We're excited to be carrying the new Kwik Goal Referee Jersey's. They have got a new stripe pattern,quick drying polyester material and as always, Kwik Goal's Lifetime Warranty! Get em' while they're hot!

It's been a little while since our last blog post. We try to make posts every few weeks or so but lately we've been busy making sure all our customers are being taken care of and are receiving the best overall customer service.

Going into a new season with OpenYard is a lot like going into a new Soccer, Basketball or Track Season. We're all athletes so maybe this comes natural but at the start of a new season it's so important to collect our thoughts and think about where we've been and envision where we want to go.

Envisioning where where we want to go is really important. The old Indian saying goes, "If you chase two rabbits, both will get away". As a past college swimmer, I know pretty well that as you progress in sports, there comes a time when you can't go to practice everyday and expect to be the best at every event - you can't chase to many rabbits. Sure, being well-rounded is a main objective but overtime, athletes, like businesses, choose a specialty. It could be goalie, defensemen, backstroker, sprinter, long-distance runner. For a business it, it could be expert embroiderer or field installer.

For the past 4 years, OpenYard has focused on the efficient and effective distribution of high quality sports equipment - Low Price, High Quality and Good Customer Service. As we add more products to OpenYard.com's selection, we're always asking ourselves these 3 questions:

• Will this product provide enough Value for the Price?
• Is this a quality product which will provide service to the customer for the long-term?
• Will this product create a positive customer service experience? Can we support it if anything goes wrong and ship it out effectively? Will the customer be able to assemble it easily?

So as we head into this spring season - we want to know what your goals are. How can we help you realize your vision of success? What do you need? Let's get better together!

2008 was a excellent year because we learned a lot about customers, ourselves and our business. Tough times always have a way of increasing our capacity to learn and adjust. After 3+ years of being in bringing high quality sports equipment right to your front door, we learn something new everyday which allows us to become a better business.

We wish you an amazing 2009!

For the first part of the year we're going to be busy working on our website to insure everything is ready for the upcoming busy sports seasons. If there's anything you think we can improve to serve you better, please let us know. If you want to say hi and get to know us better before placing an order, please do!

Everything is in-stock and our shipping calculators are accurate. Don't wait too long but there there's still plenty of time to make holiday purchases on OpenYard. In general, The last day to buy and recieve items by Christmas would be Thursday (Dec. 18th) before noon. After that, you'll need to think about expedited shipping to get items by Christmas. So don't rush. Buy now!

We have published a table to help you figure out what size soccer field you'd like to build or help match a set of soccer goals to an already existing field. A soccer field can vary quite a bit for players 16 to 35 years old and even more for those outside that range. If you have any questions about your field or the goals you'll need for your field, we'd love to help you answer your questions.

• Recommended Soccer Field Size, Goal Size and Team Size

Traditionally, the Friday after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday". It's the day when the Christmas buying rush kicks off and many retailer income statements shift from negative (Red) to positive (Black). On Black Friday, Internet retailers don't worry to much that shoppers are running through the malls instead of their websites. In fact, since most people have 'Black Friday' off, it makes sense to spend that time out and about with family and friends and offline. However, everyone is back in the office and on the web the following Monday - "Cyber Monday"!

We at OpenYard.com do our best to make it Cyber Monday throughout most of the year with great deals everyday, but none the less, happy shopping or 'price checking' and enjoy this wonderful Internet shopping day! We hope you find what you're looking for on our site and if you have any questions at all, please contact us!

We thought maybe you'd be curious if we were running any huge Black Friday blow-out sales. Essentially, we run a Black Friday blow-out sales all year. All year long, we strive to provide the best prices and customer service in the most efficient and effective way possible! If you have any questions, just contact us. All orders placed during the Thanksgiving 2008 Holiday Weekend will be shipping out between Monday and Tuesday (Dec 1st - 2nd) ! Happy Shopping!

We just broke down all of our soccer nets into an easy to read table. You can start by finding your size goal and then by choosing the material, color, mesh width. When you've found the net you're looking for, just click on it.

Here's a link: Replacement Soccer Net Chart.

#1 - We've got a brand new logo.

We consulted with the guys over at Blonde Creative and they helped us out quite a bit with the process - they've got a great team over there.

#2 - We upgraded our phone system.

While we did implement a pretty fancy phone system that will help us route calls better, we made it easy to connect with customer service. There will be no need to push a number to talk to a department, unless you want to connect to particular person. In that case, you'll just need their extension.

When you call, you'll have the choice between Option 2 ( Order Tracking Request ), Option 3 ( Sales & Support ), Option 9 ( Employee Directory ). Hopefully this doesn't annoy anyone too much - we've designed the system to help us streamline our customer service processes and ultimately be better at helping you.

The Wall Street Journal referenced OpenYard LLC in the an article discussing entrepreneurial ambitions within the workforce".