It’s a hot summer morning in Malvern, and Talen Singer is sitting in his rather warm office at Bounce Pickleball. He’s busy contemplating the future of his enterprise, and the sport that’s spread its tentacles throughout American society, when his tooth breaks.
No matter. Singer forges ahead with the discussion, unfazed by the dental disaster. He wraps the remnant in a piece of paper and resolves to call the dentist—if he has time.
On his desk is a proposal for another possible Bounce location. A floor below him, on 14 courts, there are games and lessons in progress. A kids’ clinic rolls on in one corner. Two youngsters are watching a match in the lounge area. It isn’t flashy, but in the world of local pickleball, Bounce is something of a ground-zero location. “The reason it’s so popular is it’s fun to play,” Singer says. “It’s a recreational sport you can play for an hour and a half with your kids, or take it to a tactically high level.”
A former boutique fitness club owner who trains pole vaulters, Singer officially opened Bounce 14 months ago with business partner Bill Davis in the former Great Valley Racquet Club. “Pickleball connects people—and that’s something the world needs right now,” he says.
To that end, Bounce hosts a variety of special events for businesses and other organizations. But its 1,800 or so members are certainly a main focus. Annual memberships start at $125, plus a fee to play. For $3,400 a year, a founders membership gets you unlimited play and the ability to book courts a month out—a luxury, as they tend to fill up fast. Non-members are welcome to play, but they can’t reserve courts.
The Bounce facility is no-frills. The locker facilities are ordinary, but the courts are first-rate. And while there was no air-conditioning at the time of our interview, there is now.
Future Bounce sites may be more lavish, but Singer never wants to get away from the club’s emphasis. “I consider myself an organizer,” he says. “I don’t determine who gets into groups here. We have good pros who do that. I want to create an atmosphere that’s conducive to the growth of the sport.”
Singer graduated from Phoenixville High School in 1992, where he competed in the pole vault. Upon completing his degree at West Chester University, he taught biology at his alma mater and coached young vaulters. He eventually started the Philadelphia Jumpers Club in Norristown, where he has trained dozens in the event. “I’m a coach more than anything,” he says.
Singer savors the “niche community” he’s created among pole vaulters. He sees pickleball as the same thing—albeit on a larger scale. His dream is to bring pickleball to the PIAA, Pennsylvania’s governing body for high school sports. He also believes it has a huge future in the professional ranks. “The guy is driven—he’ll just plow through,” says Sue Hughes, a coach at Bounce. “He likes to have people around him who are leaders. He gives them freedom to lead.”
Among Bounce’s stable of instructors is Australian Morgan Evans, who’s also coach and GM of Major League Pickleball’s Arizona Drive franchise. Evans started playing tennis as a youth and was introduced to pickleball about 10 years ago. He played professionally for a while but now focuses on instruction and running the team. “One of the things Bounce does well is grading players,” he says. “They do a great job of putting potential players into groups. That creates an atmosphere that can be competitive and fun.”
Singer plans to bring the Bounce concept to other towns. “We don’t look at this as a business model,” he says. “We look at it as a people model. We want to create access to pickleball and access to people.”
Visit bouncepb.com.
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