Factory Sports marks first anniversary with ribbon cutting

The Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate Factory Sports' one year anniversary.

What started as a college project and a dream to make a positive impact on the community is now celebrating one year as the premier basketball training facility in Sussex County. June 30 marked the first anniversary of the opening of the headquarters of The Factory on Nassau Commons Boulevard in Lewes.

Since college  Factory Sports CEO Pat Woods has had a vision to build a facility to hold basketball camps and workouts. This vision came to fruition last year when The Factory Sports Complex opened up. The Factory exists to provide a premier sports facility for all ages and abilities where athletes can train and compete in a safe environment.

The 6,000-squar- foot location runs a number of programs including pickle ball, volleyball, indoor soccer, off-season lacrosse training, personal and group strength training, as well as, summer skills camps, birthday parties and even blacklight dodgeball tournaments. However, the passion for Woods has always been basketball.

For Woods, what started as summer camps alongside close friend DeRonte Polite who is now coaching at IMG Academy in Florida, has evolved into a full-time endeavor to coach and inspire basketball players from kindergarten to college.

“Basketball has taken me from the driveway, to high school, to college and now to owning my own business. Most recently it has taken me to be a coach at the CP3 Camp in San Diego to share the court with NBA greats Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Matt Barnes and a host of other stand out players/coaches. I am grateful to God for the opportunities and want to make the most of them,” Woods said.

When asked what the future holds for The Factory, Woods states “We plan to start up an after school program, development a scholarship fund so that all kids have the ability to play at The Factory and continue to improve and build upon the programs we currently have. If all goes well, we have plans to expand into a larger facility where we can host various indoor tournaments and bring more business to Sussex County. We grew up in this area and we love being able to share our passion with friends and family from our hometown.”

For more information about upcoming programs and events, call 302-703-6964 or go to www.factoryhoops.com.