It's safe to assume that when Donald Sucho first started playing volleyball as a child, he never imagined he would end up in Venice, a small city in southern Sarasota County. It was the late 1970s in Albania, a small country on the Baltic Peninsula.
Yuri Shakilov, who is a few years younger, also started playing volleyball in Russia, but was unable to do so.
But after a long career in the sport, Sucho played in two Olympic games, while Shakilov played in professional leagues across Europe.
Susho, 48, and Shakilov, 40, are the owners of Global Sports Institute. Global Sports Institute is an emerging organization that is building a new 42,451-square-foot facility in Venice that will serve as a training ground for both established and aspiring athletes.
“We grew up in communism in Russia and Albania and sport, fitness and community were our way of life, so we have a great passion for it,” says Suksho, 48.
“We thought, 'Let's combine our energy, our passion, our resources, our expertise and create something cool.'” The sport of volleyball is growing rapidly for both girls and boys. We have a lot of experience in all of this. ”
quick serve
The facility is currently under construction and is scheduled to open between June 14th and 17th. The facility is located in a former Telvis Tumbler manufacturing building on Triple Diamond Boulevard near Interstate 75 in Venice.
GSI leased the space after the insulated drinkware company sold the 147,269-square-foot building last year for $15.35 million to Burgio Capital, an investment firm based in Pennsylvania and Israel.
Telbis has leased back 60,000 square feet for its operations, but Nick DeVito II, a partner at Sarasota commercial real estate firm Ian Black Real Estate, who represents the landlord, said the company still has He said 22,409 square feet is available.
When GSI opens its multi-sport center, there will be four indoor volleyball courts.
The volleyball courts will feature Taraflex flooring imported from France, and GSI will offer professional volleyball camps, club pre-tryout clinics, and a volleyball club led by Suksho and Shakirov.
It will also feature 15 pickleball courts, a traditional fitness center with Technogym Italian Pro equipment, a yoga room, a spin room, and a Pilates room (with corporate memberships available to nearby Tervis employees, according to GSI). ).
Mr. DeVito declined to disclose the terms of the lease, and Sksho declined to discuss GSI's financial details or project costs, saying, “For your information, it's a 43,000-square-foot site, which is quite… “It's expensive. We want to build a state-of-the-art facility.” As you can imagine, we spend a lot of money on equipment and flooring. ”
free ball
The partners settled on the former Telvis facility after a two-month search from Tampa to Naples for just the right location.
The geography made sense, as Shakirov lives in Naples and the California-based Soucho was familiar with the area after spending time as director of the women's volleyball program at Bradenton's famed IMG Academy.
The two have known each other for decades and have competed in tournaments and competitions for years. In 2019, they played on almost the same team.
Suksho first immigrated to Massachusetts, USA in 1996 and eventually settled in Southern California, where she attended the University of Southern California and played volleyball.
He eventually qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team and competed in the 2004 Athens Games and the 2012 London Games.
Meanwhile, Shakilov was playing in professional leagues across Europe, including playing in the Russian Volleyball Super League at the age of 16.
He moved to Florida about a year ago.
Seok-ho dreamed of opening a sports complex. When he reunited with his old friend in Florida, he got to talking. One day Shakilov saw a screenshot and said it would be great if we collaborated and found investors and did it.
Florida was the perfect place, Sukcho said. It's the same reason athletes have chosen Florida for decades. The year-round sunny environment is ideal for training and development.
(Xuzhou won't do that, but many athletes choose Florida, which has no state income tax.)
And it had a strong sports infrastructure that made it an ideal location for spring training, which began in the county in 1924.
Amateur sports tourism will have an $80 million impact on the region in fiscal year 2024, according to Visit Sarasota County. And if this isn't proof enough of the impact sports have on local economies, his world-renowned IMG Academy of Youth Sports says: The West Bradenton campus was sold last year for $1.25 billion. The company is one of Manatee County's largest employers, with approximately 1,000 employees.
deep set
GSI checks another box on Suxho.
Like most athletes who jump into the business, he's quick to make unintentional platitudes about winning the competition.But that doesn't make the feeling any less real.
He believes the work ethic that got him to the Olympics will continue in this and other businesses. He sees his GSI growing and adding facilities across the country.
It's the same drive that pushed him onto the volleyball court.
He tells an anecdote about playing in a grass tournament a while back. He was older than some of the competitors and had injured his knee. But those juices kicked in and he won.
But despite the risk of the bubble bursting, competitive juice isn't about winning tournaments. Or match. Or a game. Or contribute to your success in business. What makes a winner is practice, repetition, dedication, failure, and perseverance.
And while Screenshot is tempted to speak the athlete's language, he knows it.
“My motto is to not worry too much about results or competition, but to be honest, I keep it to myself,” he says.
“People ask me, 'Are you going to compare it to this other facility?' What about other clubs? I'm like, 'No, I don't.' Because we are our own unique place. ”
And he knows that approach is the same whether he's in Vlore, Albania or Venice, Florida.