Former SPHS Student With A Passion For Pickleball Invents Special Net

When 18-year-old Taylor Jarvis envisioned an innovative solution to a pickle of a problem, he began the methodical process of bringing it to life, much as he learned to do in his engineering courses at Severna Park High School (SPHS).

Jarvis explained that once he realized a portable pickleball net requires at least eight minutes to set up and lacks a premium feel, he set out to design a net that was simple, innovative and quick, and the Shockwave Speed Net was born.

Jarvis, who attended SPHS before moving out of state, invented the Shockwave Speed Net in collaboration with his father. They began funding their invention on a crowdfunding platform called Kickstarter in July with an initial goal of raising $10,000; they have already raised more than $72,000 and have a patent pending.

The younger Jarvis described the game of pickleball as exciting, fun and quick to learn. During COVID, he and his family played the game frequently. When local courts began requiring players to bring their own temporary nets, he saw an opportunity.

“This is when we decided it was time to develop a better solution, and that’s when we began experimenting with the theory behind Shockwave’s extendable frame,” he said.

Jarvis and his father created scale mock-ups of the net using pins, cardboard and popsicle sticks. Their first prototype was built from recycled parts and tools in their garage.

Many revisions were required to assure just the right geometry while maintaining a strong and rigid design, Jarvis stated.

He and his father overcame obstacles along the way with creativity and flexibility. Instead of paying thousands of dollars to create factory molds, Jarvis created his own molds at home using a resin printer and a basic injection molding machine he made himself from a drill press.

The first mold took six hours to create and could make only one injected part every 10 minutes.

“Now that we have our finalized design, we no longer use homemade injection molded parts as we are opening up molds in the factory using the Kickstarter money,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis and his father traveled to a China factory in August to meet with the team that will manufacture the net.

“In China, we made all the finalizations to the net including switching to a galvanized steel, putting in a cord for the top tape, and modifying the base to hold the net more stable,” Jarvis said. “We also talked about packaging options and a powder coating procedure.”

He credits a portion of his success to his family, his teachers, and his engineering and entrepreneurship classes at SPHS.

“My family has also been very supportive of my entrepreneurial spirit,” Jarvis said. “Both my parents are very involved in the development and production of the Shockwave Speed Net.

“Without my dad’s experience working with factories and developing outdoor products, or my mom’s expertise in managing various business-related aspects of development, Shockwave would not be as successful as it’s proving to be,” Jarvis said. “Working together with my father has felt very natural as we understand each other’s perspectives and complement each other’s talents. My dad and I have grown a lot closer through brainstorming late into the night in our garage.”

He also noted, “Without the resources at SPHS or my teachers, I would not be able to be doing what I am today.”

Jarvis thanked SPHS teacher Heather Barnstead for “helping me to find my love for starting a business of my own, as well as teaching me the fundamentals of doing so.” He also expressed his gratitude toward Kristen Ritz and Melanie Doucette, teachers who cheered him on and assisted him throughout the project.

Engineering classes taught Jarvis how to better model his own 3D parts, saving time and money on his project while in his entrepreneurship course, “I learned more about communication with factories and those around me, and above all else, how to keep organized while working on something of this scale.”

The Shockwave Speed Net will retail at $299, but it is available now at the pre-order price of $225 through IndieGoGo. To find out more information about the Shockwave, go to www.indiegogo.com and search for “Shockwave.”

Jarvis hopes the Shockwave Speed Net will get more people playing pickleball on their driveways, streets and cul-de-sacs, and that the net will bring the community together through playing the game.

He also had a message of encouragement for young entrepreneurs: “Find something you love doing, find an opportunity or product idea in that area, and go for it!”