Tennis Industry Magazine

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agenda for the
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effectively
APRIL 2016 / VOLUME 44/ NUMBER 4 / $5.00
Apparel
Trends:
Hitting
The Right
Shots!
Winning
Soft-Court
Facilities
TA
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U
g
tin
a
r
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orp
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In
1
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TennisIndustry
www.tennisindustrymag.com
APRIL 2016
DEPARTMENTS
4
Our Serve
Industry News
14 Industry Recognition
15 TIA News
22 Racquet Tech
24 Grassroots Tennis
26 Retailing Tip
28 Event Marketing
38 Tips & Techniques
Your Serve, by Annie Beier
40
INDUSTRY NEWS
7
USTA PlayDev creates new
Team USA department
7

T.O.M. Conference and

Forum in Miami
PTR, TennisEurope partner

for TennisCoachEd.com
Babolat introduces
lightweight JET shoe
Pound, Maule have new

roles at Wilson
New edition out for

Tennis Parents Bible
USTA awards Wheelchair

Tennis grants
p.35
FEATURES
30 E
vent Tracking
How can you prepare for sudden spikes in
attendance at your facility? The next level of
service will help you forecast and adapt.
32 Trends in Tenniswear
p.30
From high fashion, to toned-down neon, to

tech fabrics, to better stretchthe trends
continue to take apparel from on court to off.
Peoplewatch
10
10 Pickleball US Open

to be in Naples
35 Soft Touch
10 Solinco adds new Hyper-G

co-poly string
These outdoor Distinguished Facility-of-theYear award winners are excellent examples

of soft-court construction.
11 i TPA to hold 2nd World

Tennis Fitness Conf.
hort Sets
12 S
p.32
PLUS
42
CEOs Message
p.41
44 T
he Lifelong Learner
52 Invest in Yourself
48 T
he Ten Commandments of
Being a USPTA Professional
54 20 Point Inspection Tool

for Youth Tennis
44 Vice Presidents
Message
46 USPTA Benefits
48 Master Pro Corner
52 Beyond the Court
57 USPTA News
58 Career Development
60
Member News
Read more articles online at www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com

2 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Our Serve
Publishers
David Bone Jeff Williams

Editorial Director
Peter Francesconi
peter@tennisindustrymag.com
Associate Editor
Greg Raven
Design/Art Director
Kristine Thom
Righting an
Industry Wrong
t was exactly nine years ago

when I wrote about this topic in
this columnand I cant believe
nothing has happened in that time
to right this wrong.
Plain and simple: Dennis Van der
Meer should be inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Shame on the ITHOFand all of
usfor not fixing this years ago and
recognizing the incredible impact
this amazing man has had on this
gamenot just in the U.S., but
throughout the world.
Dennis has taught more people
to playand to teachtennis than
anyone in the history of this sport.
He has been a coach, innovator,
advocate and tireless promoter of
tennis for decades. While he has
personally taught thousands to play
this game, by teaching the teachers hes had a direct hand in getting
millions of recreational players on
the court.
Now, in this 40th year of the
Professional Tennis Registry, the
organization he founded, its time to
fix this. While the HoF inductees for
this year are settled, we all can help
make this a reality for next year.
Go to www.tennisfame.com, click
on Hall of Famers and nominate
Dennis Van der Meer as a Contributor. And hurrydeadline for
the 2017 induction class is April 1,
2016. (Just look at that description
for Contributorexceptional contributions that have furthered the
growth, reputation, and character of
the sportit was practically writ-
ten with Dennis in mind.)

And beyond that, flood the Hall
of Fame and any other influential
tennis people you know with emails
supporting Dennis for this honor.
This injustice in the tennis world
was again brought to light by none
other than Billie Jean King, who
spoke at the PTR Symposium in
February when she was inducted
into the PTR Hall of Fame. BJK
told the sold-out awards banquet
crowd that we need to get a petition
going to get Dennis into the International Tennis Hall of Fameand
thats what PTR CEO Dan Santorum started right then and there.
Visit www.ptrtennis.org to find out
more and to lend your support.
Dennis was the first inductee into
the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame in
2008. Hes been inducted into both
the USPTA Hall of Fame (2015)
and the PTR Hall of Fame (2013).
Hes also in the USTA Northern
California and the USTA Southern
section halls of fame. In 1972, the
U.S. State Department cited him for
Exceptional Coaching Performance
in the Middle East, and in 1989, he
received the Healthy American Fitness Award. He was named Developmental Coach of the Year by the
U.S. Olympic Committee in 1997.
Dennis has been honored by so
many groups, organizations and
governments that it makes no sense
to me hes not yet enshrined in
Newport. This is something that
everyone in this industry can rally
behind. Lets fix this now.
Peter Francesconi, Editorial Director

peter@tennisindustrymag.com
4 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Special Projects Manager

Bob Patterson
Contributing Editors
Robin Bateman
Cynthia Cantrell
Peg Connor
Kent Oswald
Cynthia Sherman
Mary Helen Sprecher
Contributing Photographers
Bob Kenas
David Kenas
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hanna@knowatlanta.com
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Cynthia Sherman
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cstennisindustry@gmail.com
Tennis Industry is published 10 times per year:
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IndustryNews
Information to help you run your business
USTA PlayDev Creates New

Team USA Department
STA Player Development has created a

new Team USAPro department that
will be focused on providing American
pro tennis players with coaching assistance,
training and financial resources to help them
reach the Top 100. USTA Lead National Coaches Tom Gullikson and Kathy Rinaldi have each
been promoted to leadership roles in the new
department and will lead its coaching efforts
on the mens and womens sides, respectively.
The Team USAPro department was created to provide professional players ranked
between 100 and 500 resources and assistance
similar to what has been available to junior
players since USTA Player Development first
began to incorporate the Team USA philosophy into its junior development structure in
2014. Geoff Russell will assume a new role, as
senior manager of Team USAPro, overseeing
the departments administrative operations.
When players move quickly into the Top
100, they have a much better chance of achieving rankings in the Top 50, Top 20 or Top 10, Martin Blackman
says USTA Player Development General
Manager Martin Blackman. Team USAPro
will better enable us to maximize this opportunity for our American pros and help them
achieve a ranking that gets them into the
main draw of Grand Slam events, where we
eventually want to see them competing into
the second week.
Additionally, USTA Player Development
has reorganized its structure of National
Coaches, creating teams of coaches who will
focus on distinct groups of players: juniors,
Tom Gullikson
collegiate players and professional players.
Richard Ashby (girls) and Andy Brandi (boys) have each
been promoted to lead the junior coaching teams. The
overall coaching reorganization is a move to assemble
teams of coaches that will better be able to meet the developmental and training needs of those specific groups of
players.
We are utilizing the expertise and commitment of our
coaching staff to develop smaller and more sharply focused
coaching teams in order to provide private-sector coaches
and programs with a collective resource that specializes
in a particular phase of developmentjunior, collegiate or
professional, Blackman says.
T.O.M. Conference Slated

For March 23-25 in Miami
Its not too late to sign up for the
Third Annual Tennis Owners & Managers (T.O.M.) Conference, March
23-25 at the Hilton Miami Downtown
during the Miami Open pro tennis
tournament. Single-day rates are
available for the T.O.M.
The conference will bring together

leading experts in facility management, programming and other key
areas to provide vital information to
grow tennis businesses, in addition
to a Tennis Tech Fair & Resource
Center.
Key speakers include Dr. Jack
Groppel, Cliff Drysdale, Gigi Fernandez, Emilio Sanchez, Jim Baugh and
Dr. Gerald Faust, among other management and business consultants.
Tennis industry speakers include
Craig Jones, Dan Santorum, John Embree, Randy Futty, Pat Hanssen, Lee
Sponaugle, Virgil Christian and Scott
Schultz. Among facility owners and
managers sharing their knowledge
will be: Greg Lappin, Simon Gale,
Mike Woody, Fernando Velasco,
Jorge Capestany, Doug Cash and
many others. To register and for
more information, go to TheTOMConference.com.
State of Industry
Forum in Miami
Kathy Rinaldi
Held in conjunction with the

T.O.M. Conference will be the
State of the Industry Forum, from
10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday,
March 23 at the Hilton Miami
Downtown. The Forum is free to
attend (but space is limited, so
register at TheTOMConference.
com) and will present the latest
news and data about the state
of the tennis industry, including
research, trends and more.
April 2016
TennisIndustry 7
IndustryNews
PTR, Tennis Europe Partner
to Boost TennisCoachEd.com
Tennis Europe and the PTR have a two-year
partnership that will make PTR an Official
Continuous Learning Provider partner of the
Tennis CoachEd initiative. The partnership
will provide PTR with additional opportunities to promote activities in Europe. TennisCoachEd.com is Tennis Europes project
aimed primarily at providing
new opportunities, information and services for the
European tennis coaching
community.
PTR is looking forward to
working with Tennis Europe
and its National Tennis Federations to provide additional quality education for tennis
coaches, says PTR CEO Dan Santorum. We

are confident those Federations who choose
to work with PTR will benefit greatly and see
an increase in their overall tennis growth.
Pound, Maule Take On

Key Roles at Wilson
Iain Pound (right)has been promoted
to national sales director for Wilson
Racquet Sports and
will lead the brands
sales efforts in the
specialty tennis
channel in the U.S.
Also, Wilson has
hired Mickey Maule
as its new regional
commercial director
for racquet sports in the Americas.

