GO Indoor

Facility Profile: GoodSports USA Tw o facilities in A llaire and A berdeen and one on the w ay in Hamilton, N ew Jers ey by Sylvie Green anny Pepe, general manager of GoodSports USA in Allaire, has been at the facility all night long, ripping up an old hockey floor. A new one is to arrive this morning. Both of the Goodsports USA facilities, the one in Aberdeen as well as in Allaire, are installing Spider Court. Roller hockey is a popular sport in the Shore area of New Jersey. "It would be more popular if we had a professional team," Danny says. "The kids idealize NHL players because they give them something to shoot for." Even without the pros to look up to, players fill the regulation size roller hockey rink in Allaire. The facility also has three indoor tennis courts. Their soccer field is 120 feet by 250 feet, and covered with FieldTurf®. Players enjoy the outdoor game during the summer. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, the field is covered by an air-structure dome and heated for the winter. Ten years ago, the facility in Aberdeen was a softball complex. When Goodsports USA took it over, they used one of the turf fields for soccer, and converted the other one to beach volleyball. They thought that was a novel idea. The Jersey Shore is a great market for beach sports. But the water that cleans the beach and the breeze that blows the sand away do not exist in an indoor sports facility. The wrong kind of sand was brought in and the facility became very dusty as players kicked it up. The sand also got into the heating and air conditioning units. "It never worked," Danny says. "We ended up removing all that sand, which was a nightmare. Then we moved on to roller hockey." Jim Canning created Goodsports USA. D 8 • Oct.-Nov. 2002 • G O A L He has always been involved in soccer, and wanted to open an indoor sports facility with soccer as its main sport. He played soccer at Saint Rose High School in Belmar, NJ and made All American at Rider University in Lawrenceville. He is a well-known member of the local soccer community. Jim also played for professional and semiprofessional leagues, including the New Jersey Spirit, which he owned for a while. Jim began as general manager of the Eagles Sports Complex near The Meadowlands. They ran indoor soccer and tennis. Managing a facility gave Jim practical experience, and helped him to create new ideas. Then he decided to open up his own place. Jim and Danny met right before the Aberdeen facility opened. To get the Goodsports USA name out, Jim ran leagues and tournaments for sand soccer, as well as for beach volleyball, at the beach in Belmar. He knew he would soon open his own indoor sports complex. The soccer and volleyball games helped Jim to get to know his market. Danny was finishing his degree in Business Management and living at the beach. He played in Jim's leagues. After Jim asked Danny if he would like to referee some of the games, they became very close. Jim knew he liked Danny when Jim's wife Patty, who helped organize the tournaments, was registering people for sand soccer and found herself in the middle of an altercation between a coach and one of the referees. Danny was refereeing on one of the fields and heard the coach's yelling. The coach then began yelling at Patty, threatening her and calling her names. Danny had to leave Ind o o r up organizing the teams. "If neither the coach nor the students put in a team, they only played in the fall. These teams did not compare to the ones that played year-round. Now more of the coaches are actively involved. We seem to have a lot of coaches who played college football or high-level his field in order to defend her. He informed soccer and retained their competitive edge. the coach his behavior would not be tolerat- They want their kids playing all year long in ed and made sure he stayed away from the order to compete with the other schools. I tournament. Patty felt safe, and Jim knew don't have to go to schools anymore. The that his wife and his tournaments were in coaches all come here because we run the most competitive, well-organized leagues in good hands with Danny. Danny attended Kean University where the state." It's a matter of establishing a relationship. he was the captain of the soccer team that won the National Championship. After People in the area knew Jim and knew graduation he spent some time skiing in Danny because they both played high-level Aspen. When he returned to New Jersey, soccer and remained involved in the soccer Goodsports USA was up and running. Jim community. The same hard work and dedication that led them to championships allows asked Danny if he wanted to manage it. The summer months were a struggle at them to run a successful business. Kicking first. Soccer, softball, and beach volleyball did the ball around has to be done between not fill the facility for the entire year. Goodsports hosted events such as Frisbee football tournaments, exercise classes, dog shows, and professional wrestling during the slow season. Fall is, of course, the busy season. From Thanksgiving until the end of March, Goodsports USA is booked. Field hockey, lacrosse, and flag football schedules fill quickly, as do roller hockey and tennis. Both phone calls and meetings. Whether as athof the facilities have day-care centers. The letes or as businessmen, they remain local Allaire facility, which opened five years after soccer personalities. "It's about personality, but it's about busiAberdeen, also has a preschool and a fitness ness sense too. A former soccer player cancenter. High school students make up most of the not necessarily run a facility. I don't need to teams for soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse. work with the biggest names around, just with Goodsports will put out a flyer for a league, somebody who's going to work hard. I put in advertising how many weeks and what a lot of hours. My busy time is when most nights they will meet. A representative from people are not working, such as late at night, the school will sign up teams. Most of the stu- on weekends, or early in the morning. To dent athletes in the Shore area play for these have things run successfully in a complex like this, I need to be here." leagues. Danny realizes that only with years and In the beginning, Danny called a lot of the local athletic directors and coaches himself. years of experience has he been able to Some of the high school teachers, who only make fewer and fewer mistakes. The coached in order to supplement their income, process takes a long time to get right. "Even did not care enough to do anything during the when you know which direction you need to off-season. Sometimes the students ended go, you don't always know how to get there."

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