New athletic facility opens in Carson

Rob Heaton graduated from Carson High School back in 1995, but has never held a job in Carson City.

Until now.

Heaton, 36, has opened Talents Athletic Center, a sports facility located in North Carson that offers programs on agility, speed, strength, conditioning, personal training and group program development for kids 5 to 18.

The facility, which has undergone a soft opening for six weeks, has a 35-yard turf field which hosts indoor soccer and flag football games.

Currently, the facility is hosting a 15-team league with 125 players and an indoor soccer league for 12-under players.

In the near future, there will be two batting cages, a pitching area and an area where you can field groundballs.

Heaton had been flying around the world working for other people, but he knew that Carson City needed this type of facility. The city offered very little for school-age kids, especially after hours and during vacations.

“Kids needed something,” said Heaton, who is married and has three children (11, 10 and 6). “Parents don’t feel confident with kids being unsupervised. We don’t have video games here. We have an interactive game. We will keep them busy and active.

“We’re going to have 6-7 part-time staff members, including high school kids from Carson and surrounding area. No one is pulling down 40 hours a week; not yet anyway.”

Besides the flag football and indoor soccer leagues currently going on at TAC, Heaton said an outdoor flag football league through NFL Rush will be held at Fremont Elementary.

Heaton hopes that both Pop Warner and Sierra Youth Football League players will get involved with the NFL Rush program. He said those teams are not available to get together in the off-season, but could play in a different league.

“Flag gives kids not on a tackle team a chance to play,” Heaton said. “It’s a fast-paced game.”

Heaton said he’s offering spring and summer programs.

The facility isn’t just for leagues or individuals. It’s for groups, too.

“We’re on a pay-per use model,” Heaton said. “People can rent the field for league play.”

Heaton has already scheduled two spring break camps — April 14-18 and April 21-25. The camps are for kids from kindergarten through eighth grade. The morning session goes from 9 a.m. to noon and the afternoon session is from 1 to 4 p.m. Early drop-off is available for a fee. The cost is $80 per camper for half days and $160 per week for full days. Campers who are on the premises for an entire day are asked to bring a sack lunch. A snack will be provided. The camp will have organized games.

The facility also will be available for birthday parties. There will be three packages to choose from, ranging from $225 to $300.

The basic package includes one hour of private field use plus 45 minutes of private party are with virtual sports play. If you have more than 15 people in the group, it’s $5 per-person extra. The second package ($270) includes everything in the basic package plus pizzas. For more than 15 people, it’s an additional $8 per-person. The third package ($300) includes everything in the first two packages plus cupcakes. Parties over 15 there will be an additional charge of $10 per-person.