Pounda former Division 1 college
player, USPTA certified pro, club director
and college coachpreviously, he served
as regional sales manager for Amer Sports
Winter, Outdoor and Cycle sales organization, and prior to that, worked as a territory manager for Wilson in the Southeast.
Maule comes from Babolat, where he
was national sales manager. At Wilson,
he will focus on growing the brand in the
U.S., Canada and Latin America. Maule
was an ATP-ranked pro player in 19901993 and won the ITF Mens 40 and over
doubles World Championship in 2012. He
led Northern Illinois Universitys tennis
team as head coach and served as assistant head coach at Northwestern.
New Edition Released For

Tennis Parents Bible
Babolat Introduces New,

Lightweight JET Shoe
abolats new, lightweight JET shoe is now available, weighing in at 11.46

ounces. The company says the shoe is made from the lightest performance
material ever put into a tennis shoe. The shoe is built for speed yet exceptionally supportive, says Babolat, designed to help players move faster and more
lightly on the court.
The unique one-piece upper uses Matryx, a patented, woven textile made with
durable Kevlar and Polyamide woven into specific zones where players need it
most, and creating areas of visible support amid the catchy design. The shoe also
features an exclusive S pattern Michelin outsole thats designed to allow for quick
direction changes while providing traction and durability, says Babolat.
The shoe is designed for competitive players looking for lightness and support.
Its available in all-court mens and womens models, and a clay mens model, in
gray/red and light gray/yellow. Suggested retail is $135. Visit babolat.com.
8 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Frank Giampaolo has come out with the

Second Edition of his popular Tennis Parents Bible, written to help increase family
harmony, decrease the games dramatic
drop-out rate, and maximize a players potential at the quickest rate.
Unifying the player, parent and coach
relationship holds many benefits, not only
for the athlete and his or her parents, but
also for tennis industry professionals, says
the author. Improved team
synergy will help build
and maintain a healthy
club bottom line, support
a thriving junior development program, reinforce the
lesson curriculum, organize
parental accountability with
actual job descriptions and
strengthen parental commitment.
For more information or to order the new
edition, visit maximizingtennispotential.
com.
U.S. Fed Cup Team

Plays in Australia
The U.S. Fed Cup Team will travel to Australia for the 2016 Fed Cup World Group
Playoffs April 16-17 at a site to be determined. Australia is seeded No. 8, while the
U.S. was unseeded. The U.S. advanced to
the playoffs after winning its World Group
II First-Round tie over Poland, 4-0, held in
Hawaii in February.
IndustryNews
USTA Awards Wheelchair
Tennis Grants to Nine Programs
he USTA is awarding $62,550 in

USTA Wheelchair Tennis Grassroots
Grants to nine programs nationwide to promote and develop the growth
of wheelchair tennis and use the sport of
tennis to build stronger, healthier communities.
Wheelchair tennis continues to grow
in stature and popularity in the U.S., says
Dan James, USTA national manager of
Wheelchair Tennis. These organizations
positively impact wheelchair tennis and we
know these grants will be a part of a continued effort in expanding programs that support the wheelchair community through
tennis and foster growth and success in
players. Grants are being awarded to:
Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center, St.

Louis
Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association,
Lake Forest, Ill.
Rome Sports, Rome, Ga.
Grey Rock Tennis Club, Austin, Texas
Houston Wheelchair Tennis Program &
Team, Cypress, Texas
Tennis 4 Every 1, The Woodlands, Texas
University of AlabamaAdaptive Athletics, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
West Coast Wheelchair Tennis Association, North Hollywood, Calif.
Wheelchair Sports Federation, Middle Village, N.Y.
Since 2008, the USTA has given more than $450,000 to wheelchair tennis programs across the country.
Mitch Case is newest

USRSA tester
Mitch Case, the director of tennis at Woodridge Lake in Goshen, Conn., is the newest
USRSA tester. Case has been stringing
racquets since 1995 and customizing frames
since 2007. He's a PTR-certified pro in both
Adult Development and
Junior Performance,
teaching players of
all ages at Woodridge
Lake, as well as indoors
at the Farmington
Valley Racquet Club in
Simsbury, Conn.
Case, who played
college tennis at
Western Connecticut
State University, is also
an Etcheberry certified coach, a No-Cut High
School coach, and is a member of Tennis
Magazine's Playtest Panel.
SCTA Presents Awards

Several individuals and organizations
were honored recently at the Southern
California Tennis Associations Annual
Meeting & Awards ceremony held at the
Los Angeles Tennis Center-UCLA.
Henry Talbert Lifetime Achievement:
Franklin Johnson
April 2016
TennisIndustry 9
IndustryNews
People
Watch
Aimee Ruiz and Jose Dias,
two members of the Head Penn
National Playing Staff, have
earned appointments to the
USA Racquetball National Adult
Team with their title runs at the
2016 National Doubles Championships held in February.
Wes Beaullieu has been appointed as the Intercollegiate
Tennis Association's new Championships Coordinator. Prior
to joining the ITA, Beaullieu

was a youth tennis coach and
tournament coordinator at
Tennis Success Inc. in Corpus
Christi, Texas.
Kristina Mladenovic and
Aliz Cornetare are the latest
WTA players to endorse USANA Health Sciences nutritional
products.
West Chester (Pa.) Univer-
Evelyn Houseman Junior Sportsmanship Award: Brandon Holt and Ena

Shibahara
Member Organization: Marguerite Tennis Pavilion
LA84 Foundation/NJTL: Mike Casarz
Long Ellis Intercollegiate Award: University of California, Santa Barbara
Curt Condon Spirit Award: Hank Lloyd
Eugene Jung Multicultural Award: Jay
Diaz
sity mens and womens tennis

coach Tina Tharp has been
named coach of the year for the
USTA Middle States section.
Mario Ibarra is the new executive director of USTA Wyoming
in the Intermountain Section.
Mary Edman has been appointed as the Intercollegiate
Tennis Association's new Membership Coordinator. Edman, a
Service Awards were presented to

Dave Nowick, Junior Tennis; Mahlone
Becker, JTT; Ron Marquez, Cathedral
Catholic H.S., San Diego, High School Tennis Coach; University of CaliforniaSanta
Barbara, Tennis On Campus; Bryan East,
Wheelchair Tennis; Pete Brown Scholarship Fund, Los Angeles; Scott Cleere, Central Coast; Alvin Alaman, Orange County;
Amy Ellison, Adult Leagues (Inland Empire); Richard Chang, Volunteer.
Solinco Adds New

Hyper-G Co-Poly
2015 graduate of Colorado

College in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, began her duties
with the ITA on February 16.
Prior to her joining the ITA,
Edman worked as a Graduate Assistant for Diversity &
Inclusion at the United States
Olympic Committee's offices
in Colorado Springs. She
was also a USTA Junior Team
Tennis Intern in the summer
of 2014.
US Open Pickleball Chps.

Set for Naples, Fla.
The inaugural US Open Pickleball Championships is set to take place in Naples, Fla.,
April 26-May 1, and it is already so explosively popular that its organizers are beyond
excited.
Were going to sell out on mixed doubles;
its the most popular event, says Terri Graham, president of Spirit Promotions, the
group responsible for organizing the event.
We have 48 courts. Theyll all be busy.
Paddletek LLC of Niles, Mich., developed
a custom paddle for the tournament, and
Curtis Smith, CEO, says it is selling out as fast
as it can be producedand we havent even
officially announced it yet. Wilson has produced the official balls for the tournament
and DecoTurf is the official surface; in fact,
local officials in Naples fast-tracked construction proceedings in order to have all the
facilities ready for the event. The event has a
title sponsor, home builder Minto, as well as
sponsorship support from more than a dozen other companies and charity partners.
The event is filling room nights in hotels
in and around Naples, and also bringing in
traffic in local condos. And, says Graham,
once pickleball players get a look at the facili-
P H O T O C O U RT E S Y U S A PA
olinco introduces a new string to its formidable lineup. The Hyper-G is a

co-polyester string utilizing a newly developed chemical formula in combination with the high-powered polyester monofilament fiber that is designed and
shaped to generate maximum power and control while amplifying spin, according
to the company.
Hyper-G is available in four gauges16/1.30, 16L/1.25, 17/1.20 and 18/1.15in 40foot packages and 656-foot reels. Visit solincosports.com.
10 TennisIndustry
April 2016
IndustryNews
tieseither in person or by being one of
the estimated 50 million who will see the
finals on CBS (which has signed a multiyear deal to televise the finals)theyll
want to come back to Naples and play
there.
This place is going to attract visitors
long after we leave here, she says.
Mary Helen Sprecher
trainers, athletic trainers, physicians, healthcare providers and other

tennis-specific specialists. Faculty
included some of the worlds leading
tennis-specific fitness education
experts.
For information, on the 2016 World
Tennis Fitness Conference, visit itpatennis.org.
USRSA Announces
New MRTs and CS
Master Racquet Technicians
Albert Juliano - Farmington, CT
Jeremy Reeve - Melbourne, VC Australia
Hernan Chaves-Posse - Vancouver, BC
Canada
Certified Stringer
William Milne - Fort Wayne, IN
iTPA to Hold 2nd Annual

World Tennis Fitness Conf.
The Second Annual World Tennis
Fitness Conference, presented by the
International Tennis Performance
Association (iTPA) will be July 30-31
in Atlanta. The conference focuses on
techniques and evidence-based information to help participants to more
effectively train tennis players.
About 140 people from six countries
attended the inaugural event last year,
including tennis coaches, strength
and conditioning coaches, personal
April 2016
TennisIndustry 11
IndustryNews
Short
Sets
Fila will become the
Official Athletic Apparel
and Footwear partner
of Tennis Canada. The
multi-year deal will also
make Fila a silver sponsor
of the Rogers Cup events,
held in both Montreal and
Toronto, and of Davis Cup
and Fed Cup official uniforms, senior, junior and
wheelchair national and
international events, as
well as all Tennis Canada
officials, and national
training center participants.
The Marshfield (Mass.)
Tennis Club received the
USTA New England CTA
12 TennisIndustry
April 2016
of the Year Award. Also,

Sportsmans Tennis and
Enrichment Center of
Dorchester, Mass., was
named USTA NE Organization of the Year,
and the Boston Tennis
Classic hosted by
Tennis 4All was named
Special Tennis Event of
the Year.
Advanced Polymer
Technology (APT)
has introduced its
new Laykold Masters
premium all-weather
surface, with several
enhancements to the
high-performance
surface. APT backs all
Laykold Masters systems

with a five-year warranty.
Masters systems have
been featured at tennis
showcases and events
across the globe including Chicago, New York
City, Rome and Tokyo. For
info, visit laykold.com.
The same-gender
couples doubles tournament, inaugurated last
March in Palm Springs,
Calif., is now a USTA
National Championship
event and will become an
annual part of the USTAs
adult competition tennis
calendar. The Plaza Racquet Club again hosted
the event, which was

held March 4-6.
NetJets Inc. has signed
on as the official private
aviation partner of the
2016 PowerShares
Series, the circuit for
champion tennis players over the age of 30.
NetJets will receive advertising spots, branded
in-broadcast features,
signage and hospitality
while providing flights
for PowerShares Series
players to select events.
The 2016 PowerShares
Series features 12 events
throughout the year
starting April 8.
TGA Premier Youth

Tennis has a new
franchise, located in
Durham, N.C.
The University of
North Carolina defeated
Virginia to win its first
Intercollegiate Tennis
Association Division I
National Men's Team
Indoor Championship
in February. Meanwhile,
No. 6-ranked California
captured its first-ever
ITA Division I National
Women's Team Indoors
Championship title in
February with a 4-3
victory over No. 5 North
Carolina.
IndustryNews
Tennis Racquet Performance
Specialty Stores
January-December, 2015 vs. 2014
2015
669,914
Units
2014 677,842

