Traverse City’s Premier Indoor Pickleball experience with a fun energetic University theme.
Pickle U is a family-owned business. Owners Dave, Deb, Hannah & Tyler Sexton are excited to bring Indoor Pickleball to the Grand Traverse area. Our Family has deep ties to the region, and we have enjoyed many facets the area has to offer. We are very excited to contribute to the community!
The concept of Pickle U was Dave’s idea. Dave’s love for the Georgia Bulldogs and playing all sports was a part of life growing up in Athens, Georgia. He moved to Traverse City after meeting Deb, who was born and raised in Traverse City. Graduating from Traverse City Central where she ran track, and after obtaining a Master of Education, Deb taught at Kingsley Area Schools. Hannah attended high school at Traverse City St. Francis. While in high school Hannah swam for Traverse City West. Following graduation, Hannah attended Northwestern Michigan College. Tyler attended high school at Kingsley and excelled in Cross Country and Track. Upon graduation, Tyler attended Northwestern Michigan College and Michigan Tech and obtained his mechanical engineering degree.
Through hard work and dedication our goal has been to bring Dave’s original concept to life, and now we are happy to share it with everyone. We are a facility for all ages and abilities. In keeping with the university theme, our goal is to grow and support Pickleball with competitiveness, good sportsmanship, and great intergenerational fun.
Pickle U resides in the refurbishment of a former K-mart building which has been empty since 2017. Seven years have passed since then, and now a new chapter will begin for this building.
Our facility consists of 8 uniquely colored courts that are made from a highly durable Urethane coating over concrete. Every team has a great rivalry, so our courts colors represent 3 SEC schools(UGA, Alabama, and Florida), 3 Big Ten schools (MSU, Michigan, and Ohio State), and 2 local high schools (TC Central and TC West). We also have a fully stocked pro shop, and are local dealers for Selkirk, Pickleball Wholesale, and Parrot Paddles. We are suited to meet all your Pickleball needs!
Mike Rubino
PPR Certified Instructor
Mike was involved in many sports growing up including soccer, wrestling and tennis. After attending Michigan State University and moving to Traverse City in 2005, he remained active on the tennis courts, playing in tournaments as well as mentoring the TV Central High School girls’ and boys’ tennis team. Mike started playing pickleball in 2019 and fell in love with the game because of the laughter and joy it brings! He became a certified professional with the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) in early 2023, with a goal of teaching kids and adults the multigenerational game of pickleball. Mike is a believer in cross training; if he’s not on a pickleball court you may find him and his family mountain biking, cross country skiing, hiking or kayaking waves in the Great Lakes. Mike looks forward to sharing his passion for pickleball and developing others’ skills and love of the game!
Mark Fries
PPR Certified Instructor
Mark Fries was involved in sports throughout his high school and college career. One of the sports he was heavily involved in was tennis, which would further grow when he became an adult. He went to college at Central Michigan University where he got his degree in education. He would become an educator for 30 years teaching at schools in Michigan. While not in the classroom teaching Mark was on the courts teaching tennis professionally at the Deer Lake Racket club and head tennis professional at the Bloomfield Open Hunt. After teaching for 30 years, he went on to teach professionally at Grand Traverse Resort for tennis and pickleball. He became a certified pickleball teacher in 2022. Mark has a love of sports and teaching people. He is excited that he is able to combine these two loves and share with them not only the community of Northern Michigan but also the community of pickleball.
