Cody Railsback played a solid 8 years of professional baseball, having been drafted by the New York Mets in 2005. When he and his wife Nicole came to St. Joseph, they noticed there wasn’t much to choose from locally when it comes to indoor facilities serving baseball, softball and other sports traditionally played outdoors.
Enter the rise of RISE, the Railsback Indoor Sports Expo, taking over the former Twin Cities Baseball building in the same complex as Zmudy Building Products and Fort Miami Crossfit in Scottdale/St. Joseph on M-139.
Nicole Railsback tells us, “We’re committed to creating a positive environment for businesses, athletes, and families in our local community. We want them to have a place where they can grow, excel but also have fun.”
The new RISE facility is hoping to open in the beginning of August, featuring private one-on-one softball lessons by softball coach Tiffany Knaak, as well as baseball and pitching lessons (Cody’s specialty, given that he was a pro pitcher), soccer lessons, and even agility training with personal trainer Sean Akins.
“In addition, we’ll be hosting multiple adult leagues such as dodgeball, flag football and indoor soccer, pickle ball and anything else the community wants to bring to the table,” Nicole said. Seems pretty much anything athletic and in need of space, especially during the unpredictable Southwest Michigan weather, could fit at the Indoor Expo.
“We’re also offering local teams to rent out the space when their games and/or practices have been canceled due to weather conditions. We want people to be able to have a place to go to play when the weather takes a turn on them.” Nicole and Cody are encouraging local schools, clubs and teams to rent their facility so they can continue to train or play without mother nature interfering.
For those who enjoy some time in the batting cages, RISE will have them ready to rent as well.
While the facility is still getting things together for their eventual opening in early August, you can peruse the website at riserailsbacksports.com, where you can even make rental bookings online. Feel free to keep up with them on Facebook as well.
Below are a few photos Nicole sent us that you might enjoy ahead of their opening.
