Pickleball Plus Celebrates First Birthday with New Courts, Area’s First Junior Program
Pickleball Plus LLC, the area’s newest and largest dedicated indoor pickleball facility, is celebrating its 1st birthday in a big way – by adding four new dedicated indoor courts and launching the region’s first Junior Development Pickleball Program.
The club – now with 12 courts – is the largest indoor pickleball club in the tri-state region and the second-largest nationwide. It’s also the area’s first to focus on kids’ pickleball, with the launch of its Junior Pickleball Academy. Both achievements will be celebrated on September 17th with an Open House at the club featuring discounted court time, lessons, kids’ pickleball demonstrations and more.
“Increasing our pickleball capacity by 50% is an exciting milestone, but size is not our measure of success,” says owner Dr. Harry Kent. “Success is our ability to fill our courts with happy pickleball players enjoying our programs and events every day. By that measure, we have achieved great success since our opening last October. We listened to our members and created programs and events based on their feedback.”
Designed by and for pickleball players, the club’s courts are both tournament-sized and sanctioned and feature special lighting, court surfaces and other amenities that pickleball players expect. In just under a year, the club has become a vibrant gathering spot for both experienced and new players.
While adults are the club’s mainstay, bringing kids into Pickleball Plus has always been a key objective. Manager Dory Levinter, a certified pickleball pro who spent many years in the tennis world, says attracting juniors to the game has been a goal since the start. “This summer, we took the lead in introducing pickleball to local children through summer camps and our Junior Summer Series. We also launched the first PAL Pickleball, which will continue into the fall,” Levinter says. “We are eager to start enrolling students ages 3-17 in our Junior Pickleball Academy. Classes will be taught based on age and ability and will enable children to become confident and competitive pickleball players while getting exercise, meeting new friends and having fun.” 
Levinter adds that pickleball is a great sport for juniors who want to start out with racquet sports. “It’s easier to learn than tennis; kids benefit from the smaller court, smaller paddle and lighter ball. Those who learn how to play pickleball will have an easier transition to tennis and other racquet sports.”
Other unique programming includes:
►Leagues: including Intermediate Ladies’ League, Law Enforcement League – endorsed by NYPD Pickleball and the Summer Educator’s League, which took off among teachers and school staff. “After teaching during a pandemic, it’s great we can come here and whack the ball as stress relief… the first time we played we decided right there on the court to book for the whole year,” says MaryAlice Kelley, a pickleball newcomer who took to the sport immediately with her fellow teachers.
►Tournaments
►Full schedule of Open (by level) and Social (all levels) Plays
►Fully certified teaching staff
►Community outreach including an intro-to-pickleball program for teens at area libraries
►Charitable events and fundraisers
►Long Island’s only totally free Absolute Beginner clinic
In addition, some limited seasonal court time is still available starting in mid- September, but courts are filling up fast. For information, please email dory@pickleballplusllc.com
For more information on Pickleball Plus LLC and its programs, please visit www.pickleballplusllc.com, or Facebook: Pickleball Plus LLC or Instagram: pickleballplus_li Pickleball Plus LLC is located at 525 Eagle Ave., West Hempstead (516) 550-5700 or email info@pickleballplusllc.com
