Our Story
My name is Nathan Fudala. I am the owner/founder of Backyard Rule. Nothing brings me more joy than the opportunity to share my love for the game of Baseball with others. I’m so excited that you are taking a look around our website. If you’d like to know a little more about me and how we started our business just keep reading!
My story begins in 1990 as the third born of four boys to my loving parents, Ron and Cindy Fudala in Cincinnati, OH. As you can imagine, four boys in one house in the 90s was a little crazy. There was far less entertainment at our fingertips than there is today so us 90s kids had to make up games to keep occupied. One of the many games we played was Wiffle ball.
There she is, our own backyard ball field. A home run to right field was over our house, to center field was on the deck, and to left field was blasted well into the neighbors yard. You cannot see them, but there are even fog lights tied up in those trees for night games (yes, I climbed up there). What began as a few bases thrown down on the grass ended as a backyard field of dreams.
I remember the day I decided to grab a shovel and start digging up the grass around the bases. I knew mom would say no, so I decided not to ask permission. About halfway through the first base area she stormed through the porch door, scolded me, and forced me to stop. That night I can remember my dad coming to the rescue and talking her in to letting us do it. I even remember him saying it could “be a selling point” for the house one day.
It was not a selling point, but it did lead to some incredible moments and memories. At the start of every summer I would grab a shovel and a rake to bring her back to life. Ripping up the grass and maintaining this taj mahal of a ball field was brutally hard work, usually accompanied by blistered hands halfway through the process. The end result was worth it, as almost every night 10 - 20 kids would gather and spend hours upon hours playing, arguing, working it out, and playing some more.
Unknown to me at the time, it was on this field where the foundation and culture for Backyard Rule was set.
A few years go by, I graduate high school, and I get blessed with the opportunity to play Baseball at Flagler College in this beautiful place called St. Augustine, FL. After four amazing years, I entered the “real world” and found work as a high school teacher and Baseball coach. With what little money I had saved, I chose to invest in my dream of starting my own business. I purchased several turf mats, home run fencing, and other items that contributed to a very unique mobile ball field setup. If I had to put a label on our industry specialty it would be “pop-up sports entertainment”.
Blinded by optimism and with a minimal at best business plan, in 2015 I quit my job and ventured down the dark and treacherous road of entrepreneurialism. At the time I had some small successes with birthday parties and adult tournaments, but had no idea what it actually took for a business to make it. Despite this, for the next 5 years I pitter pattered around Florida making ends meat by hosting tournaments, fundraisers, special events, and summer camps. Things seemed to be heading in the right direction! We were growing slowly, but steadily and then BOOM! Covid…
Despite my fiercest disagreements with the authorities, Wiffle ball was not deemed “essential”. Mine and many other businesses were brought to a screeching halt. I was lucky and was offered work, where for the next 4 years I built a skill that I am forever thankful to have. However, not a day went by that I did not feel forces at work pulling be back to what I left behind. I juggled both a full time job and Backyard Rule thanks to a flexible employer. However, the time had come to choose one or the other.
Torn between stability and “what if?”, I took another leap into uncertainty and left my job at the start of the 2024 summer. Since then, we’ve had a successful summer camp season with over 125 participants and are going into the school year with high hopes for our after school program in St. Johns County, upcoming fundraisers, and other special events!
Thank you so much for your interest in Backyard Rule and my story! If you are at all interested to hear how we could work together on an event please reach out to me anytime.
-Nathan Fudala (Owner/founder) email: nate@backyardrule.com
An example of what our setup looks like today. These 4 fields fit on most adult-sized Baseball fields. We can execute a 16-team event (about 80 participants) in three hours and guarantee all teams a three-game minimum at three innings per game. We supply all setup labor and tournament organization. You just bring a team and play!
Testimonials
“What a fun event! We were truly winging it on the first event, not sure of how many people would participate. We found the venue, promoted the event (and sponsorship opportunities), and then pretty much just showed up. Backyard Rule did everything else including coordinating the registrations, setting up the fields, and then actually running the tournament. Our first tournament netted around $3,200. We definitely learned A LOT with our first event, made some adjustments, and had an even better event the next year – increasing our next proceeds by over $1,000. We’re working on event #3 now! We highly recommend using Backyard Rule for fundraising events. Easy to coordinate and SO MUCH FUN. Backyard Rule and owner Nate are great to work with.”
“We have used Backyard Rule for 3 years in a row for Hobe Sound Lightning travel baseball. Our annual Backyard Rule Wiffle Ball tournament is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Tons of people in our community come out to play and it has become one of our favorite days of the year. Nate makes organizing teams and brackets so easy and stress-free. He sets up all of the fields and makes sure the games are running smoothly and fairly. The team names and costumes are one of the best parts, once you get it going it will become an awesome annual event!”
“Nate Fudala and Backyard Rule is second to none. Nate has been handling our Bat4Ben Fundraiser for the last six years, and he makes it so easy. If you have ever planned a fundraising event on your own, you know what a huge undertaking it is. Nate takes it all off of your hands, and you literally just show up. Extremely professional, organized, and seamless, and the players look forward to coming back year after year. It’s a top-notch event and fun for all!”
For inquires about pricing, availability, and more please contact nate@backyardrule.com