A new facility and club sports team are making their way to Sacred Heart University’s campus this fall. Say hello to club pickleball and its soon-be-be courts!
Located next to Seton Hall and the SHUPAD Package Lockers, three pickleball courts are under construction and projected to be completed by Oct. 1.
“From 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., those courts will be open and free for anyone to use,” said Ashely Lane, Director of Club Sports and Intramurals.
The new pickleball courts will feature an enclosing fence and timed lights for play to continue into the night. A free renting system with campus concierge is also underway for students, faculty and staff to take out paddles and balls for recreational purposes.
“In my hometown, I have to drive to the pickleball courts, so I’m excited for these to be accessible and brand new courts,” said freshman Gianna Schembari.
The responsibility and maintenance of the courts falls under Lane and the club sports office, however, the original idea for its addition to campus was Denise Tiberio, Dean of Students.
“She thought students would love it,” said Lane. “So we surveyed the campus to find where we can put them.”
The official plans were set and construction soon followed for SHU’s first pickleball courts. Tiberio wanted to capitalize on this opportunity and asked Lane about another addition to the university, a club pickleball team.
Registration for the new team opened with the school year. Around 20 students have signed up to be members of SHU’s first pickleball team, including Freshman Ryan LaMania.
“I’m so excited,” said LaMania. “It’s perfect because the people that want to take it seriously will, but if you’re just there to have fun, which is what most people are doing, you can’t really be mad at them.”
Currently, Lane is overseeing the team as they practice on Thursday from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. at the Bobby Valentine Health and Recreation Center. Once the pickleball courts are finished, the team will move the practices to their new home two or three times a week.
As of now, the only other college in the area with a club pickleball is the University of Connecticut, who Lane plans on scheduling a tournament with in the spring.
“I hope more schools adopt the idea of pickleball so we can get it more popularized,” said Lane.
For now, club pickleball is more of a recreational sport. LaMaina describes it as “more relaxed,” given there are no games scheduled for the fall and practice is only once a week.
“I like playing in games, but I also don’t want it to be so serious where I have to practice every single day of the week,” said LaMaina.
Free registration for the team is still open and welcome to a wide skill range of players. To join, go to the club sports website under “Current SHU Students.” Once the medical paperwork gets clear, players will be ready to take to the court!
