By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A new 27,000-square-foot indoor sports facility has opened in Big Creek Crossing in Hays.
The Yard is in the former pharmacy on the south end of the mall. However, there is no public access to the facility from the mall. Patrons need to enter through a door on the east side of the mall.
The facility, which opened Feb. 2, has an artificial turf practice field and batting cages, which are primarily designed for baseball and softball training, owner Blake Wolf said.
The field on the lower level can accommodate a full college-level baseball infield with 90-foot bases.
"That is super helpful for a lot of kids as they start to get older," he said.
It also have seven permanent batting cages. Some of the cages are reserved for members only. Others are available to non-members.
However, the space can be used for other sports. A soccer team was practicing on the field the night the Hays Post visited. Football teams have also expressed interest.
Wolf said he also would like to make the facility available for other community events, such as a cornhole, dodgeball, whiffle ball or kickball tournaments. He also has been asked if the space can be used for pickleball.
The space, which includes two floors, is still under construction. Most of the bottom floor has been completed with the exception of a pro shop, which is planned for the east end of the lower floor.
The upper floor will include pitching tunnels that can also be transformed to batting cages, Wolf said.
"We're going to be under construction for awhile, but we have the mentality that you have to be forward thinking," Wolf said. "You've got to be planning for the future and constantly building. If not, you get stuck."
The facility will not have a full gym, but it will have accommodations for strength and agility training, including ladders, dumbbells, boxes for box jumps, medicine balls and slam balls.
The facility is equipped with HitTrax, which is similar to a golf simulator, but for hitting for baseball or softball.
"We can play games on it, and it can be a fun way for kids to compete against other kids, but it also tells us all the analytics from the their swing," Wolf said, "where's their swing path, where are they contacting the ball, how hard are they hitting the ball, what is their head doing, what is their hips doing.
"There is just a lot of analytics that we can gather from this that helps kids from 7 years old to all the way up to professional players using it."
The Yard has already established HitTrax leagues. They consist of three to six players per team and are separated by age groups. Leagues are available for boy and girls, as well as slow pitch softball for adults.
You hit off a normal pitcher and the software calculates wether you would have hit a single, double, or out, etc. In that way, the software can simulate a game.
Blake and Brianna Wolf of Hill City have a daughter and son who play softball and baseball. The couple wanted somewhere their children could practice, but they also wanted to share that space with community, the couple said.
Blake also coaches the youth Hays Wildcats baseball team.
Brianna said the facility gives kids a chance to be active even when the weather is bad. HitTrax allows the kids to play a game, gets them off their electronic devices and encourages them to be active, she said.
The Wolfs were considering building a new structure to house The Yard, but after they were introduced to the former pharmacy location, they discovered it had more than enough room to accommodate the business's needs.
The couple said they think the business will benefit from its central location. Although you can't enter the facility through the mall, the windows from the former mall entrance have attracted a lot of attention for the new facility, Blake said.
The facility also has a lounge area that has been dubbed The Dugout. Siblings can sit and work on homework while brothers or sisters work out, Brianna said. Parents can also watch their kids on field through a long bay of windows.
Brianna said the couple had some qualms about opening a new business during the pandemic, but the couple thought the facility was needed at this time.
"Them walking in here and just being able to run and play and there is so much space here for them to be able to do that," she said of local youth. "It gives you just a little bit of hope that it's not all bad. It's not all negative. It's a little bit of what we had before, while still being careful."
The facility's hours are 1 to 6 p.m. seven days a week for walk ins, 24/7 for members via passcodes.
For more information on memberships, cost to rent facilities and upcoming events, see The Yard's Facebook page or website.
"Even if you don't have a membership, you're still welcome," Blake said. "You are not going to be thought of any differently if you don't have a membership. That is one of the things we are trying to accomplish. Everyone is welcome. Come on in, enjoy, have fun and get better at whatever you're training at."