Paul Malafronte
Paul Malafronte, known to everyone as Coach Mal, brings more than 50 years of racquet sports experience to MIT. He's the current boys tennis coach at Guilford High School, and he still competes regularly in four racquet sports, including a 4th-place finish in his age bracket at last year's Pickleball Nationals.
Coach Mal's roots run deep in New Haven County. He played tennis for Amity High School and Quinnipiac University, where he started the winter tennis program for the men's team. The name may sound familiar: his family helped found Little League in Orange and Woodbridge, and his father served as the league's first president.
At the heart of his coaching is understanding the "why," so the right decisions on court become the natural ones. Every session is highly organized to give you as many reps as possible. As one of his famous "Malisms" puts it: "I'm part instructor, part ball boy. I'm here to pick up the balls. It's your job to hit them."
His signature clinic, Point Play with Coach Mal, is what he calls "controlled chaos." It's a high-energy, 90-minute cardio session where you'll hit up to 100 times more balls than in a normal pickleball game.