A Virginia-based chain of fastpitch softball training facilities for girls will expand to Fairfax County this spring.
An exact opening date hasn’t been set, but SixFour3 Fairfax will open at 8600 Morrissette Drive in West Springfield soon — likely within a month, local franchise owner Bob Reuss told FFXnow.
SixFour3 Fairfax is the company’s fifth location overall and fourth in Virginia. Several other franchises are under development across the South and Mid-Atlantic, including a facility in Columbia, Maryland.
“We wanted to build [girls] a space where it’s just their space,” Reuss said, “where they didn’t have to worry about anything except that skill or that drill that they will work on, so that they could go execute. Make that middle school team. Make that travel team. Make that high school team. Get into the recruiting journey.”
Reuss, a Sterling resident who grew up playing baseball in Fairfax County, went from softball dad to franchise owner after his own daughter became a member of SixFour3’s Ashburn facility.
He was impressed by the range of services, from training for pitching, hitting, throwing, and catching, to self-service lanes.
“As a parent, you walk into this place that’s spotless, safe … and [it] just felt like this was a space that these young ladies could go be … the best versions of themselves without having to worry about anything else,” Reuss said.
After retiring from the banking industry, Reuss began volunteering at the Manassas and Ashburn facilities, mopping floors and separating 11 and 12-inch balls — initially, with the thought of becoming a general manager for the upcoming Fairfax location. But around the same time, the larger company was developing plans for a franchise model.
SixFour3 not only wanted an owner for Fairfax, it was ready to release the general operations of the Manassas and Ashburn facilities.
Reuss and his wife, Carol, leapt at the opportunity. With three different locations within driving distance of one another, they could offer cross-facility access for members.
“We said that’s too good of an offer to be true,” Reuss said. “Why not have three different locations in the same market?”
As it expands, SixFour3 has found new areas of demand. The Fairfax location will be similar to the existing Northern Virginia facilities with the unique addition of a locked, dedicated gym area for general physical fitness. Squat racks, barbells and dumbbells, and some exercise equipment will be provided.
“The genesis of that is simply, we would hear these young ladies come in and say, I just came from the gym. Now, I’ve got to practice, or now that I practiced, I’ve got to go do my cardio,” Reuss said.
“What we picture is, these teams coming in and in 90 minutes, maybe doing 30 minutes of hitting and 30 minutes of defense, and then 30 minutes [of] strength and conditioning,” he added. The goal is to create “well-rounded individuals.”
That’s a reflection of Reuss’s approach to running SixFour3.
“Deep down,” he said, “we’re just softball parents helping other softball parents.”