% change vs. 14 1%
$98,637,000
Dollars 2015

2014
$100,171,000

% change vs. 14 -2%
Price
2015
$147.24
2014 $147.78

% change vs. 14 0%
Top-Selling Racquets
at Specialty Stores
By year-to-date dollars
Jan.-Dec. 2015
Best Sellers
1. Babolat Pure Drive 2015 (MP)
2. Babolat Aero Pro Drive (MP)
3. Wilson Pro Staff 97 (MP)
4. Wilson Pro Staff RF 97 Auto (MP)
5. Babolat Pure Aero (100) 2016 (MP)
Hot New Racquets

(introduced in the past 12 months)
1. Babolat Pure Aero (100) 2016 (MP)
2. Wilson Blade 104 2015 (MP)
3. Head XT Instinct MP (MP)
4. Wilson Blade 98 18x20 2015 (MP)
5. Wilson Burn 100 S (MP)
Top-Selling Tennis Shoes

at Specialty Stores
By year-to-date dollars, Jan.-Dec. 2015
1. Asics Gel Resolution 6
2. Prince T22
3. Asics Gel Solution Speed 2
4. Nike Zoom Vapor 9.5 Tour
5. Nike Zoom Cage 2
Top-Selling Strings
at Specialty Stores
By year-to-date units, Jan.-Dec. 2015
1. Babolat RPM Blast
2. Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex
3. Wilson NXT
4. Wilson Sensation
5. Luxilon 4G
(Source: TIA)
April 2016
TennisIndustry 13
Industry Recognition
PTR Honors Members
With Annual Awards
he Professional Tennis Registry

presented its annual awards during the 2016 PTR International
Tennis Symposium, held Feb. 16-20
on Hilton Head Island, S.C. The event
included more than 40 educational
presentations for tennis teachers and
coaches.
A highlight of the week was the induction of Billie Jean King into the PTR
Hall of Fame. King, who won 39 Grand
Slam titles in singles and doubles, was
coached by PTR founder Dennis Van
der Meer during the famous Battle of
the Sexes match with Bobby Riggs in
1973. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
The PTR Hall of Fame, considered
the organizations highest honor, was
created to preserve history and honor
excellence. Candidates are elected by
the PTR Board of Directors and must be
current or retired PTR members who
have contributed to PTR and the game
of tennis in a way that far exceeds the
norm. King is the fifth inductee, joining
Dennis Van der Meer, Jim Verdieck, Dr.
Jim Loehr and Arthur Ashe.
Beltrame Named
PTR Pro of the Year
Lorenzo Beltrame of Windermere, Fla.,

has been named PTR Professional of
the Year. The honor is presented to the
PTR professional who has displayed
the highest standards of conduct
and service to both tennis and PTR.
Throughout his career, Beltrame has
worked with dozens of ATP and WTA
tour professionals, including Jim Courier and Pete Sampras, and has coached
players in major events including the
four Grand Slams, Davis Cup and Hopman Cup.
Since 1996, Beltrame has served as
Director of Tennis and Athletic Performance Coaching at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla. He is
responsible for the Mental Toughness
14 TennisIndustry
April 2016
2016 PTR Award winners: (front row, from left) Aruna Bernier, Billie Jean King, Larry Keeter; (back row)
PTR CEO Dan Santorum, Leo Alonso, PTR Board President Roy Barth, Adams Zhao Ruifeng, Ann Koger,
Katy Rogers, Darryl Lewis, Lorenzo Beltrame.
Certification Program at the HPI and

has helped to design and implement
critical components of that training.
Both a PTR pro and a USPTA Master
Professional, Beltrame has received
the Coach of the Year and Doc
Counsilman Science Awards by the
U.S. Olympic Committee.
Aruna Bernier Named

PTR Humanitarian
PTR pro Aruna Chettri Bernier of

Austin, Texas, director of Tennis
Buddys LLC, has been named PTR
Humanitarian of the Year. Bernier
had been putting all her energy into
growing the game by teaching tennis, but when major earthquakes
hit her native Nepal a year ago, she
took action, establishing a nonprofit,
ArunasNepalRelief.org, to help in the
relief effort, including traveling to
Nepal and risking her safety to deliver
aid directly.
As PTRHumanitarian of the Year,
Bernier received a $2,500 check
from the PTRFoundation to help
her continue her work. Moved by her
acceptance, PTR Foundation Chairman Scott Tharp doubled the amount,
then Billie Jean King matched the
Foundation grant and asked others to
contribute as well.
2016 PTR Awards
PTR Hall of Fame: Billie Jean King

Professional of the Year: Lorenzo Beltrame,
Florida
International Master Pro: Darryl Lewis, North
Carolina
Touring Coach of the Year: Patrick Mouratoglou, France
College Coach of the Year: Ann Koger, Pennsylvania
High School Coach: Suzie Heideman, Minnesota
Wheelchair Professional: Larry Keeter, North
Carolina
Humanitarian Award: Aruna Bernier, Texas
Volunteer of the Year: Katy Rogers, Texas
Clinician of the Year: Adams Zhao Ruifeng,
China
Tester of the Year: Leo Alonso, Argentina
Public Facility of the Year: Southlake Tennis
Center, Texas
Private Facility of the Year: Circolo Della
Stampa-Spoting, Italy
PTR/TIA Commitment to the Industry: P.J.
Simmons, New York
PTR/USTA Community Service Award: Jessica Weyreuter, Alabama
Female Player of the Year: Emmy Kaiser,
Kentucky
Male Player of the Year: Clayton Almeida, New
York
Newcomer of the Year: Carlos Pedrero, Arizona
Members
tennis business
T.O.M.
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State of the Industry Forum
TENNIS OWNERS &
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sports facility management
YOUTH TENNIS MARKET
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FORUM
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CONFERENCE
Tennis Owners & Managers

Hilton Miami Downtown
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AGENDA | MARCH 23-25
T.O.M. AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY FORUM
TENNIS OWNERS & MANAGERS CONFERENCE
8:00 A.M.
REGISTRATION OPENS
8:00-9:00 A.M.
BREAKFAST
9:00 A.M.
TENNIS TECH FAIR & RESOURCE CENTER
10:00 A.M.
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY FORUM
Top industry officials present the latest news and data about
the state of the tennis industry, including participation research,
consumer and technology trends, tennis marketplace data, an update
on grow-the-game initiatives, updates from the USTA, and more.
11:30 A.M.
FOCUS ON TENNIS HEALTH:
THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE BEHAVIORS
Dr. Jack Groppel, Co-Founder, Johnson & Johnson
Human Performance Institute
Dr. Groppel states the case for changing the behavior of Americans
of all ages when it comes to how they view health and fitness, and
for the need for a unified message of health and fitness among
organizations, companies and individuals in the tennis industry.
12:00-1:00 P.M.
T.O.M. CONFERENCE LUNCH
(T.O.M. Conference registration or ticket required.)
12:15 P.M.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BUSINESS
Dr. Gerry Faust, Founder & President, Faust Management Corp.
How you run your business today is vastly different from 20 years
ago. What is, or should be, influencing how you make decisions
in todays business climate? With his entertaining style, wit and
wisdom, world renowned business expert Dr. Gerry Faust offers
insights into how you can increase your business, get more people
playing tennis, and boost your bottom line.
1:15 P.M. (Concurrent Session)
HOW TO FILL ALL YOUR COURTS
Mike Woody, Genesis Health Clubs
The manager behind the highly successful Greater Midland Tennis
Center, Mike Woody also was the driving force behind Midland being
named Best Tennis Town in the U.S. Find out how his community
focus helped to push his facility to new heights.
1:15 P.M. (Concurrent Session)

