It never rains at South Brunswick Grand Slam. That is the phrase that best captures the sports and activity center on Stouts Lane in Monmouth Junction, according to owner Vincent Munn.
PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Top: Joseph Leonardis, 8, of Kendall Park, takes some swings inside the batting cages at Grand Slam of South Brunswick. Above: A group of men play in a pickup basketball game. Left: Grand Slam offers an indoor mini golf area for kids and adults. Grand Slam features batting cages, a basketball court, mini golf, a Kiddie Krawl playground and arcade. The center caters to children who want a fun place to have a birthday party, stay-at-home mothers who want to have a play date for their kids, athletes who are training for sports, or adults who are playing in their own leagues.
Professional sports training is available, and there are summer programs for basketball, baseball, soccer and speed training for athletes ages 6 to 17 at nearby South Brunswick High School.
“There are kids who are getting better and who are coming back with excitement because they are getting better,” Munn said.
There are other attractions, such as a dodgeball tournament; the first-ever wrestling match this month; agility and aerobics classes for kids and adults every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; televised boxing matches; a robot challenge; a car-building class; massage chairs; and funnel cake.
“It transforms you back to your youth,” Munn said. “Every one of us likes to revert back to being a kid.”
Munn himself was a multisport athlete when he was younger, playing golf and basketball and running track. He played football at the junior high and high school level in Jersey City, and then for Boston College.
Around the same time, Munn and a few friends founded the “Blue Chips Sports Camps” program in Roselle, which implemented sports fundamentals on team concepts, life and socialization.
Then after working on Wall Street for 20 years, he decided to return to his passion of athletics and education, and expanded on the summer basketball, soccer, football and speed training camps he had been running for five years prior.
“After three years my wife said, ‘Do it or stop talking about it,’ ” Munn laughed. “I was able to incorporate my love of teaching sports as well as have a foundation of camps and parties and batting cages.”
He said he wanted kids to have a place to play in a “safe environment,” especially since when he was young “we had parks and we had street lights.”
“People complain kids are on the street, getting into trouble … so you have to give them something to do. An idle mind means trouble,” he said.
Based on his background, Munn uses his experiences to help educate athletes as well. He said he is most proud of being able to graduate college in four years while playing sports, and seeks to teach his clients the same mind-set.
“I realized when I went on Wall Street that football got me through the door, I don’t deny that … but I have my diploma from Boston College and speaking with me, [interviewers] realized I had a lot to offer, and that [was what] would sustain me. That’s what [teenagers] have to understand … that they have to have something to offer,” he said.
In the future, Munn hopes to draw in the stayat home community and offer parents a chance for a playtime with their children. He has also contemplated opening more locations, before possibly turning over the South Brunswick facility to someone else so that he can begin the next chapter of his life.
In the meantime, owning a business has been difficult, especially during these economic times, so Munn said he tries to give back to the community. There is a recessionfriendly coupon posted on his website, www.South- BrunswickGrandSlam.com.
“You can’t be in the community and not give back to it,” the South Brunswick resident said. “You’re spending your money here, so we want you to know we appreciate it.”
Grand Slam is open noon-9 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call 732-247-1919.