finally got the building leased. I have now signed away my pension from my former job & my life savings. We hope to finish the equipment construction and set up by January month-end. Registration and preseason in February, and our first season (March through May) is on the way!
We'll let you know how it goes over the next few months.