As a soccer coach, Paul Adams’ players always seemed to be fighting the weather.
If it wasn’t the rain and wind of western Washington it was the sun beating down on the sidelines of an open field in eastern Washington or Oregon. The team’s pop-up shelter never seemed to provide adequate relief.
A former player himself and father of two daughters who play the sport, he thought there must be something better out there.
He started the search.
“There’s got to be something better than this,” the Enumclaw resident said. “But I looked and there wasn’t. There was nothing else out there.”
That was nearly three years ago, and now, there is something available. Adams is launching his patent-pending sports shelter and his family-owned business Premier Sports Shelters.
“It doesn’t look like anything else on the market. It doens’t act like anything else on the market,” Adams said.
What the Seattle firefighter created is a lightweight, easy-up, easy-down portable shelter that protects a team from the elements on the sideline. The same structure can also be used for camping and, in its camouflage version, for hunting. Shelters are made from a material that resists shrinking and expansion, is ultraviolet-protected and fire- and water-resistant.
Each shelter stores in a carrying case, and can be staked so it doesn’t blow in the wind. The structures also come with roll-up flaps in the back for access to equipment bags and beverage coolers.
“When I put them up on the soccer fields I get lots of interest,” Adams said.
The closest Adams could come to the shelter of his dreams was the heavy, semi-permanent structures seen on the sidelines of college and professional fields.
After plenty of doodling and thought, Adams bought two industrial sewing machines and taught himself to sew to get a prototype out. He’s cleared out his garage to make room for his business. His Web site is also up and running.
“I’ve learned tons,” he said. “It’s exciting.”
It’s all coming together, the shelters are manufactured, ready to go and he’s taking orders and fielding questions at http://www.premiersportsshelters.com or 360-367-1341.
