One of the huge advantages Hampton Roads athletes have is weather. In my opinion, the weather in Hampton Roads is mostly decent to awesome well over 75% of the year. Sure it gets warm and humid and muggy, but who’s complaining about that in November? (hint, not me!) Cooperative weather means more time on a baseball diamond, more reps on the soccer field, more time running post patterns on the football field as opposed to an indoor facility with dimensional limitations. Contrast that with many areas in the northern sections of the United States, with the weather being far less cooperative. Hence, the need for the athletes living up north to flock to quality indoor training facilities to stay competitive year round, or at least until the snow melts.

Being somewhat new to Hampton Roads sports, I was interested to find out how local indoor training facilities fit into the Hampton Roads athletic experience. So, I did a quick search of local baseball training facilities and found Norfolk’s Coastal Sports Center, among others. I reached out to the team there at Coastal via their website contact form and was happily surprised to receive a message back within just a few hours. The owner, Topher Ellis, invited me to Norfolk for a tour and to learn more about Coastal, and I accepted and visited last week.

Coastal Sports Center is located at 2633 Wyoming Ave in Norfolk, just a few minutes drive from my home in Virginia Beach. Honestly, it was relatively easy to get to and there was plenty of parking in front of the building and in the parking lot facing the front door. I walked into a large lobby area with front desk, pool table, sitting area, and was greeted by the owner, Topher, who was finishing up a coaching position interview. Great first impression, lobby was well lit, there was plenty of baseball swag and trophies and stuff to look at to get you in the baseball frame of mind. Topher finished his interview and then showed me around the offices, upstairs conference rooms, barber shop on site, and then into the baseball training area.

As we walked from the lobby into the training center, I asked Topher about his vision for Coastal. “When we created Coastal Sports Center, we had a vision for what an indoor baseball and softball training facility should look like and feel like,” stated Topher.
“That vision included creating a family-friendly environment that provides some of the best instruction around, competitive AND fun, while building relationships that remain strong long after baseball and softball careers are over.” As he was showing me the layout of the facility, he finished with “our mission is always to help young athletes create goals and reach their athletic potential, while constantly being aware that we are also a crucial piece of each athlete’s development as a person first and foremost.”

With the retractable netting in place, I could see several designated hitting zones, a designated catcher’s station, and a pitching station with mounds. The facility was cut out almost in the shape of an “L” allowing for a longer section on the pitching side, then a longer section on the dedicated hitting side. High ceilings allowed for higher net placement, which aids in baseball training in some many ways. The path to each zone was easy to get to and I snapped a few photos along the way.

Coastal Sports Center offers a wide range of membership options, or you can simply rent a cage as a non-member. They offer clinics and private instruction from Topher and an impressive roster of current and former college baseball players and coaches. Coastal has convenient hours to fit the busy schedules of athletes of all ages – mostly nights during the week and daytime during the weekends. According to Topher, “the energy at CSC is (as the kids these days say) “lit”! We’ve always got music bumping and sports playing on the televisions throughout the facility.” Energy, quality instruction, affordability, family friendly, fun – Coastal Sports Center’s focus is clear.

It was a great visit to Coastal Sports Center in Norfolk to check out their baseball facility. Awesome to meet owner Topher Ellis, learn about his background as a catcher and a coach, and to hear about his vision for families interested in being a part of the Coastal Sports Center experience. I loved the way the team there used the space. It was clean, well lit, the retractable cages allowed for designated zones for instruction, I loved the pitching mounds and the pitching lab in the back. Topher has assembled an impressive roster of coaches for private instruction and clinics. Plenty of parking, plenty of stuff to do in the lobby waiting for your athlete to finish up. Awesome experience there at Coastal Sports Center.

Huge thanks to Topher Ellis for the tour and the vision of Coastal Sports Center. For more information on Coastal Sports Center membership rates, hours of operation, clinics, coaches, and more head over to www.coastalsportscenter.com.