Intramurals, rec league soccer, softball, kickball, volleyball – bring it on! For those of us who have aged out of the days of competing for our schools, thank goodness for adult leagues! We talk with Tyler Wallace, Owner and League Coordinator of Red River Social Sports, about how RRSS is bringing rec sports fun to the Frisco and Little Elm area.
Enjoy episode #90 and other episodes of Hustle and Pro in our archives.
Show Notes
[00:23] Quick Hits with Tyler Wallace[02:31] Sports background
[05:21] What is Red River Social Sports?
[13:04] Sports and Skill Levels
[17:32] Big picture
Resources within this episode:
- Red River Social Sports: Website | Instagram @redriversocialsports
- Kelly Walker: Bio | Instagram @kelly_walkertexas | Twitter: @kelly_walker_TX
Connect with Lifestyle Frisco:
Transcript: (machine-generated)
Welcome to Hustle & Pro, Season 2, talking sports and Frisco from youth to pro. Now here’s your host, Kelly Walker.
Welcome to Hustle & Pro. If you listen, you know that I’m a sucker for some rec sports. So, through college to now, I’m always interesting in playing something. So, today we’re going to talk about that. We’re talking with Tyler Wallace a little bit about some rec sports here locally. Hi, Tyler. How are you? Good. How are you? I’m good. All right. So, I think you listen. So, you know, we’re going to talk about some quick hits first. I’m going to ask you who your favorite athlete is.
Yeah. I prepared. I prepared. I mean, it’s always, it’s my man-crush, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Um, he’s not probably the typical kind of answer you would give. But, I was super into pro- professional wrestling whenever I was a kid. And, um, The Rock was, like, the man. And even now, like, it’s what- I strive for success because of that.
Yeah. I mean, he’s beyond an athlete now, right? He’s everything. He’s, like, the biggest movie star ever now. That’s definitely a unique answer that I haven’t had in here, yet. All right. So, um, let’s see. What’s your favorite sport?
Uh, football, hands-down. I played all through grade school and high school. And unfortunately, not many colleges are looking for a 5’7”, 180-pound lineman. So, um, my, my college days, didn’t, it didn’t translate to football.
Do you still play for fun?
I’ve played flag football occasionally. But, um, I’m not, I’m not really big into the, the ankle injuries and I’m prone to a sprained ankle quite often. Yeah.
Football’s tough on you, obviously. Uh, so, what’s your favorite sports movie?
Varsity Blues. It’s not, I mean, yes, it’s a sports movie, but not, it’s not really all about the sports.
Sports-centric movie. Sports, you know.
But I, I watched that movie every night going to sleep on VHS tape and every night of high school. So, I could probably recite the whole movie by heart. Um, but, we’ll save that one for the next episode.
How funny, okay. I mean, you’re going to hate this, but I mean, I know it and I’ve seen it, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen like start-to-finish, the whole thing at once. Like in, like, intentionally watching the whole movie.
Yeah. No, I probably watched it two or three months ago. Everybody thinks of Dawson’s Creek when you think of James Van Der Beek. Not me. I think of Varsity Blues.
Okay. So between James Van Der Beek and The Rock, you’ve got some actor icons. They’re so different. That’s funny. Okay, then. So, you talked about football. I’m curious to know your background in sports, because we’re gonna talk about like what you do now in sports as an adult. But, um, besides football, like, what else did you do when you were younger?
Uh, I did power lifting in high school. So, I went to a really small, uh, I played eight-man football. And then my senior year, I was like, “I’m going to do everything except basketball, because basketball makes no sense to me.” Um, so, I did baseball. Broke my nose. Um, didn’t do very well my senior year. So, um, baseball is more of a, “I want to watch the sport.” When did you break your nose? Uh, I was playing center field. And I was paying attention like a very good center fielder should do. And last minute, I raised my glove to catch the ball and it just tipped off and knocked me out. And, uh, yeah. I, that’s why I don’t sleep very well. Now, one of the, one of the three broken noses, yeah. One of the three? Yeah. Broke my nose riding a miniature bull when I was, like, nine, I think. Yeah.
You were riding a miniature bull when you were nine?
So, it was actually a baby bull. It had a hump and everything and I smacked my nose on the back of it and broke my nose. That was the first one. And the third one? So, the third one was the baseball. The second one was, um, I looked off to the wrong guy in 8th grade. Yeah.
8th grade? Yeah. Holy cow. You’re a daredevil. Sometimes. So, baseball. Um, gosh, you said a lot of things in there, actually.
So, sport-wise, like, I like to watch football. I like to play volleyball, kickball, stuff like that. And um, my senior year, it was more of just a, “I want to play the sports before I don’t get to anymore.” Right. I realized that my size wasn’t going to take me pro, so.
