I really, really, really miss South Lake Racquetball club in Mundelein. I miss the guys, the games, and the beer that went with it. I quit playing racquetball a little more than a year ago. I've played only a handful of times because of some injuries sustained to my left hand and an appendectomy. Recently started playing again and holy crap did my game drop but I want to get it back up. I'm looking for people to play in the greater Chicago land area. I visit Aurora/Naperville on a regular basis on the weekends and if there are any decent clubs or players that would like to play please send me a message. I was playing at about an A level since leaving the sport I'm probably around a C player and I'm frickin slow and out of shape. I am looking for matches that I either get my ass kicked or are highly competitive.

Thanks,

Doug

What happened to the club? Close down or something?

The Southlake Club was located in Mundelein Illinois and was one of the last of the original racquetball only 8 court facilities built during the 1970's to stay in business, and the club had only a few different owners in it's lifetime. Some of the top pros have hosted special events at the club. The club closed last year, after it had been up for sale for some time. As mentioned, LA Fitness opened two clubs nearby (Round Lake Beach and Waukegan) that would have competed for membership.

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Sorry, I forgot the most important part of the club- the “bar”. All the current and previous owners and staff were great. It just became too difficult and expensive to compete in current economic times. A few courts were converted for fitness and weights, which helped a little, but would never be able to compete with the newer facilities (LA Fitness) or their membership fees (now near $30 a month now with a $99 initiation fee).

BTW- I will be at the Waukegan LA Fitness Club today, after I finish a 4:30 pm hospital Cat-Scan. Will be testing the facility for 1-week, using their free week pass. Haven't touch a racquet since Thanksgiving last year!

***Didn't go to LA Fitness today because it was getting late (5:30 PM) and I didn't eat all day. Making spicy tacos and jalapeno pizza instead. Plan to go to LA Fitness tomorrow morning and late afternoon. Hope to practice twice, once in the morning and later in the afternoon. Look forwards to getting beat by “C” players. Will let everyone know how the club and courts are.

I was at the Waukegan LA Fitness Club this afternoon. The three glass back racquetball court floors were literally squeaky clean. Perhaps Doug should have titled the post “I miss my old Southlake Club”, because the Forum Post Title sounds like LA Fitness did something to upset Doug. The Southlake Club lasted a long time after all the other racquetball clubs had closed.

There are many racquetball players that had their favorite club closed without the luxury of having another place to go, and there are two LA Fitness clubs near the old Southlake Club. If I am not mistaken, LA Fitness is less expensive than SouthLake and offers more.

Doug, remember the limited short weekend hours of the Southlake Club, closing early in the afternoon? I could never had played at Southlake at 6:00-8:00 PM on a Sunday Night. Yes, Southlake had a few more courts (none with glass back walls like LA Fitness), and many multi-purpose fitness clubs can be much tougher to find new racquetball players. But the hours are better, the club offers more, and hopefully you will meet new players. Don't give up so easily :)

To Will (MeetandPlay webmaster),

You asked about the Southlake Club and I posted a simple detailed answer. What in that reply could possibly upset anyone to receive a “Don't Like”? Are the “Dislikes and Likes” supposed to represent the content of a post, or the like or dislike of the author? Is this a glitch, or is someone taking the time to “Dislike” almost every post I write, including past posts from over two years ago? I assume you have control over this and know who the person(s) is. I am a big boy and can handle jerks, but this addition of anonymous judgment makes your site less friendly, and some people may feel afraid to “sign-up and post”, or get involved in a discussion. I posted this publicly, for input by others. Thanks for all you have done with MNP, Jordan.

Sorry I didn't respond, I don't come on here much since the forum format changed. The thing about Southlake was you could always find at least a halfway decent game. Most of the guys used racquetball like others use golf to spend time outside of their family life. While LA Fitness is cheaper and I still can play, I don't feel camaraderie. Lots of the people that play on the courts are afraid to play anyone outside of their partner who they always play. There are a few really nice guys at the Round Lake club, so I'm not saying everyone is like that. Secondly, I don't believe that the courts were squeaky clean. I've been to the Waukegan club quite a few times and it is taken care of just as well as every other LA fitness I've been to and there typically is at least a decent layer of dust on the ground. If you ask for the mop to clean it up, they take ten minutes and won't let you do it yourself, eating into your 1 hour limit on reservation between 5-8 in the evening. I can't complain that I don't have a place to play, so I'm at least happy for that. I just wish that it was more competitive and homely like South Lake had been.