Situated just a few blocks away from Sharjah Cricket Stadium, it is not a huge surprise to see people carrying bats and balls up to the second floor of Safari Mall in the city’s industrial area.
Seed Sports does, after all, have three lanes of nets, space for two bowling machines, and tension netting that is essential for games of indoor cricket.
Seeing a father and son pushing a shopping trolley filled with baseball bats, gloves and a bucket of balls through the food court and into the sports centre does, though, feel a little odd.
At least to the uninitiated. “You must be here to meet Professor Dan?” says the member of staff on the front desk, with a knowing grin that says: “Wait till you see this.” Dan Fredrick, who teaches English at the nearby American University of Sharjah, rigs up a pitching machine, sets it to fast, and runs his 14-year-old son Dorian through some batting drills.