Well, it’s good that you realize that. Because I feel like now, I don’t know, as a parent, maybe I just see it differently. Um, but, I feel like so many kids and parents around us, especially in this community, feel like there is so much more beyond high school sports. And there are for so many kids. We got a high school booster email today and it listed all the commits, the college commits and signing day and all this stuff, or, yeah, it was signing day for the ball sports. And I was amazed. I’m like, “these, these are several kids just at our high school that are going to play in college.” And so it is a more common thing. I mean, gosh, when I was in high school, I think maybe one person went and did something in college that was worthwhile. But now around here, it is more of a realistic thing. But, but I try to keep it real with my kids, like, “make your high school team, check that off the list and you’re good to go.”
Yeah. It’s just so- there’s just so many kids that want that same thing that, although it’s, um, it’s attainable for some, by working hard, some of it’s just genetics.
Yeah. It’s just hard. I mean, it’s a hard step to take. Okay. So all of those things that you did, and you mentioned volleyball, that brings us to how I was first introduced to you. Um, I think it was through, through volleyball league. So, I want to know more about what you’re doing now. Um, so tell me what Red River Social Sports is.
So I, so I moved to Dallas in 2018 and I wanted to- I played kickball and volleyball and stuff in Tulsa before I moved here. And there just- so I lived in Plano originally. And there just wasn’t a ton of stuff or leagues that weren’t 45-minutes-to-an-hour drive for me. And so, um, especially after I moved in with my girlfriend in, in Prosper, um, I told her, I was like, “as, as much as north Dallas is growing, like, there’s, there needs to be a league in north Dallas.” And, um, so we, we started it back in September, um, during quarantine. I have, I don’t have- I’ve been traveling near as much this year for, for work. So, um, we started it up and our first volleyball league is playing on Sundays in Little Elm right now. And, uh, that’s where most of our sports will be taking place.
So as far as the name Red River Social Sports, why the name Red River?
Uh, because, um, in 2018, I moved from Tulsa to Dallas for a career opportunity. And, um, the first few weeks that I lived in Dallas, I was driving home every single weekend ’cause I was homesick. And so, I got to see the red river quite a few times.
Yep. I bet so. All right. So, you mentioned volleyball. Well, you said it started in September. So, yeah, you’re probably one of the few people, uh, ramping up some activity in the fall here, but that’s awesome. I mean, because while we were in our houses more, and like you said, different schedules in our normal lives from work and everything, um, we were outside a lot. And that, a lot of that included sports and different activities in ways to be outside of our house, moving and still being, you know, healthy and fit and active and all that good stuff. So, so you mentioned volleyball. Was that your first sport that you guys ramped up with?
That’s the main, yeah, that’s what we started with. And that’s mainly because we can, we’re, it’s outside and the courts are large enough that we’re staying pretty far apart. There’s not a ton of, you know, um, co-mingling, like, in between. So, um, but after the first of the year, that’s when we’re really gonna kick off all the other sports: soccer and, um, kickball will be our big, our big sport for, uh, over there in Little Elm.
Okay. So, I’m thinking volleyball. I mean, I’m thinking beach volleyball, yeah? All beach volleyball.
Yeah. So, we play right there on Lake Lewisville off of, uh, in Little Elm Parks, the sandy beach. So, um, I will have, at least, four-to-five nights of volleyball going after the first of the year. Wow. Right now we’re, we’re limited to daytime because, um, the city of Little Elm is putting on, like, a Christmas display through, through November and December. So once we hit, uh, January 6th, we’re, we’ve got the green light to go to night.
Volleyball at night. That’s so much fun. When I graduated college and moved to this area, um, the company that I worked for happened to have beach volleyball league or team in a league and softball and soccer, like, women’s soccer team. I mean, I can’t, I can’t even imagine now, like, going to an office where there’s enough people to play women’s soccer, but we did. Um, and playing beach volleyball was so much fun. We were in advertising, it was advertising. And so it was an ad league. And so, it was all just media people out there. It was so much fun, lots of, uh, finger, some broken fingers and finger injuries and all that. But for the most part, I mean, anybody kind of can get out there and make it, make it work. Whether you have played, like- I didn’t play volleyball in high school. Um, it was just not on my radar. And so, I kind of was learning, kind of, on-the-fly in that adult league. But it’s one of those sports I feel, like, you can- as long as you’re athletic and you can move and you can kind of anticipate what’s happening, where the ball is going to have, you know, all that good stuff, like, there are so few rules that you can just manage, right? Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, our, our, our league is self-reffed. And, um, so, we have four teams this first season in every- but all the teams are pretty, pretty closely, uh, matched. So we’ve, we’re all getting to know each other really well. So it’s, like I said, it’s, it’s the first one, so we’re still growing. And, uh, so, we’ll play the same teams a few times a season. And, uh, everybody seems to be pretty closely matched.
