Give Me Liberty: Venue to offer sports facilities seen only in larger cities By Owen Hassell Sports Editor Sunday 3/30 Daily Advance POWELLS POINT — Tony Vardaro believes in the level of talent around northeastern North Carolina. So does Corey Martin. Don’t forget Matt Seidel. Count David Gift in, too. Just a few of the people who are eager for the public to see their work into the latest incarnation of the indoor sports facility in Powells Point: Liberty Sports Complex. “They ask if we’re sure we can make this happen, because we knew how it fell last time,” said Vardaro, the director of soccer and field turf and former Currituck boys and girls soccer coach. “Last time they didn’t have this, and this is state of the art. “This can be done.” Formerly the Liberty Tax SportsPlex, which opened in 2009 and offered soccer, roller skating and ice skating — then shut down two years later — the 27,300-square foot building will now host baseball, cheering/gymnastics and a fitness room along with soccer and more. An open house is scheduled for April 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Martin, an assistant baseball coach at Currituck, will direct the baseball program while Gift, who helps in track for the Knights, will oversee the fitness section. Seidel will help Vardaro in soccer and has already put together videos on YouTube and made Facebook and Twitter accounts for the complex. Ties to Currituck aside, they stress it’s about more than Currituck or nearby Dare counties. It presents an opportunity for all northeastern North Carolina athletes to train at home, cutting out excess travel to nearby Virginia cities such as Chesapeake and Virginia Beach to find proper facilities, and perhaps raise the area’s level of talent. “Now they will have a place here, so it not only cuts down on travel but gives them something to be proud of,” said Martin, a former minor league player in the Chicago Cubs organization. “Once they see what’s available to them, they will appreciate it and take pride in it.” Backed by Currituck residents Chris and Susan Cumber along with other local partners, more than a million dollars has been sunk into the entire project, and most of it is close to fruition. The variety of sports that can be played amongst the building almost rivals the price tag, making it much more than any standard multipurpose room. Baseball includes four batting cages with pitching machines that can also work with softball. Batting tees, L screens, portable pitching mounds and backstops are all around. Push everything back, and what’s uncovered is turf that doubles as a mini infield. “You can work on infield, bunt plays, pick plays, footwork, base running, pretty much anything you need,” Martin said. “You can run a full team practice out of that facility and get what you need done.” Soccer and cheerleading/gymnastics take up most of the building. The floor used for cheerleading and gymnastics routines has been put down but there’s still work left to complete that project. The weight room and fitness portion remains empty, but should have equipment in place by the open house date. In the earlier Liberty Tax SportsPlex, indoor soccer was run on a tile floor. That’s been tossed for a two-inch artificial turf surface that stretches to about 25 yards of a football field, complete and ready for everything from 5-on-5 tournaments, drills and camps to lacrosse and maybe even clinics for football linemen. So many possibilities. “We’ll run training facilities out of here, league play, tournaments, and it’s going out to the whole community,” Vardaro said. “This is more along the lines of the technical aspect of the game, not tactically because it’s a smaller field.” Vardaro already has a 5-on-5 tournament scheduled for Easter weekend. Throw in some benches and changing areas that will be in place soon, and kick away. Although mostly under wraps since work began on the southern Currituck building, word has surfaced, and it peaked the interest of one area athlete, who was invited to first break in the indoor soccer turf. Camden’s Bronson Watts, a former Area Player of the Year who has committed to play soccer at Division I Missouri-Kansas City, couldn’t get enough. “It’s perfect,” said Watts, who will play in the 5-on-5 and combine some out of area talent with fellow Camden players Landon Middleton, Tristen Newell and Mark Nelson. “The right length, right style of turf. I think it’s better than the one at the Virginia Beach Field House, mostly because it’s a new field. The reaction time is ridiculous how you can stop on a dime and do well and see the lines.” Martin expects to bring in instructors to help with private lessons and camps this summer, including a minor league teammate in D.J. Fitzgerald, current Moyock Middle baseball coach Charles Pickell and Norfolk State softball player Liz Riley. Vardaro has also doubled as a marketer in securing sponsorships, recently picking up Pepsi. “I’m so confident in what we’re about to put out here,” Vardaro said. “Just on soccer, it will raise the level of play. We’re already competing with the best in the state, and we can do big things with this. “I can say what we’re going to do, but give us a year or two and see what we’re putting out at a young age, then the truth will be told.” April 12th can’t get here fast enough, for the ones who have laid the groundwork for Liberty Sports to northeastern North Carolina athletes who have already heard the news. “When you see everything installed, then the wow factor really hits you,” Martin said. “They’re anxious to get in there, and they’re not happy when I say, ‘Well, we have to wait a few more weeks before we can open up.’”
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 23:56:36 +0000
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