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE MODERN TENNIS FACILITY
P.J. Simmons, The Tennis Congress, Sustainability Expert
Implementing sustainability practices can help your bottom line. P.J.
Simmons, who works with senior executives from 70 Fortune 500
companies to form the Corporate Eco Forum, is an expert in finding
and sharing ways that being green can lead to gold.
2:00 P.M.
IS A HIGH-PERFORMANCE JUNIOR PROGRAM
RIGHT FOR YOUR FACILITY?
Emilio Sanchez, Owner, Academia Sanchez-Casal
Former world No. 7 singles player Emilio Sanchez, who develops
young talent at academies in Barcelona and Naples, Fla., has
worked with pros including Andy Murray, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Juan
Monaco, Feliciano Lopez and Janko Tipsarevic. Sanchez will discuss
whether a high-performance junior program might be the right move
for your facility.
2:20 P.M.
HOW TO BUILD AND RETAIN MEMBERSHIPS
Gary Stewart, Virgin Active
With nearly 300 clubs in 10 countries, Virgin Active knows how to
build and retain membership. The head of the companys racquet
sports division shares his programming tips and secrets so you can
keep and create members for your facility.
2:40 P.M.
DEMO: SHORT-COURT ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TENNIS
Moderator: Doug Cash, CashFlow Tennis
Simon Gale, General Manager & Partner, Taconic Sport
& Racquet Club
Ken Lindner, President & Founder, U.S. POP Tennis Association
Butch Staples, National Tennis Director, Midtown Athletic Clubs
More and more adults are looking at getting active and maintaining
their health on a court thats shorter than 78 feet. How are POP
Tennis, pickleball and other forms of short-court tennis appealing
to consumers right now, and how can you capture this waveand
their dollars?
3:15 P.M.
NETWORKING BREAK
TENNIS RESOURCE CENTER
3:30 P.M.
IDEA FAIR/INTERACTIVE ROUNDTABLES:
PROGRAMMING AND GENERATING REVENUE
Moderators: Doug Cash, CashFlow Tennis,
& Greg Lappin, Facility Consultant
We want to know about the best ideas youve used to help grow
your business and get more people playing tennis! Our small-group
roundtable discussions (two 30-minute sessions) will include an
expert on a specific topic, but we want you to share with your peers
whats worked for you, too.
Marketing Tennis: How to Acquire New PlayersJeff Gocke
Keys to Successful ProgrammingAjay Pant
16 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Times, topics, presenters and exhibitors as of Feb. 20, 2016, and subject to change.
TheTOMConference.com
T.O.M. AGENDA
Growing Your Revenues Through Local PlayCraig Jones
Adult Alternative Formats (Masters Tennis)
Christine Murphy Foltz
Increase Profits with Cardio TennisMichele Krause
Family TennisGreg Lappin
Young Adult and Innovative ProgrammingMarilyn Sherman
Increasing Lesson Revenue Is the Easy PartLenny Schloss
Connecting with Parks: Contract to Expand & Add Funds
Tom Sweitzer
Hispanic Grants, Programming and Diversity at Your Facility
DA Abrams
5:00-6:00 P.M.
COCKTAILS AND NETWORKING BREAK
TENNIS TECH DEMO & RESOURCE CENTER
Sponsored by USTA; introduction by Craig Morris, General Manager,
USTA Community Tennis & Youth Tennis
THURSDAY, MARCH 24
7:00 A.M.
CARDIO TENNIS
8:00 A.M.
T.O.M. CONFERENCE REGISTRATION OPENS
11:00 A.M.
NETWORKING BREAK
11:15 A.M. (Concurrent Session)
MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF MANAGING A FACILITY
Fernando Velasco, Owner/Manager, Grey Rocks Tennis Club
Managing a private tennis club or a public facility is a challenging
endeavor. Longtime facility owner and manager Fernando Velasco
provides suggestions on how to meet the demanding needs of
players and members.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RETAIL AT YOUR FACILITY
Kevin Brandt, Brandt Sports Management
With a long history in the retail sporting goods market, tennis facility
manager and director Kevin Brandt offers a unique perspective, and
interactive session, about the importance of retail, and how to boost
sales of equipment and apparel.
12:00-1:00 P.M.
LUNCH
8:00-9:00 A.M.
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
8:30 A.M.
9:00 A.M.
ARE YOU A TENNIS WELLNESS CENTER?
Dr. Jack Groppel, Co-Founder, Johnson & Johnson
Human Performance Institute
The health and fitness benefits of tennis should be a tool to help you
grow the game and your business. How can you use the wellness
aspect of tennis to get more people playing in your community?
9:45 A.M.
DELIVERY SYSTEM AND THE NEXT GENERATION
Moderator: Craig Jones, USTA Director of Junior Play
John Embree, CEO, USPTA
Dan Santorum, CEO, PTR
Scott Schultz, Managing Director, USTA University
Top executives from the professional tennis teaching organizations
and the USTA talk about and answer your questions on how to find
young pros, women and diverse coaches, certification and continuing
education, pro compensation, programs and initiatives, working with
youth, and much more.
10:30 A.M.
COMPENSATING YOUR STAFF
Doug Cash, CashFlow Tennis
For every club and facility, investing in good staff is one of the
most important areas of your business, ensuring your members and
customers will return year after year. How should you compensate,
and evaluate, your staff to help reach your business goals?
12:15 P.M.
TRENDS IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & SPORTS:
PHIT AMERICA & WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Jim Baugh, PHIT America
Longtime sports industry advocate Jim Baugh shows the latest eyeopening trends in sports and fitness participation, stresses the need
to grow tennis and to be open to alternative forms of the sport,
and explains how PHIT America is getting Americans, especially
children, more active, fit and healthy.
1:00 P.M.
HOW TO BUILD RESPONSIBILITY IN A TEAM
Dr. Gerry Faust, Founder & President, Faust Management Corp.
As a tennis facility owner/manager, you need to lead your staff to
success in many areas. With his entertaining style, business expert
Dr. Gerry Faust helps you find the right ways to lead that will produce
sustained results.
1:45 P.M.
INDUSTRY BENCHMARKING AND APPLICATIONS
FOR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Jim Bates, Sports Club Advisors
Rich Jackim, Sports Club Advisors
This interactive presentation will go through key metrics from
the TIAs most recent business assessment survey that was sent
to facility managers and owners, and will apply those metrics to
business valuation, value enhancement and strategic planning.
April 2016
TennisIndustry 17
T.O.M. AGENDA
2:30 P.M.
INCREASE RETENTION AND DUES INCOME
THROUGH HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT
Reid Hans, Athletic Club Financial Consultant
Health insurance reimbursement programs for fitness activities can
have a significant impact on your revenueall with a limited amount
of investment in dollars and time.
3:00 P.M.
NETWORKING BREAK/
TIA AND USTA RESOURCES TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS
Jolyn de Boer, TIA Executive Director
Scott Schultz, Managing Director, USTA University
When it comes to growing the game, and your business, you need to
use all the tools you have at your disposal. See how TIA and USTA
resources, many free to use, can help your facility, and share your
questions in a Q&A.
3:30 P.M.
YOUR FACILITY: PROTECTING & MODERNIZING
YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET
Moderator: Peter Francesconi, Tennis Industry Magazine
Virgil Christian, USTA Sr. Director, Market/Facility Development
Randy Futty, California Sports Surfaces
Pat Hanssen, Har-Tru Sports
Lee Sponaugle, Sport Court International
How can you keep your courts and facility in the best shape possible,
to appeal to consumers and players? Our panel of top experts
discusses key trends that tennis facility owners and managers need
to be aware of, and answers your questions.
8:30 A.M.
9:00 A.M.
WHERE WEVE BEEN, WHERE WERE GOING
Cliff Drysdale, ESPN Broadcaster
International Tennis Hall of Famer and TV tennis analyst Cliff
Drysdale offers his entertaining, engaging and enlightened insights
into the business of tennis from his view as one of the most popular
personalities in the tennis community, to his involvement in club
and resort management, to his experience as an on-court teacher of
the game.
9:45 A.M.
SELLING TENNIS: STRATEGIES FOR TODAYS MARKET
Casey Conrad, President, Communication Consultants WBS Inc.
Longtime club consultant Casey Conrad offers keys to a successful
sales system for your business, how to target tennis prospects, and
how to leverage the latest technology in the sales process.
DRIVING NEW REVENUE THROUGH DIGITAL MARKETING
Bill Konstand, President & CEO, TAG
What are the most important aspects of digital marketing that you
need to implement right now to keep ahead of the curve? Our expert
will answer this and many other questions that will keep you in
control of your future.
5:00 P.M.
NETWORKING BREAK

SECRETS TO FILLING NON-PRIME-TIME COURTS
Doug Cash, CashFlow Tennis
Keeping your courts as full as possible, at all times of the day, are a
key to profitability. See what our experts have to say about how to fill
non-prime-time courts.
5:30 P.M.
BUSES LEAVE FOR MIAMI OPEN
(Ticket required, additional purchase.)
11:00 A.M.
NETWORKING BREAK
FRIDAY, MARCH 25
7:00 A.M.
CARDIO TENNIS
8:00 A.M.
T.O.M. CONFERENCE REGISTRATION OPENS
8:00-9:00 A.M.
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
18 TennisIndustry
April 2016
11:15 A.M.
HOW DOUBLES CAN GROW YOUR BUSINESS
Gigi Fernandez, Former World No. 1 Doubles Player
Hall of Famer Gigi Fernandez, with 17 Grand Slam doubles titles to
her credit, states the case for how the game of doubles can help you
grow your business.
11:45 A.M.
ADDRESSING YOUR TOP MEMBER COMPLAINTS
Jorge Capestany, Manager, DeWitt Tennis Center
If youre in a service industry, youll most likely receive complaints
from time to time. One of this sports top managers helps you to
address member complaints in a way that makes your facility, and
your staff, shine.
T.O.M. AGENDA
12:15-1:30 P.M.
LUNCH AND WORKING SESSION
PROBLEM-SOLVING ROUNDTABLES: ASK THE EXPERTS!
Moderators: Doug Cash, CashFlow Tennis,
& Greg Lappin, Facility Consultant
Have an issue that youd like to know more about? Our small-group
problem-solving roundtables (two 30-minute sessions) pair you up
with an expert in an area you need to addressand help you get
solutions from your peers, too.
The ROI of TechnologySashi Menon
Addressing Your Top Member Complaints/Q&A
Jorge Capestany
TIA Knowledge Base and Industry Blog SiteIsrael Castillo

How to Sell Tennis/Q&ACasey Conrad
Finding the Proper Software for Your Facility/Q&A
Charlie Ruddy
Strategic Management for Your Facility/Q&AJim Bates
Strategy for Doubles Tennis Growth/Q&AGigi Fernandez
Sustainability and Your Facility/Q&AP.J. Simmons
What You Need to Know About Working With Youth
Craig Jones
Independent Contractor or Employee?Doug Cash
T.O.M. CONFERENCE
RESOURCE CENTER EXHIBITORS
10sPortal
10-S Tennis Supply
American Sports Builders Association
Beard Tennis Systems
Billie Jean Kings Eye Coach
Cardio Tennis
Careers In Tennis
Club Automation
ClubClix.com
Court Desk
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
FORUM
Healthways (Silver Sneakers)

Jusuru International/Liquid Bio Cell
LEDs4Sports
LidLum
Lux-Craft Inc.
NetKnacks
Oncourt Offcourt
Play TennisConnect
Playmate Ball Machines
POP Tennis
Professional Tennis Registry

QLIPP
Sport Court International
Sports Interiors
Sports Marketing Surveys
Tavistock Development Co.
U.S. Tennis Association
Zensah
(Exhibitors at press time.)
TIA State of the Industry Forum
Tennis Tech Fair and Resource Center

March 23, 2016 starts at 9:00 am (Hilton Miami Downtown)
Join top industry leaders and executives, manufacturers,
organizations and more in support of YOUR industry.
Latest news about the state of the tennis industry

Participation, consumer and technology trends
Updates on key initiatives, including Rally the Family
How to boost the tennis economy
USTA updates, including the USTA National Campus and NTC And much more
Free to attendbut registration required at TheTOMConference.com.
For more info or to register: TheTOMConference.com contact the TIA / 843-473-4504 meetings@tennisindustry.org
April 2016
TennisIndustry 19
Join thousands of tennis facilities across the

country as they Rally The Family!
How do you
get involved?
Sign up to participate at
RallyTheFamily.com and
get listed so consumers
can find you, your
programs and events.
Agree to offer introductory
and multi-week entry level
programs for all ages.
Rally The Family

. . . to play tennis!
Sign Up Now at RallyTheFamily.com
Youll be a part of an industry-wide campaign to boost

tennis activity and interest across the U.S.
Utilize Red, Orange and

Green tennis balls on
36- and 60- foot courts.
Make sure your staff has
gone through the free Coach
Youth Tennis training (visit
CoachYouthTennis.com).
Consider offering online
registration (through your
own website or options
provided at PlayTennis.com
or YouthTennis.com).
36'
Why should my facility participate in the Rally The Family campaign?
1) Attract more people and more
business to your club, tennis center
or public park facility.
4) Provide activities for important

family time, and provide families
with a health and fitness option.
2) Fill your existing programs, or help

to create new, family-focused
programs and events.
5) It is a new, exciting campaign that

is supported by the entire tennis
industryyoull help to support the
game both in your community and
on a national level.
3) Add new members and players,

create more demand for court time,
and increase pro shop sales.
Go to RallyTheFamily.com to sign-up as a participating site, get free materials and

listings onPlayTennis.com, Youth Tennis.com and other consumer search engines.
For more info, call the TIA at 843-686-3036 or email info@rallythefamily.com
60'
Download free guides and

promotional material to
help grow your business
including the Guide to
Welcoming Families
Join YOUR Industry

To Help Revitalize
Tennis in America!
Racquet Tech
Are Starting Knots
a Thing of the Past?
By Bob Patterson
n our Ask the Experts section of the March 2016 issue,