And that’s how it is even in my, um, rec softball league that’s established and it’s been here a while and that- in general, the league is large in Plano. We play the same teams over and over again, even though I feel like there’s, it’s been around forever, and that’s fine. Like, it’s normal. It’s fun. You start to get to know everybody; you recognize the different positions. You just- it’s, it’s fun competition-wise ’cause you do know, like, “Oh man, this guy’s up to bat. I know already that, or what this is going to do.” Um, or the girls, like you kind of already know what girls to watch out for.
That’s why I wanted to do this. Just because some of the best friends that I have today, I met, you know, eight years ago when I started playing kickball in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And now, some of my best closest friends are because of that.
Kickball. How fun. Is kickball on your radar here?
Yep. So, kickball’s set to start in March, um, of next year. We’re going to be playing in Little Elm over there. Okay.
I was going to say where- so, you mentioned soccer and kickball. So, yeah. Well, I’m thinking what facilities you going to be able to put people out for those.
I would love to be able to do it at McInnish Park. But um, the City of Frisco offers their own kickball league. And so, um, unfortunately, I can’t start it. Yeah. That’s uh, another- I’ve tried to sign up for it, but if you don’t have enough teams sign up, um, it doesn’t form. And it’s just different, like- like, my company has the ability to market in ways that, you know, some city organizations don’t and- so, is that your background? Uh, somewhat. I’ve, I’ve always been in some sort of marketing or sales role. So since, uh, I was doing tech sales right out of high school and while I was going to community college.
Okay. I was going to say. ‘Cause it seems like even though you’re, you know, only a few months old at this point, as far as the Red River Social Sports goes, that you are connecting with a lot of people and getting out there. ‘Cause you know, like, I’ve seen it several times and um, I know people that are going out there to play. So, it just seems like you’re picking up good momentum. So, I didn’t know if that was something, one of your professional skills.
So I, I actually ran a league, um, was the lead coordinator for another company in Tulsa for a little while, so I kinda knew how, how the league ran. Um, but as far as making connections, like, I’ve never met a stranger in my life. So, that’s the easiest part of, of doing this, to me. Is just talking to people and reach. And I’m not, I’m not shy to reach out to people.
Yeah. Well, you have to. I mean, especially this, like, a community thing. This is, this is, that’s what, that’s what it’s all about. It is the act of, like, going out and playing. It’s like, community and gathering people. But um, you know, that’s something you’re going to have to do. And you are doing – is, you know, we want local people to know who you are and come out there and play together and bring their local friends, right? Absolutely. So, talking about people: um, like what age it- talk to me about, like, who you think should come out. Like what ages, what skill levels, what kind of people are these people who could know nothing about sports and just want to hang out or meet people or, and is this also, you know, ex college stars that are still can’t, can’t quit playing.
So, we have, we have 43 people in our volleyball league. 12 of them were on a team together. The other ones were all single, solo players that signed up and now they have teams and they have new friends. Um, so anybody that’s over the age of 21 and wants to relive some of the glory days or just get out there for a fun activity, um, you don’t have to have a team or you can have a team. Sign up.
If you do have a team, how many is a team?
Depending on the sport. For volleyball it just depends on, you know, the format. But, um, typically 7 to 8 players for a volleyball team and then for kickball, anywhere from 13 to 15. Okay. Um, but like I said, if you don’t have a team, that’s fine. Most of our players in the league right now didn’t have a team and, and we’ll, we’ll find a good fit for you. And you know, if the team that you get put on isn’t a good fit for you, we’ll find you a different one the next season.
Yeah. Because I mean, a lot of people just want to be out there to play, right? I mean, that’s, that’s kinda how I am. I’m, like, when I go play, it really usually takes maybe one friend, somebody that I at least know that knows I have interest in that sport or something for somebody to kind of recruit you in. Um, but my objective isn’t “Okay. I need to know everybody on this team,” like, at all. I just want to go out there and play and see what, you know, see what’s going on and who is out there, I guess. But really, it’s just about get moving and doing something.
And being social. Like, I know, like, the main reason I signed up for a kickball league when I moved to Dallas was because I was moving here and I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t know anybody. And so, all my family’s in Oklahoma. So I was, like, “the easiest way to make friends is to sign up as a free agent and, you know, get put on a team and hopefully a few of them stick as friends.”
