Things to Do in Westland

The baseball and softball instructors at Great Lakes Baseball Academy share their passion for America's pastime with students as they draw upon accolades that include two national minor-league titles and a high-school state softball record for strikeouts in one year. Inside the year-round, 5,000-square-foot facility, coaches with experience at the major, minor, and high-school levels enrich players' skills during private lessons and team-training sessions. Line drives echo through three climate-controlled, 80-foot batting and pitching tunnels, which include Iron Mike pitching machines that hurtle balls from 40 to 90 mph and occasionally charge the plate. Along with their training grounds, the academy's shop stays stocked with such gear as the latest bats and gloves.

A green turf floor, inflated obstacles, and industrial-sized plastic barrels populate Killer Paintball's two indoor fields. Within this paint-splattered environment, opposing teams don goggles, develop strategy, foster teamwork, and turn each other into sprinting, diving rainbows. Attentive referees supervise three-hour bouts to assure fair play. Open play occurs Friday through Sunday and on Wednesdays. The staff also facilitates paintball parties for birthdays, graduations, and reenactments of Jackson Pollock's last stand.

The sounds of tapping heels and swiveling soles ricochets off The Dance Pavilion's lush red draperies and twinkling chandeliers as social dancers, aspiring ballroom instructors, and professional dancers alike show off moves from more than 18 styles. With help from a team of 10 teachers, founder Ron Brown, whose dance career spans more than four decades, leads private and group lessons in the hustle, waltz, and cha-cha, prepping feet for weekly parties on the 2,800-square-foot hardwood dance floor.

An array of specialty sessions, such as wedding-dance classes, and workshops with visiting teachers, rounds out the studio's vast curriculum. Brown and his instructors also helm the Teachers Ballroom Dance College, which transforms dabblers into expert instructors through a ballroom-dance training-program syllabus developed by renowned dancer Diane Jarmolow. An onsite store stocks men's and women's shoes, beaded clutches, Gene Kelly masks, and other dance essentials.

Wood-paneled walls and traditional pub décor surround diners and dart tossers in the dining areas of both Ford Lanes and Bel-Mark Lanes. The classic facilities host an array of gleaming, professional lanes that boast automatic scoring and are perfect for a night of cosmic bowling or chucking an ex-girlfriend’s snow-globe collection. Both alleys maintain open hours for groups and practicing individuals, and they also offer leagues for adults, seniors, and children. Each weekend, the pin-crushing arenas host karaoke contests, welcoming the musical talent of community members.

Bel-Mark Lanes Wood-paneled walls and traditional pub décor surround diners and dart tossers in the dining areas of Bel-Mark Lanes. The classic facility hosts an array of gleaming, professional lanes that boast automatic scoring and are perfect for a night of cosmic bowling or chucking an ex-girlfriend’s snow-globe collection. Offering open hours for groups and practicing individuals, they also offer leagues for adults, seniors, and children. Each weekend, the pin-crushing arena hosts karaoke contests, welcoming the musical talent of community members.

Founder Connie Fedel first turned to yoga as a method of coping with illness, and over time her devotion to the stress-relieving art helped to diminish the painful symptoms of systemic lupus. Eager to expose others to yoga's physical and spiritual benefits, she began to teach yoga in 2005, and has since opened Taylor Yoga as a venue for Hatha sessions six days a week.

Hatha yoga syncs breathing techniques with a series of fluid poses, each of which can boost circulation, stamina, and balance while putting the mind at ease. Connie highlights the personal element of yoga practice by encouraging students to reflect inwardly during classes. Though its group and private classes can be introspective, Taylor Yoga promotes fellowship through its supportive atmosphere and scheduled events for couples and children. The studio's Pilates classes also serve to tighten tummy muscles with communal workouts.

Modern Skate & Surf’s skate park and alternative-sports shop was founded in 1979 and has since hosted events frequented by Olympic and professional athletes—including superstar Tony Hawk—as well as earned a feature as Best Snowboard Shop in 2012 from Real Detroit Weekly. In Modern Skate & Surf’s world-class, 60,000-square-foot Royal Oak skate park—one of the largest facilities of its kind in the US—skateboards grind across rails or glide over jumps, and inline skaters whiz over obstacles and BMX bikes hang in midair. Customers can build on their extreme-sports skills in clinics and lessons or rent out the facility for parties or high-speed chases. Committed to supporting the next generation of extreme athletes, Modern Skate & Surf offers discounts to students who bring in report cards sporting A’s and B’s.

In addition to the skate park, Modern Skate & Surf also maintains a Lansing store that stocks snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding, skating, and protective gear to facilitate exciting adventures.