IF SPRING STREET COULD TALK. Spring Street Sports has called Chippewa Falls home for over three decades, become ingrained in the wider community's outdoors recreation scene. The shop's family gear trade-in programs help open the door to and bolster a love for the outdoors in youths while its continued support of local trails-focused groups and events keeps bonds strong. 

If Chippewa Falls’ Spring Street could talk, it would have a couple hundred years’ worth of stories to tell. Today, some of the area’s oldest buildings still stand tall there, and at least one is also home to the city’s longest-running outdoor gear shop: Spring Street Sports.

Spring Street Sports (12 W. Spring St.) is likely present in the memories of those who have frequented or lived in Chippewa Falls since before the turn of the millennium. The brick building (which, if you crane your head far enough back, is topped by an adornment reading “1898”) sports a handsome olive green storefront with windows wrapping around the corner for window shopping ease. Inside, there’s plenty to look at it, though every item is meant to get you back outside.

As current co-owner Nate Seckora recalls, the building at 12 W. Spring St. has been home to the sports shop since about 1991. That year, Joe Wawrzaszek and Dave Flanagan purchased the business from Skip Perkins – the business was then known as Perkins Sports – and focused on bike and ski equipment.

“Just like it is today,” Seckora noted.

"We try to connect to the community and like to be involved by supporting other local businesses, events, festivals, parks, fundraisers and more. After all, that is what makes this area a great place to enjoy."

NATE SECKORA

CO-OWNER, SPRING STREET SPORTS

Yep, Spring Street Sports offers in-house servicing, too.

To label Spring Street Sports a recreation gear retailer is not inaccurate, though there is much more to the story than this alone.

This year rings in the Spring St. shop’s 35th year serving locals and visitors alike, growing into its own kind of community hub. A reputable resource for passionate trailgoers; parents looking to get their littles fitted for a winter of activity; eager teens finding freedom behind the handles of a bike.

Seckora originally fell into the latter category, frequenting Spring Street Sports while growing up in Chippewa Falls. At 14 years old, Seckora was a bonafide regular – so much so that one of the owners, Wawrzaszek, asked if he would consider working there.

“I raced my bike home to share the news with my parents and begged for them to bring to the courthouse to sign a workers permit,” Seckora said. “That permit now hangs above my work computer.

“I loved bikes and I also loved to work,” he continued. “Finding out that I could do both and make it my lifestyle sort of just came easy at that point.”

Seckora worked for Wawrzaszek and Flanagan for over two decades, through his high school and college years. In 2022, Seckora purchased Wawrzaszek’s half of the business and officially became co-owner.

Spring Street Sports continues to support the wider Chippewa Valley rec scenes today, which have grown significantly since his childhood in Chippewa Falls, Seckora said.

Nate Seckora, pictured, and Dave Flanagan are co-owners of Spring Street Sports. 

Years ago, Spring Street Sports was host to additional gear including kayaks, roller blades, hockey equipment and more. In 2026, the local business continues focus on biking and winter sports, Seckora said; it offers both new and used equipment alongside repairs and servicing.

Particularly unique to the Chippewa Falls business is its family programming. A youth bike trade-in program helps parents and adults get children on safe, quality bikes; in the winter, a unique kids cross-country ski exchange program allows growing youths to trade up sizes of equipment as they grow.

There is also a downhill ski lease program which allows families to rent quality skis from the business – for the whole season – opposed to seeking rentals each time they want to go skiing.

Zooming out, it was about this time in 2025 the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation announced its record-breaking year in terms of economic impact; the outdoors rec industry contributed a whopping $11.2 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Locally, the proof of growing recreational opportunities can be found in the expansion of trails and consequent production of trail mapping and signage, the amount of rec-focused businesses in the area, as well as the growth of organizations like Bike Chippewa Valley and CORBA, among other tells.

Spring Street Sports champions all of those resources and more.

“We work closely with many (local trails-focused organizations) by sharing and lending our own experiences we have and connecting neighbors to these opportunities in our store,” Seckora said. “We try to connect to the community and like to be involved by supporting other local businesses, events, festivals, parks, fundraisers and more.

“After all, that is what makes this area a great place to enjoy.”

Be it bicycle or snowsports gear, outdoors apparel or a recommendation for a local spot to hit (Seckora's personal all-time, all-seasons favorite is the Hickory Ridge Trail systems), Spring Street Sports is tried and true for all of the above.

Visit Spring Street Sports (12 W. Spring St., Chippewa Falls) from 10am-6pm, Tuesday-Friday or 10am-4pm on Saturday • Peruse goods, service options and more online at www.springstreetsports.com • Keep up with the local shop on Facebook