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About seven months ago, I wrote in this space about Carolina Courts, a 44,000 square foot indoor sports facility opening in Indian Trail. With five full-length basketball courts and up to 10 indoor volleyball courts, this was the type facility this court-starved area needed.
I went back Monday to see how things were going. Carolina Courts is hosting several youth sports events, such as AAU basketball, and plenty of summer camps. There are also adult leagues and plenty of free play. It will host fall leagues for youth sports in a few months. The facility is clean and spacious, and for $40 parents can buy their kids a summer pass to use the facility.
Serious basketball and volleyball players can get personal training. The gym also has a machine to analyze your basketball jump shot, to tell you how much arc you put on the ball and what is optimal. It calls out your “arc numbers” as you shoot, allowing you to adjust on the fly and get some muscle memory. I can imagine players – young and old – getting better quickly.
Another machine, called “Dr. Dish,” continually passes you the ball at specific spots on the court, so you can get up hundreds of shots in a short session.
It's a neat piece of equipment. And best of all, in a tight economy, the facility is affordable. Monthly memberships from $19.99 to $29.99. Located just off Independence Boulevard, past I-485, the location isn't ideal, but I'd say it's worth the drive a few times if you – or your kids – like basketball (or volleyball).
Speaking of great summer deals: One of the best-conditioned public play golf courses in the area is Monroe's Stonebridge Golf Club, about 25 miles from uptown Charlotte. You can play after 2 p.m. for $34 Monday through Thursday, which includes cart. If you sign up for a free VIP card at the club, the rate drops $5.
A former PGA tour pro, Lew Farwell, notes that Stonebridge challenges the zero handicapper like him, but offers a fun option for the average guy, too, playing about 6,400 yards from the member tees and 5,700 from the middle tees.
Two-time Observer softball player of the year Ashton Ward, a former Butler star, won't return to Tennessee next season. Vols coach Ralph Weekly told Ward she would not pitch anymore and would hit and be a reserve outfielder. Ward, a 6-foot sophomore, was 27-5 with a 1.88 ERA as a freshman. This season, she was 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 59.2 innings.
NBA star Antawn Jamison, who will host a basketball camp at Providence High July 6-8, will team up with area volunteers July 11 to build a new 3,000-square-foot playground at the Simmons YMCA. The playground's design was based on drawings by children who attended a design day event May 13. Jamison, who helped build a similar park in Louisiana last year, is paying for much of the cost out of his pocket. Volunteers are still needed. Interested? Contact Carola Cardenas at 704-716-6609 or carola.cardenas@ymcacharlotte.org
