South Wales will be the next community to benefit from Smash Padel’s inclusive, coach-led philosophy after the award-winning operator opened its latest club in Cardiff.
Situated in the suburb of Pontcanna, Smash Padel Cardiff has six canopy-covered courts, clubhouse and cafe and celebrated its opening on Friday 20 February with a rugby-themed launch event.
With the Wales v Scotland Six Nations clash taking place at the city’s Principality Stadium the following day, Welsh legends including Rhys Priestland, Ceri Sweeney and Lloyd Williams were in town to take on former Scottish internationals Craig Chalmers, Max Evans, Sean Lineen and John Barclay in a battle on the club’s new courts.
Juniors from the hugely successful academy and performance squads at Smash Padel’s flagship Bicester venue also performed exhibition matches for the 200 invited guests, which included The Padel Paper.
Smash Padel stand out in an exploding industry as an operator which puts people before commercial profit, offering accessible programmes for every possible demographic and a meticulous level of detail and support for anyone wishing to develop themselves as a padel player.
“Our philosophy is about being inclusive,” Smash Padel’s Chief Commercial Officer, Carson Russell, told The Padel Paper in Cardiff. “We’re establishing a sustainable business model for the next five, 10 or 15 years.
“We’re making sure that if we want to attract a whole range of people from the community, money isn’t a barrier for anyone. You can’t give everything away for free, but there are ways and means of attracting different customers and give them an opportunity to experience padel.
“If you get that right it means everyone who comes along and has an experience with Smash Padel says, ‘That was fantastic’ and wants to come back for more. If you can achieve that, you have a funnel of customers wanting to come back.”
Smash Padel has a very strong focus on junior development, with a six-step junior pathway from ‘Little Smashers’ (4-6-year-olds) right up to the Junior Performance squad for players competing at national at European level.
The coaching team led by Miguel Caramalho puts extraordinary effort and genuine care into its juniors. Each young player has an individual development plan and their progress within cognitive, physical, tactical and technical skill categories is constantly reviewed, with feedback from child, coach and parent backed up by video footage from coaching sessions and matches.
“The investment they put in is phenomenal,” said Pete Aldred, father of 15-year-old player Charlie. “We received subsidised sessions because we travel a fair distance for lessons, so we feel really valued.”
Vincent Holte, father of 14-year-old Ethan, added: “Most coaches say goodbye once the hour is up, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but Miguel and Gordon go way, way above and beyond.
“They pour hours of effort and time into the young players through their own love for the sport. They look at individual programmes, do analysis, watch day after day, giving up their own time. Their passion is infectious.”
Smash Padel’s Academy Manager, Gordon Dunn (pictured below), outlined how coaches use padel to teach good behaviours: “We talk to them about the values that are important in sport and how they transfer into life.
“For example, to develop communication skills, we make each pair speak before every serve, and if they don’t they lose a point!
“We’re starting to see children come through from the Smashers programmes [for young kids] and progress into the junior squads and the academy. That’s incredibly rewarding.”
Caramalho, Smash Padel’s Head of Padel, added: “Most importantly, we want kids to come and have fun, but always offering the chance to progress through different pathways, including performance pathways if they wish to.”
Following the launch of its Cardiff venue, Smash Padel is set to open its seventh club in Taunton soon then five further sites in 2026 including three in schools.
Growing as a multi-site operator inevitably brings some complexity, but for Caramalho, their ‘people first’ philosophy ensures there is an ongoing connection despite the distance between venues.
“It’s all about making sure you have the right people,” he commented. “That makes everyone’s lives easier. If people are committed to our philosophy, you will naturally work as a team.”
