READY, SET, SOCIALIZE
Houston Sports and Social Club relaunches league play
“Rusty.”
Jamie Simon and Shawn Yates said the word in unison as they described how they felt playing their first volleyball game in two months.
The friends, both 30-somethings, have played recreational volleyball and kickball with the Houston Sports and Social Club for five years. Going two months with no weekly volleyball game was tough for the former high school and college athletes, they said.
Yates tried a variety of livestream exercise classes, from boxing to yoga to Pilates, she said. She walked around her neighborhood as often as possible to keep up with her Apple Watch’s daily step goals. Simon’s exercise schedule stuck to online yoga and walks around Buffalo Bayou.
But last Thursday evening, they were glad to be back at Wakefield Crowbar waiting for their turn at the volleyball court.
“It feels good to have something to come to every Thursday and socialize. We can be outside with
our friends and play volleyball again,” Yates said. “It’s really nice to be back.”
On June 3, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated Phase 3 of the state’s reopening, doing away with pandemic-imposed restrictions on recreational sports programs for youths and adults. And bar capacity increased to 50 percent, as long as customers remain seated, according to the governor’s order.
Club owner Omid Rafiei considered the governor’s order a green light to open HSSC league play. Since early May, the club has allowed reservations for socially distanced two-on-two volleyball games; tournament play returned on Memorial Day weekend.
Rafiei met future business partner Aly Valiani in the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi at the University of Texas in the late ’90s. Both Rafiei and Valiani have ownership stakes in Wakefield Crowbar in Oak Forest.
When he moved to Houston in the early 2010s, Rafiei knew a city of this size would benefit from a noncompetitive, recreational sports league.
Years later, Rafiei met his wife on a recreational sports team in Austin.
Since HSSC’s launch nine years ago, it has grown exponentially — until COVID-19 struck.
“When the word social is in your business name, it’s hard to do social distancing,” he said.
Though a separate business, Wakefield Crowbar exists because of the social club members who play volleyball and cornhole on-site. When the pandemic forced the shutdown of all social events and nonessential businesses, it felt like a double whammy, Valiani said.
The bar had to switch to a full restaurant model, with curbside pickup and delivery during the pandemic-induced lockdown. Some nights, they barely cleared $100.
“Normally, we’re blessed with HSSC’s customer base, with the volleyball leagues and cornhole. There’s a built-in demand here, so that’s why this opportunity made a lot of sense for collaboration,” Valiani said. “(Before COVID-19) most nights, 60-70 percent of the business was from HSSC leagues.”
Neighbors continued supporting the locally grown restaurant during lockdown. Plus,
Valiani received Paycheck Protection Program loans to stay afloat for the spring months, he said.
Rafiei did not deny members’ refunds if they requested their money back. The club offered credits for next season or extra weeks on their game schedule to all league teams; many took the offers.
Some members just let them keep the money, Valiani said.
“They’ve been phenomenal at their level of understanding on what the business is going through,” Rafiei said. “Who would imagine that a business like ours, after nine years, would just shut down one day with no revenue? They’ve been amazing, our players.”
Post-Memorial Day, the club has transitioned to league play for softball, kickball and dodgeball. But not everything is back yet, including free play, in which players bring their own balls for pick-up games.
Each ball is sanitized and left outside to dry before it’s used by a new team. The courts must be reserved and social distancing is encouraged. Masks aren’t required for players, but restaurant staff wear them.
The club’s ability to contact trace is a huge value, Valiani said. Through league play, HSSC knows every person on a roster, which team she played and when. With free play, there’s less control.
“Our customer base, especially the league base, was ready to get out and engage, play sports and be outside,” Valiani said. “And because of that, they understand the fluidity. Bringing people together in a safe setting is so critical because we need those connections.”
The club’s mission is to enhance people’s lives by bringing them together, he said. And that didn’t stop during the pandemic.
Longtime HSSC operations manager Pedro Garcia hosted virtual flip-cup tournaments while online trivia was offered to the club’s member base. For Rafiei, making a profit took a backseat to remaining a positive outlet for adults.
“Whether your job sucks or you’re upset about something, you can still go out and have fun with your friends, meet some new people and let off some steam,” he said. “Not being able to do that for people was one of the toughest things. It’s what we do.”
Yates and Simon won’t be giving high-fives any time soon, even though their team, “Side Out” (derived from the ’90s volleyball flick with C. Thomas Howell), is back in play.
“The last game we played was still early ‘corona,’ so we didn’t high-five the other team,” Simon said. “We’re thinking maybe we just shouldn’t do that for a while.”
Houston Sports and Social Club has reopened sign-up for its kickball, softball, dodgeball, flag football, sand volleyball and soccer leagues. Volleyball court and playground reservations are available at Wakefield Crowbar.