Sports & Recreation

If you’re afraid of water or have never been able to make it from one end of the pool to the other, know that it’s not too late to learn to swim. Instructor John Thornburn, owner of Dallas Swim, is a patient saint and exclusively teaches adults basic swimming skills that allow them to feel comfortable in the water. Classes are held at the Verandah Fitness Club at the Hilton Anatole and can be taken privately or in small groups.

There was a lot of excitement around here on June 16 when Dallas learned that it would be one of 16 host sites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Four years from now, people from parts near and far will be here to watch soccer’s best kick it around at AT&T Stadium. Of course, they already are thanks to the annual Dallas Cup, held in North Texas each spring. At one of the game’s premier youth tournaments, teams come from around the country, including Hawaii, and also from around the globe. No need to wait until 2026 to see soccer’s best. The world is here every year.

While Ducanville basketball made a case for a second straight award, and Desoto’s women’s basketball made winning a state championship look easy, just about everyone got lost in the gold and glory that the South Oak Cliff High School football team earned in 2021. After a first-week loss to Ducanville, the Golden Bears went on a dominant run of 15 straight wins en route to a state title. With a powerhouse defense starring Billy Walton and Malik Muhammad and led by head coach Jason Todd, SOC became the first Dallas ISD school to win a state football title since 1958, and the first in South Oak Cliff history.

One thing the pandemic reminded us is that dining outside can be just as valuable as the nourishment you’re eating. Even better is doing so while on green grass under the shade of a tree, looking out onto a bit of water with the Dallas skyline in the background. That’s the scene when having a picnic at Reverchon Park, the absolute best spot to enjoy a meal al fresco. It’s Dallas’ premier urban park, where there’s plenty of shaded grass and it’s easy to grab food from Malibu Poke not far away. Get the sauce on the side, park at the rec center if you’re driving and walk to a shaded spot to sit down, take a beat from the day and enjoy.

Dallas-Fort Worth is loaded with amazing sports venues. There’s the big bright spectacles of AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field in Arlington, the friendly and fun Riders Field in Frisco, the historic Cotton Bowl in South Dallas and even some great college venues, such as Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth and the underrated College Park Center in Arlington. Still, American Airlines Center (AAC) is hard to top. Located in Victory Park in the heart of Dallas, the AAC has easy access to bars and restaurants within walking distance. The Stars ranked seventh in the NHL in attendance, while the Mavericks ranked third in the NBA, so the atmosphere within the stadium was consistently very lively and energetic. The AAC plays a great host to concerts and shows as well.

Admit it, when the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Utah Jazz and then announced that Luka Doncic would also miss Game 2 because of a strained calf, the general feeling around town was, welp, it was fun while it lasted. But Jalen Brunson wasn’t having it. The fourth-year guard poured in a career-high 41 points in the Mavs’ 110-104 win, and in doing so joined Doncic, Dirk Nowitzki, Rolando Blackman and Nick Van Exel as the only players in Mavericks history to score at least 40 in a postseason game. Even though he’s gone now, that’s pretty nice company.

Ever wanted to try sailing? With more than 7,000 acres of water to sail on, Lake Grapevine is a great place to start. There are multiple marinas and charter companies as well as the Grapevine Sailing Club, which has races throughout the year that you can crew on to get some experience. There is also a juniors sailing program in case the kids want to get started learning a new skill. There are parks and camping available, so this is a great place to spend time with the family enjoying the outdoors all year long.

Of course, you’ve heard of Wimbledon. Even tennis lunkheads know about the storied tournament held in London every year. A list of past women’s champions is a who’s who of greats, including Serena and Venus Williams, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. But what about future champions? One to keep an eye on is North Texas phenom Liv Hovde. Competing in the junior ranks, the 16-year-old McKinney native won the 2022 girls’ singles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Hungary’s Luca Udvardy in the finals at Wimbledon. Best to get on the bandwagon now.

Public pools can be sort of gross. But let’s be honest, so are kids. Until you finally win that Powerball drawing you (and only you) prayed about, you’ll have to share the water with other bodies and ruin your highlights with heavy loads of chlorine. If you’re looking for a spot to hang with rowdy drunk adults, this isn’t it. But if you seek a lively space with kids as loud as your own, have a family day at Jack Carter in Plano. Once you tune out the pool’s comically young lifeguards excessively blowing their whistles like the overzealous lifeguard Jim Carrey played on SNL, you’ll find Jack Carter to be the most joyous type of chaotic. It’s got a surf simulator pool, colossal slides, a lazy river with free floats, spray features and a swim area with mere inches of water just for babies.

