June 11, 2024

A national tech-driven business where basketball training meets gaming is expanding to Sioux Falls.

Shoot 360, which offers a science- and data-based program for basketball players, also offers games for kids and adults.

The Sioux Falls location is being franchised by Josh and Katie Johnson, who opened Shoot 360 in Fargo in 2021 and just opened one in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Bismarck, North Dakota, and Sioux Falls are next, Josh Johnson said.

“It is a basketball training facility with technology,” he explained. “Almost like a golf simulator but for basketball training.”

Shoot the ball “and you get instant feedback based on science and technology on your shot: arc, depth, left and right,” he continued. “So we’ve gamified basketball.”

That means in addition to competitive players, anyone can come to Shoot 360 to play interactive games, compete against each other or through a network of other Shoot 360 locations.

There are areas to work on shooting, passing and ball handling, in addition to receiving coaching and taking skills classes.

Shoot 360 locations also hold leagues and offer an interactive passing wall where kids can play animated games like popping a bubble or squashing a bug.

“So it’s a video game training basketball facility. It’s truly unbelievable,” Johnson said.

He discovered the business in Portland, Oregon, where its founder is from and where he and his wife used to teach and coach nearby. Johnson is from Washington state and followed wife Katie to Fargo. She’s a graduate of Augustana University. They both have experience in coaching — he in basketball, she in volleyball — which led him to purchase a basketball academy in Fargo before expanding with Shoot 360.

Their two teen sons also play basketball. The technology used at Shoot 360 is the same as that used by most NBA teams for training, Johnson said.

In Fargo, “the response was overwhelming,” he said. “We broke the corporate record of founding members in six days, and they were pleasantly surprised and blown away, and that energy and excitement never stopped.”

In Sioux Falls, the couple owns property on the east side near Harmodon Park for the future location, adjacent to B&G Milkyway.

“My wife … is very familiar with the town,” Johnson said. “I loved the park and the expansion and the way the town is growing and the homes and businesses. It just felt right.”

The building is just under 10,000 square feet, so construction timing depends on financing. There’s no guarantee it will start this year, but he’s hoping for within nine months.

“We know Sioux Falls is going to be a hit,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting the financing organized, and we can get that up and going.”