When Christian Sikorski first established his new facility at 2138 Plaza Drive in Benton Harbor, it was designed to provide an indoor, off-season training facility for the South Coast Blues travel baseball teams of St. Joseph. Even before the ink was dry on the strategic plan, however, it became readily evident that there was a tremendous groundswell from other teams in the area in search of off-season workout facilities.
Thanks to that early indicator, plans changed quickly for what is now being called the SLAM Athletic Center at 2138 Plaza Drive behind the Fairplain Plaza with the new mission of providing an indoor training center for multiple sports and athletic endeavors and they’re conducting their Grand Opening at noon, tomorrow, Saturday, November 18th.
Sikorski tells me “Soon after discussing the possibility of opening our facility for the South Coast Blues, we received a great deal of interest from other baseball, softball and travel soccer teams looking for an off-season workout center.” He adds, “As such, we expanded the mission, and now provide an indoor training center for multiple sports.”
The new open span center features more than 8,000 square feet, including approximately 5,700 square feet of all turf surface. There are 4 retractable, netted batting cages that come stocked with all the baseball and softball equipment needed to run a successful practice or lesson. Additionally, they’re completing another 2,500 square feet for additional turf surface and a parent viewing area that overlooks the facility.
The new batting cages can be used for either team or individual practice sessions, and a planned area for speed, agility, and jump training is on the way, plus they offer open field rental space for multiple sports.
The Director for the new SLAM Athletic Center is Dane Nelson, founder of the South Coast Blues travel baseball organization and Assistant Basketball Coach for the Lake Michigan College Red Hawks basketball team. Nelson is also a co-owner of the facility.
Nelson and Sikorski have multiple college players and coaches who will also be available for individual hitting lessons and are in discussions with several other former collegiate players regarding speed and agility training, soccer skills training and even football skills training.
Tomorrow’s Grand Opening at the SLAM Athletic Center will run from noon until 4pm featuring mini-games for the kids including putt-putt, soccer and baseball, music from DJ and South Coast Blues Coach Reggie Lawrence, and more. The event is open to the entire community.
For additional information on SLAM, you can call (269) 757-7079 or follow them on Facebook.