Associate Editor Greg Raven
addressed a question from a reader
that we field often here at the
USRSA: Are starting knots a thing
of the past?
Greg answers the question and
explains the process of using a
starting clamp in lieu of a starting
knot, but I thought it presented
a great opportunity to show the
procedure in action.
Whether or not you are comfortable using a starting knot, as a
racquet technician you should, at
least, be familiar with how to use a
starting clamp instead of a starting
knot. Although we touched on the
subject in an earlier RacquetTech
article, One Tool, Many Uses
(June 2015 issue), the accompanying photos should help demonstrate the procedure with using an
offset device and without.
First, you will need a quality
starting clamp. They can be a bit
pricey, but getting a good one is
well worth it. The one I use is
almost 30 years old and still works
great.
You may also want to invest in an
offset device. These are available
from various sources and I have
seen some pretty good homemade
ones, if you are so inclined. We
have photos of several variations of
these devices provided by Master
Racquet Technicians Albert Lee,
John Gugel and Mike Newbound.
Of course, it is up to you to decide
the best practice and procedure for
you, but as we always stress, be consistent! Consistency is the cornerstone of good racquet service.
22 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Procedure without an offset device.
Procedure using an offset device.
These four
photos show
various offset
devices.
Grassroots Tennis
Play It Forward!
CTAs, public parks, schools and NJTLs are

on the front lines when it comes to growing
this sport in communities.
USTA Northern
Its Friday Night Lights For Kids in Fargo
Looking for high school kids on Friday nights in Fargo, N.D.? Now you
can find more than 60 of them playing tennis at Courts Plus Community
Fitness as part of its new Friday Night Lights High School Junior Team
Tennis program. Players from Fargo Sheyenne, Shanley, Davies and South
high schools are all participating, as well as teams from West Fargo and
Valley City (who drive over 60 miles to play). Theyre all getting valuable
match-play opportunities, followed by pizza and social time.
Last November at the USTAs Tennis Development Workshop in San
Diego, Courts Plus head pro Oliver Summers heard about World Team
Tennis (WTT)a co-ed program where kids play singles, doubles and mixed doubles as part of a team and use a total-gameswon format, and where cheering is encouraged during play. He thought it would be a great way for girls and boys high school
tennis team members to play together.
I'm excited with how its going, he says. We asked the kids which night would be best, and surprisingly, they said Friday,
which was great because we often have open courts then. Each team has at least 10 players and each team's organizer is their
high school head or assistant coach. Plus, the parents have gotten involved.
I used to feel some pressure on Friday to go out just for the sake of going out, one participant says. But now I play tennis
and its awesome.
Another player agreed, You get to be with your friends and meet new people. I love that we play against other teams, have
fun and work on tennis. Afterwards we all go out, or see a movie, or just hang out. Tennis is now what I do on Friday nights!
Lisa Mushett
USTA Eastern
Partnering With Schools in Orange County, N.Y.
Orange County, N.Y., has had a recent resurgence of tennis players, in large
part for the work that Ari Roberts, director of MatchPoint Tennis, has been
doing. Hes built a relationship with the local YMCA to facilitate afterschool tennis programming in more than six school districts in the county.
With kid-friendly equipment, shorter courts, and instant-play games
and activities, its easier than ever for tennis and providers to connect with
schools to grow their programs. The USTA has developed a specific curriculum and training program for introducing tennis in phys-ed classes,
which can provide a strong foundation for connecting kids to additional
play opportunities.
MatchPoint hosted a tennis carnival for all Goshen, N.Y. Intermediate School Tennis program participants and had more
than 60 kids attendwith 30 signing up for programming. (Roberts has shown that you can teach large groups in small spacesand quite successfully, too!) Once school permission is obtained, conducting phys-ed class visits introduces tennis to large
numbers of students and familiarizes them with the local programs and/or facilities. Partnering with a school is a great way to
attract more kids to the game and grow your business!
As community development chairperson, Roberts, along with USTA Eastern, have produced a short video called Tennis
Anywhere, highlighting how much fun kids have playing tennis off-court. (Visit eastern.usta.com/videos.)
Partnering with schools to make tennis grow and expose more players to tennis will enrich the lives of youngsters and make
club owners more successful!
24 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Retailing 143
Your Store Is The Brand!
By Jay Townley
s I look over the retail landscape,

I am struck by the difference
between specialty retailers who
think complaining is a strategy, and the
new-wave and outlier specialty retailers who are creating uncontested local
market space.
The first group complains that if only
their suppliers and the major brands
would support them, things would go
back to the way they were, and they
would be able to compete with the pureplay online retailers. The second group
understands that things will not go
back to the way they were. They know
their specialty retail store is the brand
in their neighborhood and community,
and as such they can not only compete
with the pure-play online retailer, they
can make these competitors irrelevant.
If you are in business, you already
have a brand, writes T. Scott Gross in
his book Micro Branding: Build Powerful Personal Brand & Best Your Competition. We highly recommend this
book to independent specialty tennis
retailers to help develop their stores as
the brand in their local markets. These
key points are paraphrased from Micro
Branding:
You dont need a nationally recognized brand to compete successfully.
Your store brand is, in many ways,
more powerful than a national brand.
You dont need leading-edge technology or a national reputation to create
loyal, profitable clients.
Building your store brand costs less
than you now spend to be mediocre.
Building your store brand is easily
accomplished on your budget.
Its About Consistency
So, how does a tennis retailer make

their store the brand in their local
26 TennisIndustry
April 2016
market? Lets start with consistency,

which is a part of building your store
brand with the budget you already
have. Remember that your store brand
is not what you think or say it isits
what your customers and the people
in your community think and perceive
your brand to be.
Once youve decided on your store
name and logo, you need to stick with
it consistently. Dont deviate from the
design or color across all the places
and ways you use your logo. It helps if
you settle on a name and logo that the
majority of your customers like and can
relate tobut once you have a store ID
that works, be consistent.
For the same money you spend on a
disjointed brand presentationto be
mediocreyou can mount a coordinated store brand campaign that presents
a uniform, consistent and recognizable
image on everything your customers
see and touch.
Consistency also extends to how you
and your staff deliver an outstanding
retail shopping experience. The thing
to remember is your customers dont
form one impression or image of your
store brand, even if it is bad (the exception is if the experience is horrible).
What the research shows is your customers form your stores brand image
in their conscience over time and based
on numerous contacts and inputsand
consistently good to great retail shopping experiences accumulate to form one

generally favorable brand image.
Cutting-Edge Tech?
Leading-edge technology is great when

you can afford it, but your local store
brand doesnt need leading-edge technology to create loyal, profitable customers. You can create customers for life by
consistently delivering outstanding and
memorable tennis lifestyle shopping
experiences.
What about brand-name products?
If you dont need nationally recognized
brands to compete successfully, what do
you sell? The answer: The brands that
you determine will support your retail
store brand and are interested in you
making a fair and equitable profit.
Your tennis customers have access to
huge amounts of objective information
about everything in the tennis world and
you can use this information to assist you
in selecting the brands and products that
will support your specialty retail business and help build your retail brand.
This is how your store brand becomes
more powerful than any national brand
in your neighborhood and community.
Jay Townley is a partner in the retail
consulting firm Gluskin Townley
Group (www.gluskintownleygroup.
com).
Event Marketing
Tennis Event Marketing:

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
By Laura Bowen
s the director of marketing for

the USTA Florida Section, one
of the questions I get asked most
often by tennis providers is, How can
I get more people to attend my tennis
event?
Whether its a festival, Play Day,
tournament, exhibition, or other tennis
event, we all want to max out on attendance. But achieving that goal requires
some solid planning before and beyond
the actual event, and getting outside of
the usual channels.
Here are a few quick tips to help you
plan for a bigger (and better) tennis
event:
1. Think about your consumer
Who would be interested in your tennis

event? Why would they want to attend?
Dont be afraid to narrow your audience. People want different things, and
trying to be all things to everyone often
muddies the value proposition.
2. Find out where your consumer

is already going for information
and activities
For example, if you are looking to bring

in new participants, hanging posters at
your tennis facility is likely not going to
reach a new audience. Think of where
those consumers are going now and
build a presence in those channels.
Are there major community events
in your area that naturally attract this
audience? If so, create an experience
at those events that will help promote
your play opportunities. Avoid scheduling your event on a date when you will
28 TennisIndustry
April 2016
compete with another, possibly more

popular, event.
and encourage them to sign up on the

spot (at a discount).
3. Offer an incentive for those

who register early
5. Technology is your friend
Promotional products are best applied

to get people to register for a current
event and attend future events. Think
about what your minimum participant
count is and offer an incentive (food,
drink, giveaway item) for that number
of registrants. Not only will you seed
the pot, but it will help you know early
on if you might need to cancel or reschedule due to low participation.
4. Use the current event to sell

the next one
The best opportunity to sell your next

event or play opportunity is at a current
one. Once participants (especially new
players) leave your event, getting them
to return becomes incredibly difficult.
Be sure to have another event scheduled, or better yet, use your event as a
kick-off to regular play opportunities
Using an electronic registration system

for your event will help you capture
information on your participants that
you can use to communicate with them
before and after the event. Social media
ads are a great way to expand your reach
at a very low cost.
Of course, getting the participants
engaged in social media during the
event itself is another great way to
cross-promote and reach people for
future events. Twitter, Facebook and
Instagram are all great tools to show
how much fun your event is. Be sure to
promote your next event while posting
about this one.
Laura Bowen is the director of marketing & membership for USTA Florida.
This column was adapted from USTA
Floridas Weekly E-News from June
2015.
Facility Management
Event Tracking
the Next Level
of Service
By Rod Heckelman
ts 1 p.m. on a Tuesday and out of nowhere, you are
slammed with an unbelievable number of members and guests. Your staff is well-trained, but such
unexpected numbers are overwhelming.
The tennis courts are swamped with players having to wait an extra long time to get on. Theres not enough
help in the pro shop, too few lifeguards for the outdoor pool,
and your front desk staff is struggling to handle the check-ins
and the concerns of members. Both members and staff are
stressed and conflicts and complaints begin to erupt.
Only a week ago on the same day of the week, the facility
operated wonderfully, with every member having plenty of
space and allowing your staff to perform without a hitch. So
how did this happen?
While your software provides member tracking, it does not
provide you with any warning of a possible spike in attendance. Like most facilities, your actual number of members
works well when attendance is distributed throughout the
week, but if a large percentage of members decides to come at
any one time, your facility will be overwhelmed.
With further analysis, there is a reason for this sudden increase in attendance; you just could not see it coming. In this
case a sudden heat wave hit your area. Members flocked to
the pool, which also increased the activity for your caf. The
tennis backup was the result of players playing slower due to
the heat. League matches that normally would have taken an
hour and a half took two hours.
But this wasnt the first time your attendance has suddenly spiked. A month ago on a Wednesday, there suddenly
was an enormous number of children coming to the club,
which overwhelmed the facility. In this case it was because
the school district had scheduled a teacher training day. As
it turns out, parents knew about this, but not you or your staff.
These two events may appear to be anomalies, but in fact,
they are par for the course. Can the software you use help
you predict these events? Probably not. Even though most of
todays software has become quite sophisticated and is very
30 TennisIndustry
April 2016
accurate in tracking attendance and usage, it is not designed