Yeah, for sure. And it kind of- speaking of that, like, I talked about at the top that, um, I’m a sucker for like rec sports and even starting through college. So, intramurals was big for me. Um, that’s how I met my husband, so that’s one reason why it was big for me. But it was just really good, um- it’s still even now as a 41-year old, it’s some of our best memories – especially, like, sports memories. Some of my best memories of sports are, of course, high school stuff. I just, I love like being able to play for your high school, but, um, intramural soccer and, um, like football and basketball and softball. I don’t know where I miss all this volleyball in my life, but I did all those years, somehow. Um, did you also do intramural experiences, too?
Yeah, I mean, I played softball right out of, uh, out right after high school just for that competitive edge. But, um, softball was just never my thing. Um, uh, I think I was just- I got tired of standing in the outfield and then home runs hit on me. So, um, so I’ve, I’ve- a friend of mine asked me to fill in on their kickball team one night and I was hooked. I was, like, “This is awesome. I get to, I get to hang out with my friends and uh, you know, have a few beverages and kick a big red ball around, so.
Yeah, it’s no baseball that’s gonna break your nose in center field so much. And yeah, that probably isn’t as interesting going from like a center fielder in baseball to like adult rec softball, because, I mean, it does get not so fun when they’re just cranking them over the fence. Yeah. It depends on the league you’re in, if that’s even allowed and how many. But it does kind of, it takes away some of it, especially as an outfielder. Doesn’t feel good.
Yeah. And I mean, at the end of the day, my league, I want, I want it to be fun. I want people to come out there and have fun and, and not have to be the, the ex high school all star to come out there and play. Um, there will be a time for that. I’ll have competitive leagues and then I have my rec leagues as well. So, um, we’re just getting started. So the, the competitive leagues aren’t there, yet, but they’ll, uh, they’re coming.
Yeah, sure. Just takes, you know, enough people and time. All these things have to align, especially right now. And you got to have facilities and, you know, all that good stuff and the right, the right, um, numbers, registration numbers. So, what, like- big picture: we talked about, you started with volleyball, you’re adding soccer and you’re adding kickball. Um, what’s big picture? Like, what do you want this to look like – I don’t know – this time next year? How many sports and what all you want to look like?
So, I would love for next year to, um- I have 10 courts at my disposal over in Little Elm Park and I would love for all 10 of them to be full every night and to have kickball and soccer going a couple of nights of the week. Um, and I think it’ll, I think it will get there, eventually.
And I could see like, you know, special tournaments for everything. For- especially for stuff like that. It’s, you can do a, you can do a tournament for any reason, right? You can do a St. Patty’s Day tournament and Thanksgiving tournament and 4th of July and, you know, all kinds of different reasons just to basically get some, some round-robin play and extra games in on the weekends.
Yeah. I plan to do a lot of charity tournaments. Um, we’re working with Lovepacs to, kind of, fill some of their- to donate to their pantry, um.
Our paths align. Lifestyle Frisco just recently did, um- I mean, we’ve worked with Lovepacs for a while. But, we just did an article not too long ago, um, just kind of, highlighting some of the things that they’re doing. It’s a great local organization. Talk about a way to make an direct impact in your community.
Right, yeah. So, we, we plan to work with them and other other charities to hold, like, little charity events throughout the year. Um, we’re going to do one right before the end of the year for a blind-draw volleyball tournament, um, to kind of help them out right there before, uh, before the big holiday break.
Yeah. Which is when they need, you know- the, the cold weather months and time when, like, kids aren’t in school is always a big need for them, right? They need more and more help.
And I love dogs, so, we plan to work with animal shelters, too, and do like adoption events.
Oh, cool. Or you could have adoption people out there at the courts and people would check out the dogs.
Exactly. Yes. Not at the courts, but during kickball and stuff. The, the dogs aren’t allowed on the sand. Otherwise, my coworker would go with me every time.
Well, that’s cool. That, that was a really- I love tying all that in, too. So, um, so, how can people, um, look into you and find out, you know, how to look for future leagues that they can sign up for.
So, they can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It’s @redriversocialsports, um, or they can go see all of our work. We’re open for registration for the, um, after the first of the year at redriversocialsports.com. Uh, kickball, soccer, volleyball leagues are all open for 2021 registration.
Well, fantastic, Tyler. Thanks for all this info. I’m excited. As a local, uh, rec sports person, I’m excited to be able to get out there and especially some beach volleyball and- you know, I haven’t played kickball in ages – like, decades and decades – so, when that, yeah, for sure.
Especially now that the ankles back up and running, not only are we going to have to have our foot race, but you know, you can play kickball with us, too.
Yeah, I think I can. So, I’m excited for this spring to roll around for you to have all those things and get out there and meet some new people and play some sports. So, thanks for coming and joining us and giving us the scoop.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
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