GUILFORD — Without flat-screen televisions, camping equipment, household goods and other everyday items, visitors will hardly notice the former Walmart. There are now 12 new indoor pickleball courts.
The soft sounds of pickleball echoed through the bright, airy space on a recent afternoon..
Blaze Pickle opened on October 9th in a former large store in Shoreline Plaza on Route 1. The deployable pickleball court will be open until May 31, after which retailer Target will take over the 80,000-square-foot space.
Co-owner Quinn Howe was pleased with the soft opening, which drew about 200 people early last month.
“All the courts were full,” he said with a laugh, noting that spectators were lining up to watch. “It was a party. There was music, there was food, there were people.”
A crowd pleaser was a singles match between professional pickleball instructor Rudy Meredith and one of the top players in the country, Steve Rogers.
“And they were cheering and (players) were diving all over the court,” Howe said.
But on a recent weekday, it was much quieter as a small group occupied one court at a “boot camp” for beginners, learning the basics of pickleball. The Beginner Boot Camp class is for his 3 weeks and he has 2 90 minute sessions per week.
Jim Barda, Howe’s partner who owns Racquets for Life in Simsbury, said the boot camp was “like taking you from a complete beginner to a solid foundation in the sport, so you can go out and play.” I will be able to do it.”
Mr Howe, club director at Glastonbury Tennis Club, said he and Mr Vada came up with the temporary pickleball club model because it was relatively easy to set up a club.
“That’s the great thing about this model,” Howe said. “Everything here can be rolled up and taken home within a week or two. All the coats are mostly modular. They’re so special.”
“They basically roll around like carpet,” Howe explained. “You can play on any hard surface just like a brand new tennis court or pickleball court. It plays like a really nice hard court.”
“That’s the magic of the universe. We’re here as long as we’re here,” Howe said. “Then, in a few weeks, we can jump into another vacant building, open a store, and maintain our membership numbers.”
“We’re not a permanent location, so we’re not going to do any fancy additions,” Burda said. “This is different from what other companies are doing. They’re spending millions of dollars on brand new facilities.”
“But we are taking an existing property that is vacant and giving it value and adding something to the community,” Burda said.
Once the lease is up, Burda said: “We definitely want to remain in the market. This is our flagship store.”
Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and around the world, with approximately 36.5 million players. In the United States, according to pickleheads.com.
The appeal is that “it’s a lot of fun,” Burda said. When you’re out here for a few hours, you’ll feel sweaty, you’ll have fun, and you’ll feel like you’ve actually accomplished something. ”
Howe, who has “been involved in racquet sports all my life” but is “more into tennis”, saw “a huge need for a pickleball-specific club.”
“We just thought, ‘Hey, this pickleball deserves its own place,'” he said. “We need a nice big place with lots of courts so we can play to our heart’s content.”
“We’ve seen balance issues with tennis players and pickleball players being in the same space. And they’re different in a lot of ways,” Howe said.
“Many tennis clubs do that kind of house pickleball. Pickleball should only be allowed during times of the day when tennis is less popular,” he said.
For Beth Braus, who is “addicted” to pickleball, stepping into a new club was “a nice surprise.”
“Pickleball is growing rapidly, so if you’re an avid pickleball player like I am, you’re always looking for open courts,” Browse said. And it was very difficult to get court time. ”
Guilford residents are happy to be able to play on a dedicated pickleball court. This means a long play time of up to 3 hours depending on open play time. Blaze Pickle also offers private bookings, leagues, and “ladders” (organized play with leaderboards and teams).
Howe says one reason the sport is in such high demand is that it’s easy for beginners to get started.
“My three young kids are playing. My 6-year-old son is playing here. They’re into it,” Howe said.
“It’s a sport that’s easier to compete in than tennis,” he says.
Meredith agreed: “The learning curve is much faster.” He explained that in pickleball, the serve is underhand, “so the serve doesn’t give you a huge advantage.”
“On the other hand, in tennis, if you have a big serve, it’s a big advantage,” he says. “So no one hits really big serves in pickleball.
“You and I can play. Within an hour you can serve almost as well as I can,” Meredith said.
I’m a big fan of Meredith’s tennis player blouses. She said the skills for the two racquet sports are very different.
“He completely changed my game,” she said. “And he’s a really conscious teacher because he’s so good at pickleball. He was able to change my game and improve my pickleball skills, whether I was a tennis player or not. Ta.”
Braus said he likes the fact that the staff and owners are “really involved in the pickleball community.”
“They’re already building a real community atmosphere, which is really important for pickleball because that’s the whole part of why pickleball is such a rapidly growing sport.” she said.
“It’s such a great atmosphere…it’s already like a place you just want to hang out,” Braus added.
Burda agreed, explaining what he called the “incredible social aspect” of the sport.
“It’s a little bit like how we grew up. I remember… you could come to the tennis court, you could come to the basketball court, you had guys ready to play,” Burda said. said.
Unlike other racquet sports that are more “structured and scheduled,” “pickleball is like going back to the model. They show up to the park and get excited and meet new people.”
And the overall atmosphere is also different.
As for tennis etiquette, Bourda said, “No matter where you play the point…and after the point is over you’ll say, ‘That was a really good shot, Gwen.'”
“In pickleball, you have a really good point and everyone starts cheering and screaming. They’re so happy,” Burda said. “It’s like going to a bowling alley or the local park.”
Blaze Pickle’s website is Blazepickle.com. The app is CourtReserve: Blaze Pickle. The phone number is 860-318-0002. Facebook: Blaze Pickle Guildford.