Sports in Socorro

Experienced instructors at Gymboree Play & Music Center tutor small classes of tots up to 5 years old in music, art, sports, and school skills. Youngsters in a sports class move and stretch during exercises inspired by athletic pursuits such as soccer, basketball, tennis, and golf. Teachers in art classes encourage students’ self-expression and beret tilting through sculpture, painting, and collage, and school-skills classes aim to socialize children in preparation for preschool or kindergarten. The Gymboree programs encourage parents to participate with their children in the classes to understand their child's individual development processes and unquenchable hatred of broccoli.

Sculpted through the rising red crags surrounding the Chihuahuan Desert, Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course’s 27-hole course layout challenges golfers with rolling terrain and treacherously sloped greens. Those hoping to groom their golf swing can do so with one, three, or five driving-range buckets—which brim with approximately 50 balls each—to use at the adjacent driving range, which cushions practice balls atop overseeded natural grass that emulates course conditions and tempts hungry golfers to graze indulgently . A more trying golf odyssey awaits at the course, where twosomes traverse two of three pristine nine-hole courses, each one billed by Texas Outside as a scenic labyrinth of native cacti, mesquite, creosote bushes, and mormon tea plants. After the round, players can replenish at the Diecinueve Bar & Grill with a meal of classic fare such as the Dunes burger or chicken tenders, all served with fries and a drink. The grill is designed with indoor seating for post-round relaxation as well as an outdoor patio, which overlooks the course and choreographed tumbleweed performances once an hour.

Chris Pedroza doesn’t understand bicep curls and overhead presses. These fabricated movements, after all, aren’t typically found outside the gym, so Pedroza—owner of and trainer at Supreme Assailant—instead encourages his clients to mimic practical moves, like the ones they perform in everyday life, but with a bit more spirit. His 60-minute training sessions are crash courses in strength and endurance. They combine plyometrics and agility drills with resistance training, creating one intense effort to shed weight and sculpt toned muscles. Exercisers of all shapes, sizes, and ability levels can sign up, from those looking to drop their couch-potato flab to bodybuilders who yearn for a workout that doesn’t require a bright-orange spray tan. No matter what shape a client is in, Pedroza customizes classes to each individual by scaling moves up or down, depending on who performs them.

In 1931, aviation legends such as Howard Hughes and Amelia Earhart traversed the hallowed halls of Floyd Bennett Field, New York City's first municipal airport. Today, the same site harbors Aviator Sports and Events Center, which accommodates recreation in all of its forms, equipped with 20,000 square foot indoor field house, which includes newly resurfaced hardwood courts and new turf field, two outdoor synthetic-turf fields, and an outdoor space for events that can seat up to 4,000 people—the same number of people it takes to crack open a life-size Big Bird piñata. Twin NHL-regulation rinks host open-skate sessions, a majority of which are held on Rink B, every day of the week, with skates as late as 11 p.m. on weekends. Inside the center is a brand new CrossFit gym, which offers workout classes Monday through Saturday. Only youngsters enjoy summer or after-school camps, but adults and kids alike can take advantage of a roster of sports and leagues, including flag football and rock climbing, ideal for those looking to shorten morning commutes by cutting through the quarry.

"My dad told me, 'Mijo, no matter what the sport, the best athletes are always in tremendous shape!'" René Armijo says on his website when describing how he came to concentrate on fitness. The boxer would always remember these words, forever seeking out superior health and fitness practices as he worked toward building his fighting career. At Fighter Physique, René combines his experience in the ring with his passion for fitness, joining a team of fellow fighters and exercise aficionados to lead students toward diamond-chiseled physiques.

At the brightly lit studio, a forest of red punching bags abounds with instructors guiding all skill levels through proper boxing and kickboxing techniques, infusing workouts with high-intensity calisthenics and aerobic exercises. The staff opens all of their classes to kids as well, encouraging youngsters to leave behind sedentary lives of playing video games and reading their mothers' diaries in order to build the foundations of invaluable lifelong fitness skills.

The professionals at Honors Golf Academy take into account the fact that players gravitate to the greens for different reasons, and so they cater to both the casual swinger and the scratch golfer during private and group lessons. Drawing on more than a decade of experience with teaching golf, the academy’s certified instructor—who has a handicap of zero himself—employs video analysis to break down the elements of students’ swings. Lessons can focus on anything from driving form to putting endgame, and take place in the academy’s enclosed hitting area or out on the fairways, where students tackle a nine-hole course under the guidance of their mentor. Honors Golf Academy also pairs clients with custom Acer and Power Play clubs, ensuring that each new acquisition is the right fit.