Rec Sports

Baltimore youth golf program Swing 2 Soar builds confidence beyond the course

Published

4 months ago

August 3, 2025

BALTIMORE — A Baltimore youth golf program is transforming lives through the game, providing access to a sport that many kids in the community wouldn’t otherwise experience.

WATCH: Baltimore youth golf program Swing 2 Soar builds confidence beyond the course

Baltimore youth golf program Swing 2 Soar builds confidence beyond the course

Keith Tripp is the founder of Swing 2 Soar, a youth golf program established in 2016 that has seen tremendous growth in the years since its inception.

“I realized how much outside of the game of golf was on the golf course that I just wanted to bring it back to the kids that didn’t have that type of access,” Tripp said.

The program began with small classes and has expanded significantly as interest in golf has grown within the community.

“It was hard. A couple one, two kid classes for a long time, and I think it’s just really the culture meeting golf now, and the message has been there, so I think it’s just a prime time for where we are at to just step in and grab these kids,” Tripp said.

Every Sunday, the group meets at Forest Park Golf Course, where Tripp provides lessons, drill work, and friendly competitions for the young participants.

But Swing 2 Soar offers more than just golf instruction. The program takes a holistic approach to youth development.

“We just want to be here to not only give golf to the kids, we do mental health, we do drone therapy we do fintech you know I’m a big tech technical IT guy, so that’s just in me,” Tripp said.

Parents have noticed the program’s positive impact extending beyond the golf course. Walter Brown, whose child participates in Swing 2 Soar, has seen remarkable changes.

“Use the lessons that we learned from the game of golf to translate into all facets. Like the classroom, other sports, and whatever endeavors that the kids choose to follow, we use the game of golf to kind of give us the motivation and the skills necessary to move ourselves into the future,” Brown said.

For Tripp, the most rewarding aspect is watching the children’s confidence grow.

“Just seeing them come in with the head down, and usually again, golf was their last resort. They tried basketball. They tried the football. Every coach turned them away. They didn’t have the confidence to keep going, but coming here and just getting that high five and that confirmation, you could do something that the next man can’t. You know that that does something to a kid,” Tripp said.

To learn more about Swing 2 Soar, visit their website at swing2soar.com.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Rec Sports

New Wings West owner allegedly plans to raise costs for users

Published

4 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Black Bear Sports Group is the private equity-sponsored organization that purchased Wings West in October and plans to reopen it next year. They’ve allegedly been buying struggling ice rinks and forcing their resident youth hockey teams to pay premiums for in-house services like insurance and game streaming.

That’s according to a report by investigative news outlet The Lever published last month.

The report says that parents are not allowed to record their kids’ games. Instead, they can opt to use Black Bear TV, the company’s streaming service that costs between $25 and $50 per month. Black Bear also charges each player $50 a year for registration and insurance fees.

A source connected with a Kalamazoo ice user group that uses Wings West spoke to WMUK on the condition of anonymity so they don’t jeopardize their relationship with Black Bear. They said that Black Bear has proposed an hourly ice rate that’s 30% more expensive than the previous owner’s rate. For locker room rentals, they plan to charge about twice as much annually.

Black Bear is allegedly forcing the source’s group to purchase their uniforms from a partner in New Jersey called Breakaway Sports – business that, in the past, went to local manufacturers.

They’ve also been asked to tack a brand partnership onto their longtime club name. According to the source, Black Bear has threatened the group with heightened fees if it fails to comply.

At the time of publication, Black Bear Sports Group has not responded to WMUK’s requests for comment by phone and email.

Brad VandenBerg — managing director of Stadium Management Corporation, which sold Wings West to Black Bear in October — declined to comment.

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Rec Sports

The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation Quarterly Giving Series: Q3 2025

Published

8 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Together, We Change Lives

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / December 5, 2025 / Originally published on DICK’S Sporting Goods Sideline Report

Today we’re bringing you the latest quarterly giving series from The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation to highlight the great work being done in support of our mission to help inspire and enable youth sports participation.

In our third quarter of 2025, we:

Committed up to $2 million in matching funds to The Josh Gibson Foundation to build a new state-of-the-art youth sports facility in Pittsburgh.
Supported coaching summits in Chicago and New York City to give coaches tools to communicate with and empower youth athletes.
Put more gear that gives back on store shelves.

Read on to learn more.

Coming Soon: The Josh Gibson Champions Club & Sports Matter Center

The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation will contribute up to $2 million in matched donations to The Josh Gibson Foundation to build a new state-of-the-art youth sports facility in the Pittsburgh area.

