Man, I’ve been itching to shoot some hoops lately. You know, just casually, nothing too serious. So, I thought to myself, “Where can I find an open gym for basketball near me?” I really wanted to get some shots up and maybe join a pickup game or two. It has been a while.
First thing I did was hop on my phone and start Googling. You know how it is, just typing in “open gym basketball near me” and seeing what pops up. I saw a couple of community centers and a few local gyms that had courts listed, but it wasn’t super clear if they had open gym times or if it was just for leagues and stuff.
- I checked out a website called GoodRec. It’s supposed to organize pickup games, which sounded pretty cool.
- Then there was another site, some kind of basketball court finder, that had a map and even reviews from players. It looked promising, but a lot of the listings were a bit outdated.
So, I figured the best way to find out was to just start calling around. I called up my local YMCA, and they said they have open gym a few days a week, but you had to be a member. That was kind of a bummer, but at least they have it.
Then I remembered there’s a park near my house with an outdoor court. I drove by there to check it out. It’s a pretty standard rectangular court, you know, with the baskets at each end. There were a couple of people there just shooting around, but it wasn’t a full-on game or anything.
My final decision
In the end, I decided to just go to the park for now. It’s free, and I can get some shots up whenever I want. I might still check out that YMCA membership, especially as it gets colder and playing outdoors becomes less fun. But for now, the park court will do. I just want to get some exercise and have a little fun with it, and playing basketball really is a good way to get your heart rate up. Finding an open gym took a bit more effort than I thought, but at least I found a couple of options. If you guys have any tips for finding good places to play some pickup, let me know!
