The Training Zone Opens in Cortlandt

After sitting idly for five years, the building that was once home to the Agway Country Store on Route 202 reopened its doors on Jan. 1 as The Training Zone, a multi-sport training complex. The 12,000 square foot indoor complex is geared mostly towards improving specific skill sets of youth players, but offers adult clinics as well.

The interior is nearly covered from wall to wall in Astroturf where young athletes attend training sessions in softball, baseball, lacrosse and field hockey. The three main rooms used in the complex were designed to be adaptable to different kinds of sports.

Owner John Knopf, a youth girls softball coach from Yonkers, formulated the idea for The Training Zone when he had difficulty finding a place nearby that offered sessions in softball training for his girls.

“The places you can go to train girls in softball, especially in the off-season, were few and far between,” said Knopf, who also owns his own flooring company in New York City.

Knopf said that the location in Cortlandt Manor, only about two miles west of the Taconic and east of the Bear Mountain Extension, and right off of Route 202, is a good spot for the services he offers.

“The month of March is completely sold out. We have had teams from as far south as Yonkers and as far north as Fishkill come here to train,” Knopf said.

Amongst the other staffers at the complex are Amanda McCann, who is an ACE certified personal trainer and Ryan Castle, who was once a second Baseman in the Chicago Cubs minor league system. Castle offers his expertise to baseball and softball training sessions and McCann offers children and some adult classes specializing in speed, quickness and agility.

The three rooms in the building were each designed to fit different needs. One room features a 60-foot baseball/softball diamond used for infield defensive training drills and base running practice. The room next to it is larger and is where Amanda McCann runs her speed, quickness and agility classes. The largest room in the complex offers baseball and softball batting cages and can also be adapted into a soccer, lacrosse or a field hockey field.

“Recently we have even had the Cortlandt Cowboys Youth football team come in here and practice” said Knopf.

Being a dad to four kids, Knopf is familiar with the challenges parents face when scheduling and transporting kids to activities, so he created The Training Zone with that in mind.

“Parents drop their kids off here after school or some of them even stay and help with the training,” he said.

He is in the process of creating an area with Wifi access and places for kids to do their homework before they start their training sessions.

The Training Zone also hosts birthday parties for ages 4-13 with all the necessities: pizza, balloons, juice, invitations, paper goods and staff setup and cleanup. The parties are paired with whichever sporting activities the children wish to play. Games like foosball, dodgeball, air hockey and freeze tag are available as well. A party of fifteen costs $375 and $16 more for each additional child.

The current setup of The Training Zone is not its final form; Knopf said he hopes to build a large multi-sport field in back of the current location, which will have a dome over it in the fall and winter and will be open air in spring and summer. By creating this multi-sport field he believes he will have one of the premiere training facilities in the area. “It all depends on if the town allows me," he said.

The Training Zone is open Monday-Friday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., and from 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. on weekends. They offer classes from ages four and up. Check The Training Zone website for pricing information on clinics and training sessions.

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