IKEA isn’t the only hot spot in Frisco. The Frisco Commons Park may not have Swedish meatballs, but it does have almost everything else. The 63-acre park has bike and walking trails and a picnic area in a raised amphitheater that allows a grand view of the grounds and pond. Even amid the majesty of nature, however, the playground is the shining centerpiece. Once a maze of wooden, splintery structures, the play space was rebuilt in 2013 as “Hope Park” to be inclusive of families with special needs. It’s wheelchair-accessible, with adaptive playground equipment, rubberized surfaces and new play areas designed with endless color (and zero splinters). Frisco Commons also has a spray park that opens in the summer, and it really beats playing outside with the water hose.

There is one true top dog for North Texas baseball in 2022, and it might surprise you. Meet Chris Dickens, who in his freshman year at Eastfield College in Dallas led his team to the championship game of the 2022 National Junior College Division III World Series. For the season, Dickens hit .440 with a .560 on-base percentage, which ranked eighth in the country. Oh, and just for kicks he also pitched, posting a 12-2 record with a 3.63 ERA. For his efforts, Dickens was honored as the NJCAA Division III National Player of the Year. Remember his name; you can bet folks in baseball will.

North Texas has no shortage of proper bars for watching your favorite sports. But if you really want to be enveloped in the big game — all one trillion of your synapses firing — Texas Live! is the place. It’s big enough that a large crowd can drive big energy, but not so big that you miss half the game standing in lines for beer or food; service is usually quick. TVs deck the walls, and there’s plenty of beer and good food. If a local team is in a big game, they even pull out the smoke machines and DJs to keep things extra lively. If you can’t be at the game, this is the next best thing.

There are a few routes you can take on the Trinity Forest Trail, but if you’re feeling especially ballsy and ambitious, grab your leash, bring some water for you and your pup and make the entire 16.8-mile hump. There are even some designated areas where you’re allowed to let your dog off the leash to run free and enjoy the outdoors. The trail is open year-round, and as far as we’re concerned, it’s worth a visit in just about any season (though, on second thought, you might not go on a 16.8-mile hike during July). Although lengthy, it’s generally considered an easy route.

You don’t want to step into the ring with DFW’s “Brutal” Johnny Bedford. If you had to, you’d at least hope they’d put some boxing gloves on the man before he pummels you. Unlucky for you, Bedford doesn’t wear gloves in the ring anymore and he hasn’t since he started competing in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Bedford took part in the league’s first promotion in 2018 and now calls bare knuckle the greatest sport in the world. In the last four years, he’s taken home four belts: two Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship belts, the Police Gazette American Championship belt, and the Police Gazette World Championship belt. Before bare knuckle, Bedford competed as a professional mixed martial artist for Bellator and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

There’s plenty to do at Ray Roberts Lake — hike, ride horses or take a bicycle ride, to name a few things — but it’s also one of the best places to take a freshwater dip on a day trip from Dallas. It’s a little more than an hour drive from downtown Dallas, but it’s worth the haul. There are two designated beach areas where swimming is allowed, the Isle Du Bois Unit and the Johnson Unit. If you want to work up a sweat first, go on a jog or a nice walk through the forest trails. Entry is $7 for adults as of this writing, and free for children 12 and under.

Just 15 miles from downtown Dallas, Ascend Camp and Retreat Center offers 54 acres of nature where you can channel your inner cowboy. Enjoy a one-hour trail ride through the woods or ride inside the corral, where you can meet the horses up close and pose for selfies. No prior riding experience is required. For serious equestrians, Ascend has in-depth classes on horse safety, how to groom and saddle a horse properly, and how to ride a horse correctly with balance and communication. Even if horses aren’t your groove, Ascend has many reasons to visit. A ropes course, archery, paintball, hiking, a swimming pool, soccer and so much more await visitors to this urban oasis. Check the website for special events.

Slow down, DORBA reader. This one is for the road cyclist, but you’re welcome, too. The Santa Fe Trail should be at the top of the list if you’ve mistakenly cycled on a certain north-south trail in Dallas and had to slow your roll to an annoyingly low speed. Not on the Santa Fe, which will get you from White Rock Lake to Deep Ellum safely. It’s wide enough, and while it has more foot traffic around the Mount Auburn neighborhood, it’s smooth sailing with enough people to feel safe but not too many to cause you to slow down. (But be nice: Do announce yourself and don’t be a speed demon.) While we wait for The Loop to allegedly connect things, the Santa Fe is one that does connect well. You can use the sad but technically present bike route on Main Street in Deep Ellum, hop on the Santa Fe and go to Fair Park or up to White Rock. From there, hop along another fantastic trail, the SoPac, and make a day of it.

Grab your ball, some friends and those dirty cleats in your closet: It’s time to play some soccer. At this Richardson indoor field, lovers of the sport can compete against other passionate players on different days of the week by joining a team or coming in as a free agent. Visitors can also enjoy the Azzurri Pizzeria + Bar inside the facility and purchase some slices and pints to commemorate a win (or forget a disappointing loss).

