TopShot offers courts that are custom-built to meet the highest specifications for badminton and can also be used for pickleball. (Courtesy TopShot)
Cedar Park sports club TopShot offers fun and exercise for players of all skill and experience levels, and aims to become the best badminton academy in the region, according to co-owner Sangram Alapati.
What they offer
TopShot offers badminton and pickleball on its main courts and ping pong tables in an adjacent area. The venue also includes a gym, a mezzanine lounge and waiting area, locker rooms, and a pro shop.
In an effort to make TopShot the best badminton facility in the region, Alapati said every aspect of the main court area, from the lighting to the floor, was specifically designed for the sport. The floor is made of a special material that is specifically engineered to provide the right balance of bounce, cushion and friction, he said. The lighting is designed to meet international badminton tournament standards. The nets are custom-made, designed so that they can be raised for badminton or lowered for pickleball.
Another thing that sets TopShot apart, Alapati said, is its training program. TopShot has a special focus on the "competitive pathway" for youth players. TopShot's goal, Alapati said, is to train kids to compete in national and international competitions. To that end, TopShot has partnered with Pullela Gopichand, a former international badminton star who now holds the title of chief national coach for the Indian national badminton team and is the founder of Badminton Gurukul Academy, which aims to make high-level badminton training more widely available.
"Usually in badminton, it takes two to three years [of academy training] to win something really big. We have only been here for a year and a half, and we believe in about another year we'll be there," Alapati said.
While TopShot's most ambitious goals are tied to its youth academy, the facility offers classes for all ages and skill levels in both badminton and pickleball.
"Our youngest trainee is 6 years old and our oldest is 82," Alapati said.
The owners started with the idea to build a badminton facility and later added pickleball when they realized the courts could be easily adapted. Alapati said that expanding their offerings beyond badminton has helped to ensure TopShot has something to offer everyone.
"What we have seen is that families are treating it as a place for the whole family," he said. "Kids can train, dad can play and mom can work out in the gym. So they have different options."
Memberships at TopShot also include access to the facility's gym. (Courtesy TopShot)
About the owners
TopShot was founded a group of friends who began to discuss starting a business during the COVID-19 pandemic. The owners are all residents of Cedar Park or the surrounding area, Alapati said.
He said that after a career in the tech industry, he was hungry for a change. While they considered a number of different business ideas, a shared passion for sports and desire for a unique business that would enhance the quality of life in their community led them to found TopShot.
"We wanted to do something different that also has an impact on the community," Alapati said.
Why it matters
Alapati said TopShot is a welcoming environment for everybody.
"We have a mixture of people coming from different cultures [and] different countries," he said. "It feels good to see. Especially on weekends, [there is] a festive atmosphere."
He said the ownership group at TopShot is also trying to grow the sport more broadly, working with other groups to petition the NCAA to add badminton as an official college sport, which could open the door for kids who come up through TopShot's academy to get college athletic scholarships.
"We wanted to help the community, and the main thing is to help with the kids," he said.