The new facility, which will be called The Josh Gibson Champions Club & Sports Matter Center, will be developed and managed by The Josh Gibson Foundation. Designed to promote the mental, emotional and physical well-being of children, the facility will offer modern sports amenities, safe spaces for play and programming to help youth grow both on and off the field.

Read more about this powerful new partnership here.

The Power of Youth Sports Starts With Coaching

The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation and GameChanger recently joined Nike for its coaching summits to Chicago and New York City. Sports Matter grantees in those cities were invited to a free training experience led by the Center for Healing & Justice Through Sport (CHJS). Coaches walked away with tools for communicating with athletes, building team engagement and belonging and empowering youth athletes to be brave, not perfect.

Take a look back at the Chicago summit here.

Meet the Sports Matter Impact League Organizations

This year we launched the Sports Matter Impact League, making three-year commitments to nine incredible organizations in nine cities across the country. Now we want to introduce you to those organizations! Watch this video to learn more about them and all the great work they do to support youth athletes.

Gear That Gives Back

DICK’S Sporting Goods athletes (consumers) helped us turn shopping into support! Through a grant made possible by DSG’s giveback program, The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation’s Sports Matter Program donated a $100,000 grant to Kesem, a national nonprofit organization helping children cope with a parent’s cancer by offering free summer camps, day programs and virtual meetups.

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Rec Sports

‘Horrible location:’ Proposed Eagle Costco sparks heated backlash and traffic concerns in a neighborhood meeting

Published

11 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Tensions flared as nearly 200 Eagle residents packed a gymnasium to oppose Costco’s plans, voicing concerns about traffic safety and community character.

EAGLE, Idaho — Nearly 200 Eagle residents filled the gymnasium at Eagle Academy High School on Thursday night to voice concerns about a proposed 160,000-square-foot Costco warehouse and fuel station at the intersection of Highway 55 and Hill Road.

The membership-only retailer wants to build on 27 acres that once housed the Masterpiece Quarry, which closed in 2003. The site has sat largely vacant since, though previous plans for a Village at Meridian-like concept never materialized. A for sale sign is currently on the property.

Highway 55 is one of Idaho’s most heavily traveled roads, and residents told KTVB traffic is already a major concern.

“There’s been a lot of development and a lot more traffic than it used to be,” said Greg Drabek, who lives near the intersection. “Eagle is not the little town it used to be.”

Erika Lunbeck, who lives just 500 feet from the proposed site, said she learned about the project only recently.

“48 hours prior to this meeting, I received a notice on my door that there was going to be a question-and-answer session here tonight,” Lunbeck said.

When the meeting turned out to be an informational open house rather than a group question-and-answer format, tensions rose among attendees.

“It’s a waste of our time to be here,” said Ray Gillenwater, who also lives near the project. “We get a three-minute spiel from a real estate developer, and then he says, now it’s an open house. Go and walk around. It’s like, well, no, we’re here to give you our feedback. We’re here to have a conversation.”

John Shaw, a director of real estate development for Costco, facilitated the meeting. He told KTVB this is the typical style of neighborhood meetings they’ve held in the past, and once a formal application is submitted with the city a public hearing opportunity would be held. He added that a neighborhood meeting is a requirement to hold before a formal application for the project to the city.

Residents could ask questions individually to engineers stationed around the room at different poster boards. The majority of people KTVB spoke to were against the project, mainly due to traffic concerns, while a few saw the project as a good economic opportunity for the area.

Engineers at Kittleson and Associates, who completed a traffic study for the project and submitted it to Ada County Highway District (ACHD), said they estimate thousands of vehicle trips to and from the Costco each day. They’ve drafted plans to widen roads and add roundabouts in the area to help with any concerns. The engineers said the traffic study could be modified before Costco submits a final application, with a traffic study to the city for consideration.

Costco is planning for approximately 900 parking spots at the location. Even with proposals for traffic improvements, residents still worry traffic will spill over into the nearby neighborhoods and roads.

“You put a business with that much volume right next to all these houses, and it just destroys the whole community,” Gillenwater said.

“It’s a horrible location,” Lunbeck said.

Lunbeck said the location is particularly dangerous because it sits across from the Optimist Youth Sports Complex.

“There are so many children crossing the streets. The amount of cars going through is astronomical, astronomical, and it’s only a matter of time before something seriously tragic will happen,” Lunbeck said. “It is a horrible location.”

She also raised concerns about local wildlife but said project members didn’t have many answers.

“We have prong horn on our street,” Lunbeck said. “We have golden eagles flying above it. These are supposed to be protected habitats, and I see no protections happening.”

Shaw did not indicate when Costco plans to submit land use applications to the city of Eagle.

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