to forecast the unexpected.
In fact, member tracking is a high priority for most facilities when they decide on which software to purchase. One
common method for tracking members is to use a membership card with a barcode that checks in the member and
displays their photo for the staff.
Programming Event Tracking
Whatever the system, the purpose is to track usage and understand the flow of the club. Statistically these are accurate
systems, as long as you are diligent about checking in every
member. But still, the software is not capable of forecasting
the weather or the scheduling of special school days. So again,
what is the solution?
Its called event tracking and it can be programmed into
your personal management schedule. Event tracking begins
by recording spikes in attendance then associating them with
a cause. This cause is then entered into your programming
much like the way Microsoft Outlook provides you with a
calendar for scheduling. Alarms are placed on your calendar
that can connect with events that spike attendance.
For example, since your local weather is usually forecasted
days in advance, you can set up alarms to notify you of an
impending heat wave or storm. This is similar to the technology ski resorts use to forecast winter conditions. This same
type of warning system can be integrated into your software
to remind you of other events that take place in schools or the
community. As much as you would like to follow a pre-determined calendar, you will want to be reminded monthly, if not
weekly of any special events that impact childrens school attendance. Maybe its a parent/teacher day, or a special day off
for a school districtwhatever it is, it can dramatically impact
your clubs attendance.
Even scheduled holidays can cause disruption in the attendance of classes. For example, if you do spin classes, normally
youll have plenty of bikes for early morning or evening
classes. On a holiday, members who would normally be at work

may suddenly want to attend a day class. Now you could have a
problem that can be difficult to handle.
If you have a child-care center, this area is very sensitive to
increased numbers. The last thing you want is to turn away
members because your child-care staff is outnumbered. Even
worse is having your staff try to handle too many children
at any one time. Thats a disaster waiting to happen. Are you
aware of any events in your community that will impact the attendance in your child care? Is there an event that would close
day-care centers in your community resulting in members
having to bring their children with them to the club? These
questions can only be answered if you are able to keep in touch
with local schools and communities.
Tracking Exceptional Flow
So what makes event tracking so important, and what makes

it the next level of service for your membership? The obvious
answer is that it gives you the information you need to properly staff your facility. It also allows you to know how many
members can attend your facility given the amount of space
and equipment you have.
But here is inside knowledge that few facilities are willing
to let their public know: It gives you the ability to optimize
the number of members that your facility can accommodate.
Consider your parking, your shower usage, the size of the

classes you provide. Also consider the number of tennis courts
you have, or the size of your pool and, of course, the amount
of exercise equipment you provide. Given these numbers, if
you have optimized your membership count, you will have far
more members than any of these areas can accommodate. This
is why it is important to understand how to track not just the
normal flow of members, but the exceptional flow of members.
Its at these times that your club accessibility is truly measured; the times when members most want to use the facility.
This is what makes event tracking so important.
Ask any member at what point is their membership most
valuable, and most will tell you its those times when they most
need it. Just think about this mindset. When is a gas station
most important to you? Its always there, but when its not
available due to a sudden increase in demand and you really
need it, youll take your business elsewhere.
If you integrate event tracking into your system, you will be
able to properly forecast and adapt to these sudden spikes. Now
instead of a member being frustrated by the lack of space or
service, they feel more like they are part of a successful, wellorganized, popular operation, full of activity and excitement.
Rod Heckelman is the general manager at Mount Tam Racquet
Club in Larkspur, Calif.
April 2016
TennisIndustry 31
Apparel
Trends That Make

Tenniswear Tick
From high fashion, to toned-down neon, to
greater use of tech fabrics, to better stretch and
mobilityand morethe trends continue to take
apparel from on court to off.
By Cynthia Sherman
e all know it: Women care about how
they look when playing tennisand
about how those outfits can cross
over to other activities off the court.
Gone is the utilitarian look of single-sport-oriented clothing, as looks from the fashion runway
have filtered down to tennis and activewear, using color, style
and fabrication in unprecedented ways for tennis court, gym,
going out with friends afterward, then picking up the kids and
running errands.
Tennis clothing manufacturers realize this, as do fashion
brands that are looking to the sport for direction and inspiration themselves, and are capitalizing on form and function
with new looks, pleated skirts, polos and tennis warm-ups
in many collections, says Fila designer Francine Candiotti.
Textures, bright, bold colors and new cuts are the order of
the day.
The activewear category in the U.S. is big businessas of
last fall, it clocked in at around $35 billion, according to market research firm NPD Group, and it is still growing,.
To catch the eye of tennis consumers, apparel manufacturers are catching a number of new trends.
Remember the bright neon of just a few years ago? Now,
youll still see bright colors, but without the neon. Technical
fabrics have become the norm, not the exception, as players
want ventilation, moisture-wicking, and more from their
clothing. Stretch and mobility are key features, especially
with poly-lycra blends. With some manufacturers, theres
a revival of white in tennis outfits, as the sport continues to
pursue a high fashion-tennis correlation. Also, lace is in. And
the tennis dress? Some apparel companies are saying women
32 TennisIndustry
April 2016
are now more apt to wear two, or three, pieces rather than
one.
Toning Down the Neon
Having gone through four seasons of neon colors, Bolle apparel designer Carlos Perez sees consumers doing neon with
less acid, becoming more muted with less saturation of color,
pointing to Serena Williams yellow outfit in the Australian
Open. Colors are toned down, but still have the same vibrancy
because people still want to stand out.
He sees a continuing trend toward brighter shades, but
without the neon element. And while fashion color leaders
such as Pantone may go with more blue-red, Perez will introduce yellow into the mix because, he says, It goes better with
ladies skin tones. Pink is still hot, but Perez says he tries to
make it fresh every season.
Since color plays such an important role, Fila also looks to
Pantone and fashion trend authority WGSN. Notable colors,
says Candiotti, are clean whites and organic brights, like
warm blues and fire tones.
Adidas has a team that ensures color palettes go with fashion trends and follow a certain logic throughout the year,
says Product Manager Reinhard Ebler. Adidas also highlights
the court colors of the different Grand Slams, since each
Grand Slam and season has a mood that can be translated
through color. Neon colors dont play a dominant role as
main color, and since the company and consumers are more
environmentally aware, Ebler adds, that attitude is reflected
in color selection.
Since Bolle does well with stripes, Perez tries to incorporate them in different waysone way is using overlays of lace,
since thats a hot trend right now. Combining bright colors in

the mix just adds to its appeal.
Perez also sees a revival of white in fashion outfits. By bringing retro, classy elements like mother of pearl buttons and satin
trim, white becomes a sought-after fashion statement. He also
thinks women can do more with tops and bottoms than with
dresses, so the trend is to wear two or three pieces, which allows more flexibility mixing jackets and vests.
Comfortable Fabrics
Men, says Candiotti, not only gravitate toward comfortable

fabrics, but also to style. Men are especially drawn to vibrant
colors, and the trend now is fitted shorts and tops, with bold,
bright designs.
For Fila, womens collections focus on skirts, shorts and
racer-back tanks. New fabrications and trimcreating lighter,
more comfortable pieces, Candiotti notesare appealing not
only to players but to fans, who seek to incorporate those looks
into their clothing arsenal.
Filas athletes provide valuable feedback about what works
and whats comfortable, enabling Candiotti to develop better
designs each season. Its important that each collection have
its own identity, and Candiotti likes to design lines that tell
different stories, but remain true to Filas brand philosophy.
Perez says he sees wearers demanding more stretch and mobility and tries to bring that concept forward at Bolle by using
a popular poly-lycra blend for functionality and performance.
He calls poly-lycra bullet-proof, in that it never dies, and says
Bolle is using a new woven poly-lycra fabric that has amazing
stretch. Its light weight lends itself to more feminine design
lines, incorporating pleats and swirls, he adds.
No longer are technical fabrics an aberration, but rather
a mainstay of tenniswear. Adidas polyester blends in knits
and wovens, and its ventilated mesh-like Climachill fabric, are
consistent elements in its lines, says Ebler. Fabric newness is
a very important reason to buy products where textures and
feel are important, he adds. How you feel in your shirt affects
your performance and confidence on the court.
Even with the crossover of fitness and sports-specific clothing, Ebler sees tenniswear as creations specific to tennis where
movements lend themselves to particular fabric combinations,
articulated fits, and cuts and styles.
Ebler also sees a strong correlation between the fashion
runway and tennis, with trends being showcased to a wide
audience. This high fashion-tennis correlation is highlighted
by Adidas Y-3 collection, produced by Japanese designer
Yamamoto, one of the first designers to cross the line between
high fashion and sportswear. Last years and this years French
Open outfits highlight this collaboration. Popular flower prints
became an iconic element of that Adidas look, as well as a fashion statement.
Adidas depends on its customers and athletes to let them
know what works and what doesnt. Analyzing likes and dislikes helps us shape future [designs] and enables us to come out
with a stronger direction, Ebler says.
Its important to know your customers and give them whats
in style and what they demand, adds Bolles Perez. When you
merge both, you give them the perfect outfit.
Bolle
Fila
Adidas
April 2016
TennisIndustry 33
Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards
Belle Meade Country Club

Nashville, Tenn.
Soft Touch
These outdoor facility winners are excellent
examples of soft-court construction.
here were only six outdoor tennis facilities

that took home honors in the Tennis Industry/American Sports Builders Association
for 2015, and three of those were exclusively
soft-court projects.
Once again, the majority of these winners are in Florida
(come on, the rest of the country!) and as it happens, all three
of these winning projects were done by Welch Tennis Courts
of Sun City, Fla., one of the worlds largest court builders.
In Nashville, Tenn., the Belle Meade Country Club
project consisted of building eight entirely new courts with
subsurface irrigation and complete with lights, fencing and
canopy for player comfort. Working directly with the owner
of the facility, the renovation used the existing granite base
material and was completed in April 2015.
The Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club in Palm
City, Fla., reconstructed six of its existing overhead irrigated
courts. The contractor demolished the courts, then regraded
the site and installed six new, subsurface irrigated courts,
with lights and new fencingall ready for play in January
2015. The new courts, which use the existing limestone base,
drain into the surrounding landscape. The club itself installed
shrubs and complete landscaping around the tennis facility after the court renovation. Due to site restrictions, the contractor
had to access the site from a single point on the north battery,
and had to work from south to north to complete the project.
Another winning renovation, completed in October 2014,
took place at Sundial Resort on Sanibel Island, Fla., where six
courts were demolished and removed, the site regraded, then
six new subsurface-irrigated courts were built. The two court
batteries, using the existing limestone base, were completed in
phases. During the demolition, it was discovered that previous
contractors had abandoned the old fence post foundations. The
contractor removed two and sometimes three foundations at
each fence post location. Along with the new courts, new curbing and fencing were also installed.
In addition to these three winning facilities, the Life Time
Fitness Center in Centennial, Colo., also received Distinguished
Facility honors. The facility has four clay courts and six hard,
and will be featured in an upcoming issue on outdoor hardcourt winners. Peter Francesconi
April 2016
TennisIndustry 35
Belle Meade Country Club