Established in 1996, the Dallas-Fort Worth Table Tennis (DFWTT) club is one of the largest and most established of its kind in DFW. But this isn’t your dorm hall pingpong. They’re serious players, and if you want to learn how to up your game (even if it’s just for the sake of smashing on some dude bros in the dorm), then this is a great place to take lessons and get some practice in with skilled table tennis players. In fact, they’ve grown so much in recent years that they have multiple locations around town. Check their website or give them a call to find the onr closest to you.

Located off Central Expressway in Plano, Eastside Dojo has been teaching the martial art judo, an Olympic sport, since 2013. From the start, they’ve had Olympic judokas and black belts running their classes for both kids and adults. They hold practices five days a week, Monday through Thursday plus Saturday, and also have an in-house weightlifting facility for those who feel like keeping their training going after practice ends. It’s one of the largest judo training facilities in the country, and it’s full of friendly folks from an international background willing to take the time to help newcomers learn the sport.

This is for those of you who always know which way is north. You’re inside and point the right way when you talk about Canada, you confuse people when you tell them to “head west” on Main Street and navigating a trail is easy as pie. Here you’re in a space that lacks sufficient way-finding, where people have routinely made their own, unofficial cut-throughs to different paths, and the trail winds seemingly every which way as the trees tower over you, preventing you from seeing helpful shadows from the sun. But it’s not a scary place: Oak Cliff Nature Preserve is beautiful, and it can take you out of your element to get closer to nature. If you’ve been wanting to try forest bathing, this is your place.

We had plenty of new superstar faces in DFW this past year. The Rangers brought in Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, who are now the building blocks of the franchise; the Stars saw Jake Oettinger dominate during the 2022 playoff series versus Calgary; and Spencer Dinwiddie brought the Mavericks depth and experience, which helped guide them to the 2022 Western Conference Finals. Despite their impact, none quite compare to the addition of Micah Parsons to the Dallas Cowboys. The then-22-year-old linebacker dominated in his first season, earning NFL Rookie of the Year and AP All-Pro honors. Parsons’ speed, athleticism and strength should keep Cowboys fans on their feet for years to come.

Joppa Preserve is a 307-acre park established in 1986. The park was originally named after a body of water in the area called Lemmon Lake. A smaller one, called Little Lemmon Lake, also sat in the park. The wetlands there often attract migratory water birds and other species year round. In 1991, the name was changed to Joppa Preserve to reflect one of the county’s first “freedmen” towns of former slaves after the Civil War. For a long time and to this day, it’s been a popular spot for family reunions and Juneteenth celebrations. Joppa Preserve is located along the five-mile Trinity Trail, which connects to the Trinity River Audubon Center.

Whether you’re a marathoner or in week two of Couch to 5K, running feels easier when there’s a view. It also feels easier when there aren’t really hills, though some people love the torture of a climb. But that view and flat run are achieved on the Trinity Skyline Trail, which winds around the river with some gravel and some paved sections on a wide trail. Don’t come here for shade, but do come for the swaths of wildflowers, that perfect view of the skyline beyond the flowing river on the trail under Sylvan Avenue and certain fauna if you time it right.

The high schools around these parts are teeming with talent in football, baseball, basketball and … esports? Believe it. In fact, North Texas can boast of its very own national champion. Hebron High School’s esports squad dropped its second matchup in the High School Esports League’s national Valorant tournament to Brooklyn Tech, falling into the loser’s bracket. But they battled all the way back to the finals where they would face, you guessed it, Brooklyn Tech. There, Hebron pulled off a come-from-behind victory to bring home the trophy. As one of the young team members stated, “Esports is actually the future.” For Hebron, it appears the future is now.

Take one lap around the tracks at Andretti Indoor Go Karting and you’ll wonder why you’ve gone anywhere else to fulfill the speed demon inside. The karts at Andretti are electric and accelerate almost immediately. With your helmet on and body strapped into your seat, you may start to feel like a professional racer as you peel around corners, launch up inclines and tear down hills, all the while trying to avoid the other karts speeding around you. And if things get a little too real on the track — it can get kind of rough — you can always take a break and play some games at the arcade until you’re ready for more.

North Texas has been more than a little ahead of the curve when it comes to professional gaming. It has attracted several professional teams and esports companies while becoming a hub for global tournaments with events like DreamHack and the Rocket League World Championship. OpTic Texas, one of the first teams to kickstart DFW’s esports revolution, had the most impressive season of all the local pro-gamers. The team finished second in the Call of Duty League to the Atlanta FaZe, with a first-place finish in the Major 2 qualifier. The run included an impressive shutout against the New York Subliners and a thrilling turnaround against the Toronto Ultra. OpTic Texas and the other teams in the CoD League tournament also helped build an impressive audience of 275,000 viewers.