Sylvia Crawford is a sports mom who knows her stuff. She’s the “Chief Executive Sports Mom” of Going Pro LLC, a professional sports management company that was developed as a result of her family’s trying experiences during the NBA recruiting process for her oldest son, Joe Crawford. She has a total of three handsome sons, two of which have played professional basketball in the NBA and her youngest son, Jalen, who currently works for the family business. Her middle son, Jordan, continues to play professionally for the city of Tianjin with the Chinese Basketball Association; while her oldest son, Joe, has successfully recovered from a career-threatening injury while playing in Israel in 2012. Based on that track record alone, one would say Sylvia is well qualified as knowing her stuff as a sports mom.
Well, the sports mom has done it again by launching another family-run business, along with her husband. They’ve taken all of their knowledge of being a professional sports family and parlayed it into the Detroit-based business, The Pro Shop. at the Northwest Activities Center located at 18100 Meyers Rd. Sylvia, her husband and their three sons will run the business.
“My husband Joe and I and our sons were all born in Detroit and raised in Northwest Detroit, and spent a lot of time at the Northwest Activities Center during our upbringing. This is why we all are very excited about starting this venture at the center, because it’s the root of our own recreational engagement and our sons’ sports pursuits,” said Sylvia about why they selected the Northwest Activities Center as their business home.
The Pro Shop is modeled after professional shops associated with club sports, such as tennis and golf or what can be referred to as “clique” sports like bowling or roller-skating. The Pro Shop is stocked with everything one could need from shower and locker room necessities to sports equipment and essentials. The Pro Shop supports and helps one to fully pursue their health, fitness, recreational and competitive sports goals, whether you’re a couch potato or seasoned athlete. They carry healthier food and beverage options, affordable quality sports apparel and injury prevention/workout recovery products.
The Pro Shop has actually been open since August 2015 on a limited basis of conducting “test marketing” to ensure a cohesive fit with the Northwest Activities Center and the immediate community’s needs. “We’re hopeful that the Northwest Community will embrace The Pro Shop. We want to bring quality sports products and support services directly to aspiring athletes and sports enthusiasts. ” said Joe Sr. co-owner of the shop.
Their long-term goal for The Pro Shop is “… to elevate the urban health club experience by establishing The Pro Shop as the go-to neighborhood sports, health and fitness resource partner for Detroit residents,” according to Sylvia.
Their website for The Pro Shop is currently under development and is scheduled to be available this spring. Purchases will be available via the site, however products, services and events will be announced and sold via their social media sites on Instagram (“thepro_shop”) and FaceBook (“theproshop”). For further information you can visit their parent company’s website www.goingpro-online.com or call 313-330-4115.
For now, check out some of the pictures from their Victory Celebration grand opening. Let us know what you think of the sports mom and her family owned businesses.