Nashville, Tenn.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc.)
No. of Courts: 8
Surface: Har-Tru Sports Hydroblend
Sub-Surface Irrigation: Welch Tennis Courts HydroGrid
Nets, Netposts: Welch Tennis Courts
Line Tape: Har-Tru Sports
Lights: LSI Industries Courtsider XL
ASBA Certified Builder: George Todd Jr.
Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club

Palm City, Fla.
No. of Courts: 6
Sub-Surface Irrigation: Welch Tennis Courts HydroGrid
Windscreens: Putterman Athletics
36 TennisIndustry
April 2016
Sundial Resort
Sanibel Island, Fla.
No. of Courts: 6
Sub-Surface Irrigation: Welch Tennis Courts
HydroGrid
Windscreens: Putterman Athletics
Tool for Court Builders: The Latest Tennis Courts Manual
Want to build award-winning soft courts? Want to have the best soft courts possible at
your facility? One of the best tools you can have in your toolbox is the latest edition
of Tennis Courts: A Construction & Maintenance Manual. The eighth edition came
out last summer and has chapters specific to soft court construction in addition to key
maintenance and repair sections. To order a copy (in print or digital format), visit www.
sportsbuilders.org.
For details on the 2016 Outstanding Facility-of-the-Year Awards, contact the ASBA at 866-501-ASBA
or info@sportsbuilders.org, or visit www.sportsbuilders.org.
April 2016
TennisIndustry 37
Tips and Techniques

Readers' Know-How in Action
Black and White
One of my stringing machines has

a black turntable. When stringing
with black string, it can sometimes be
difficult to see the main strings as

I am weaving the crosses. A simple
solution to this is to place a white
sheet of paper on the turntable, to
increase the contrast between the
string and the turntable, making it
much easier to weave those crosses!
5 sets of Head Sonic Pro Edge to:
Alexander Maroudis
Lexington, KY
Seating new bumper guards
When doing a bumper guard

replacement, I like to make sure
the grommets get totally seated by
taking my needle-nose pliers and
pushing firmly along the bumper
guard strip. It gives the grommets
an extra nudge to get through the
38 TennisIndustry
April 2016
frame properly.
5 sets of Luxilon Savage White 127 to:
Terry Boyle
Highlands Ranch, CO
Editors note: An offsetting awl can be
handy for this task, too.
Machine cleaner
I just tried a gun CPL

(Cleaner, Preservative
and Lubricant) called
Gunzilla. It comes in a
pump sprayer, leaves
little or no residue, and
has no odor to speak of.
I use it to clean stringing machine tracks and
clamp bases. I used to
use Hoppes No. 9 Black
Powder Solvent, but it
tends to smell up the
whole workshop and
leaves sticky residue
after it dries. Gunzilla is
available from Amazon for $10.95 for

1.9 fluid ounces.
5 sets of Babolat M7 to:
Albert Lee, MRT
Potomac, MD
Wandering grommets
It is standard practice to check the

grommets while examining the racquet
before stringing, but often this examination takes place with the old strings
still installed. I recommend doing the
pre-stringing inspection immediately
after removing the strings, for two
reasons.
First, sometimes when removing the
old strings, parts of the grommet kit
can come out and be discarded with the
old strings, especially the throat pieces.
If you wait to cut out the old strings
until just before you restring each
racquet, any grommet pieces that separate from the frame are fairly easily
recovered, but if you cut out the strings
well in advance of restringing, theres
always that chance that a vital piece
will be tossed out with the trash.
The other reason I wait to do my
pre-stringing inspection is that, with
the strings out, it is often easier to tell
how filthy the inside of the hoop is,
which gives me the opportunity to

do a little cleanup before getting the
frame mounted on the machine and
ready to go.
5 sets of Pacific Poly Power Comp to:
Alan Yoshida
Silverlake, CA
Editors note: We recommend always
doing a pre-check both before and after
removing the strings whenever possible
for reasons stated above, but also for
the fact that many other things may be
more or less visible when the racquet is
either strung or unstrung. Many hairline cracks may be invisible until pressure is released when the strings are cut
out, then they become very apparent.
The opposite can also happen, where
a crack is visible while strung but then
almost disappears when the strings
are cut, so it is always good practice to
check it twice.
Odor eater
I have a couple of customers who apparently dont wash their hands after
drenching themselves in cologne,
and as a result the porous grips of
their racquet absorb the scent. When
they drop off their racquets for ser-
vice, that scent permeates the shop.

The best way Ive found to mitigate
this is to wrap each handle in plastic
food wrap as soon as possible. I use
the Kirkland Signature Stretch-Tite
from Costco, which is available with
a dispenser so I dont have to wrestle
with the wrap while getting it in place.
I remove the wrap before bagging

the racquet and returning it to the
customer.
5 sets of Head Sonic Pro to:
Tom Marcellus
Newport Beach, CA
Greg Raven
Tips and Techniques submitted since
1992 by USRSA members and appearing in this column have all been
gathered into a searchable database
on www.racquettech.com, the official
member only website of the USRSA.
Submit tips to: Greg Raven, USRSA,
PO Box 3392, Duluth, GA 30096 or
email greg@racquettech.com.
April 2016
TennisIndustry 39
Your Serve
Finding My Tennis Angel
A tennis pros unwavering support on and off the court

helps a high school player make the cut in life.
By Annie Beier
f youve heard the name of my

tennis pro, its probably because
he and his brother set a tennis
world record. But thats not how I think
of him. To me, hes a person who has
influenced my life in so many significant ways.
Hes helped me through hard times.
Hes inspired me to never give up. Hes
made a larger impact on my life than
anyone else in my tennis career. I know
he cares about more than just my tennis; he cares about me as a person. And
I cant thank him enough for everything hes done for me.
Five minutes after meeting him, I
knew he was going to be the best pro Id
ever have. He was happy, enthusiastic,
kind, honest, helpful and caringand
a wonderful instructor. His teaching
style was perfect for me. After a couple
of lessons, my mom booked a weekly
lesson with him for the year.
I would always look forward to my
time working with him and improving
my game. I played tennis a lot throughout the week, but my favorite time was
always his lesson. He always knew how
to fix any problem I was having, and I
could see myself improving.
As the year continued, I started to
get nervous about my high school tennis team tryouts in the spring. Only 14
girls would make the team, and I was
up against tough competition. It was
all I could think about. Im a pretty
analytical person, and every way I
looked at it, I just couldnt see myself
making the cut. I had been playing
tennis ever since I could remember,
and loved everything about the sport.
40 TennisIndustry
April 2016
And I was nervous beyond belief.

Then, disaster. We had a bad winter
storm, and the roof of the indoor tennis
club I played at collapsed under the
snow. Thankfully no one was in the club
at the time, but we all scrambled to find
new indoor places to play.
While trying out a new clinic, the new
pro kept telling me I wasnt hitting the
ball correctly and would need to change
my strokes. I barely made it through
the session without bursting into tears.
Tryouts were in a few weeks, and I knew
Id never be able to change by then. I
was so upset and depressed that I just
didnt want to play tennis anymore.
I was scheduled to have my lesson
with my regular coach the next day,
and I just didnt want to go. I wanted
to be done with it all. But I reluctantly
decided I couldnt give up now. Maybe
hed have a quick fix for me.
And as soon as I saw him, I knew hed
be able to make me feel better. After
only an hour on the court with him, I
was no longer discouraged and found
new confidence. He told me to go home
and write 100 times, I will make the
high school team, and to also write a
press release about tryout results with
me making the team. You have to
believe you can do it, he told me. I did
what he said, although inside, I still had
doubts. I met with him the next week,
a week before tryouts, and he told me
again to believe in myself, that I could
do it.
And you know, he was rightI could
do it. That Friday, I found out I had
made the team. I was so excited that all
of the hard work had paid off.
When I called my coach that night,

he was as excited and as emotional as I
was. He kept telling me how good of a
job I did. The fact that me making my
high school team was so important to
him is what makes him such an important person to me. I cried as we spoke
on the phone, because he has had such
a huge impact on my life.
A few weeks later, I saw a blog he
had written. Without using my name,
it was about my experience. He had
a photo of the I will make the high
school team lines I wrote out. He
wrote what it meant to him as a pro
to be able to help me through this
life-changing experience. This most
amazing pro just got even better.
I continued playing my best tennis, motivated by his kind words and
support. I had a great first season as
a freshman, made wonderful new
friends, and have never forgotten
how I got to where I now am. He gets
so much credit for the playerfor
the personIve become that I cant
thank him enough. Anyone who has an
angel as great as mine in their life is a
truly lucky person.
Annie Beier is now a sophomore at Brown University
studying biomedical engineering and a recreational
tennis player. She played
four season on her high
school team, highlighted by
reaching the semifinals of
the state doubles tournament.
We welcome your opinions. Please email
comments to TI@racquetTECH.com.
Inside this issue

The Ten Commandments of
Being a USPTA Professional 48
Invest in Yourself 52
Departments:
42 CEOs Message
44 Vice Presidents Message
46 USPTA Benefits
48 Master Pro Corner
52
57
58
60
Beyond the Court

USPTA News
Career Development
Member News
Read more articles online at www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com

On the cover: Great coaches inspire players and give them the foundation
for success. Are you that coach? Does your program fill that role? See Page
54 to enhance how you operate your clubs junior programs.
CEOs Message
Unsung Heroes
by John Embree
t is always such a pleasure to hear

from our members who appreciate
the culture change that has taken
place within the USPTA over the
past three plus years. Unsolicited calls
and emails come in to Houston praising the direction that the association is
heading and how we are making such
a positive difference in the lives of our
professionals. Needless to say, it is gratifying to be on the receiving end of these
compliments.
Trying to get everyone to get on the
bus is not easy. With so many divergent
opinions and factions within any national organization that has more than
15,000 members, there will never be
buy in by 100 percent of the constituency. But, if we can get the majority of
the membership on board with our roadmap, and have local advocates who serve
as mouthpieces for the transformation
of the association, it is then that we have
the necessary impetus to move forward.
While one of our greatest strengths
is the fact that we are a volunteer organization, nothing happens without the
tremendous commitment of our paid
staff, both nationally and within the divisions. I have gone on record multiple
times, both in public and in my writings,
acknowledging the outstanding work
that the national team continues to do
to serve our members. After reducing
our staff by 30 percent in January of
2013, we continue to operate at a very
high level without adding additional
overhead. This is a tribute to those who
are dedicated to our mission and want
one thing and one thing only: to provide
outstanding customer service to USPTA
Professionals in the field.
But this message is specifically
dedicated to the executive directors
and executive administrators who toil
behind the scenes at our divisions, often doing so without fanfare or much
recognition. It is they who execute the
national programs that we roll out. It
is they who keep the divisions on track
42 www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com
when the board leadership turns over

every two years. It is they who manage
the financial affairs of the divisions, coordinate the division educational offerings, including the division conventions,
and communicate with their respective
constituents through newsletters, email
blasts, etc.
Tom Van De Hey (Intermountain) were

long-standing USPTA Professionals and
continue to be before they stepped up
into the line of fire.
Finally, our two newbies have
jumped right into the mix and have
shown their leadership early on and
often. Traci Fisher (Middle States)
While division leadership turns over on a regular basis, the executive d

irectors
and executive administrators remain the one constant, the anchor for division leadership ... I want to publicly acknowledge the contribution that each
of them makes to put their division first. They are the unsung heroes and, as
Billie Jean King would say, sheroes of our association.
The USPTA has been blessed to have
several seasoned veterans manning the
fort of their divisions. In the cases of
nderson
Pat Anderson (Florida), Carol A
(Midwest), and Don Patch (Pacific
Northwest), they have been ensconced
in their roles for over 20 years. Jack
Michalko served the USPTA Southwest
for just as long but turned those duties
over to his wife, Rita, upon his election
to the national board. After Christin
Thurston, who has been in her role for
11 years in Northern, and Don Gomsi in
San Diego of seven years, all of our other
executive directors and administrators
have been working on behalf of their
divisions less than five years. In fact,
there has been considerable turnover of
these positions of late with several only
being on board officially in this capacity
for two years or less.
The good news is that even some
of the newcomers had plenty of experience in USPTA leadership, having
served as president of their division
before taking on the role of executive
director. Charlotte Wylie (Texas), Angie
Koumaris (Missouri Valley), Patrick
Kearns (Mid-Atlantic), Sara Morse
(Southwest but now ED of California),
Pat Whitworth (Southern) and Andrea
Barnes (Nor Cal) were all capable presidents in their own right before assuming this important role after their term
ended. Plus, Paul Fontana (Eastern) and
and Michelle Brown (New England)

have embraced the challenge and are
performing admirably even when faced
with daunting challenges when they
got started. I can honestly say that the
current group of EAs/EDs is the best
collection of leaders that we have assembled in my time here.
I revert back to my days in corporate management and respectfully
view these individuals almost like sales
representatives for our brand. They
are the catalyst for anything and everything that happens at the division
level. While division leadership turns
over on a regular basis, the executive
directors and executive administrators
remain the one constant, the anchor for
division leadership. Who else is able to
keep things together and have all of the
answers when their boards need help?
I value what they do on a daily basis to
keep the ship on course. Most serve as a
part-time independent contractor, but
the fact is that their jobs could be 24/7 if
they allowed it to be.
I want to publicly acknowledge the
contribution that each of them makes
to put their division first. They are the
unsung heroes and, as Billie Jean King
would say, sheroes of our association.
Next time you speak to or communicate
with any of them, tell them thanks for
all that they do to support our organization. They deserve your plaudits. h
Vice Presidents Message
The Lifelong Learner
by Feisal Hassan
t is an honor to be one of your

representatives on the USPTA
National Board where I have
been appointed to co-chair both
the National Education Committee
and the Certification and Testing
Committee.
Along with the committee members and our newly hired national
tester, Sid Newcomb, we are here to
serve you.
Sid will be working closely with the
head testers from each division and
with the National Certification and
Testing Committee to provide a certification training and testing process that
is consistent and uniform around the
country as well as to select, train, and
add new testers. The goal is to provide
a certification pathway that is easily
accessible from any location in the
country.
As your Education and Certification and Testing co-chair, I highly
recommend that members who have a
Professional level status certification
consider working toward becoming
Elite Professionals.
Here are a few reasons why:
1. Validate Your Expertise
When did you become a USPTAcertified Professional? Chances are
some time has elapsed and you have
grown in your teaching. Let that
show in your teaching credentials as
well as on the court.
2. Gain an Edge in the Job Market
Did you know that many teaching
Lifelong learning is a hallmark of a profession as a whole and a

professional. We hold other professions to a standard of lifelong
learning, but what standard do we hold for our profession?
The game of tennis continues to evolve; are you evolving with it?
professional jobs already require
Elite Professional status? Employees are looking for the best and the
brightest in our industry to serve
their members. Dont miss out on
advancing your career!
3. Commit to Lifelong Learning
Lifelong learning is a hallmark of a
profession as a whole and a professional. What if your auto mechanic
didnt continue to learn? Chances
are your newer, high-tech automobile couldnt be serviced. What
if your doctor or surgeon didnt
continue to learn? Chances are you
wouldnt get the newer laparoscopic
or robotic procedure. We hold other
professions to a standard of lifelong
learning, but what standard do we
hold for our profession? The game
of tennis continues to evolve; are
you evolving with it?
Whats Required to Become an Elite
Professional?
Be a USPTA member and at least 22
years of age. Take and pass the written Elite exam, which covers business, programming, sport science
and tennis operations, the Elite
stroke analysis exam, and the Elitelevel on-court exams.
Earn 16 specialty course and 24

APC credits, which are readily
available by attending workshops,
conventions, webinars and other
educational offerings.
Earn 6 credits every three years to
maintain your membership.
The cost of the upgrade fee includes
a set of nine specialty course DVDs.
The DVDs help you prepare for the
Elite written exam as well as earn
your specialty course credits.
If I am ever through learning,

I am through.

~ John Wooden
Many of you know of John
Wooden. If you dont know who this
legendary collegiate basketball coach
was, Google him immediately. In
his book, Life Wisdom: Inspiring
Thoughts from the UCLA Coaching
Legend, Coach Wooden shares his
words on lifelong learning. I will leave
you with his words as we look toward
continuing education for 2016
If I am ever through learning,
I am through. John Wooden h
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USPTA Benefits
Four Benefits of Attending USPTA

Conferences
By Max Desmars, USPTA
SPTA conferences
and workshops are
very helpful for tennis
pros to better themselves. The first-ever USPTA
Southern U30 conference
was a great success thanks to
Marley Woods and Dan Beedle,
who organized every detail of
this event, and to great speakers from all over the country
to share their knowledge. The
conference was hosted by the
Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club
in H
endersonville, Tenn.
There are many benefits of educational conferences that can help make
tennis p
rofessionals more s uccessful.
Benefit No. 1:
Network, network, network
Meeting other tennis professionals and
hearing about their experiences will be
very valuable for your career.
Networking will obviously result in
great opportunities; you will not only
start developing your own network,
but also gain access to other peoples
networks.
Benefit No. 2:
Learn from the best coaches
in the country
You will meet several top-notch coaches in a short amount of time. Craig
Cignarelli is one of the best high-performance coaches in the country and
was present at the U30 Conference. He
shared his knowledge about the mental game, coaching styles, and player
patterns.
Frank Giampaolo, a bestselling author, talked about the athletes development plan and the benefits of educating
tennis parents.
PowerPoint presentations
to take home with you for
future reference. Conferences enable you to address
your problems, questions, or
concerns you had on or off
the court.
Claire Bartlett, a U30 tennis professional, shared her knowledge about how
the mental game is crucial for tennis
players. She has a masters in kinesiology/sport psychology and was able to
give everybody tips on how to use mental exercises to help our players.
Benefit No. 3:
Collecting valuable information
You will gather presentation sheets or
Benefit No. 4:
Your clients will appreciate
that you care about what
you do to help them
Yes, you will have expenses
when you attend USPTA conferences, but you have to see
it as an investment. The information
and knowledge you get will help you
be a better coach, which may result in
more on-court time.
There are countless benefits of attending work conferences that will help
your tennis career. These benefits will
make you a better tennis professional,
but will also help you distinguish yourself from other tennis pros who never
attend conferences. h
#GetYour6 in 2016
Still need to earn your 6 continuing education credits this year? There are tons of
ways to earn credits:
Attend USPTA conferences and workshops
Attend USTA activities and events
Attend events of affiliated organizations (CMAA, PCA, IHRSA, TIA, ITA, PTR, etc.)
PTCA I
Seminars
Speak at conferences
Watch USPTA DVDs or stream education content online at TennisResources.com
Complete the online courses at coachyouthtennis.com
Watch webinars
Other activities such as computer courses, CPR certification, etc.
Visit uspta.com/education for all of the ways to earn education credits and to
check the event calendar for upcoming events near you!
Article originally appeared in the January 2016 issue of The Standard, the official newsletter of the USPTA Southern D
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Master Pro Corner
The Ten Commandments of Being

a USPTA Professional
By Glen Howe, USPTA Master Professional
aving been a teaching professional and in the tennis industry for 35 years, it is amazing
all the opportunities that have
come my way. With a lot of hard work, a
little bit of luck and a lifetime of experiences, you too can achieve your personal
dreams. As you already know, this is not
an easy profession. I have found that
there is a guideline that has helped me
throughout my career:
1. Thou shalt work at ones
education
The game is constantly changing
and with the massive amount of
televised tennis, consumers learn
techniques by watching the best
players. Eighty percent of all students are visual learners, so it cant
be emphasized enough that attending workshops and conferences is
very necessary. Not only are there
numerous forums, but networking
creates many learning opportunities outside the classroom. All good
techniques were borrowed from another source. Nothing that I use as a
management or teaching technique
was created by me.
2. Thou shalt take care of ones self

To be a professional trainer, it takes
a lot of discipline to take care of
yourself properly. Carrying too
much weight is not good for your
body and not good for your image.
Eating healthy snacks and drinking
the right fluids can go a long way in
curbing excessive eating after work.
In addition, training in your spare
time and lifting weights can be very
helpful in weight management as
well as keeping yourself injury-free.

It has always bothered me that some

of my fellow teaching professionals
tennis industry. Take the time to be

engaged in your organization. Dont
be afraid to ask questions about the
benefits of membership and what
they mean to you.
Training in your spare time and lifting

weights can be very helpful in weight
management as well as keeping
yourself injury-free.
dont take care of themselves physically like they should. After teaching
all day (eight to 12 hours) and getting
home around 9 p.m. on a regular basis, food is often used as comfort rather than as lifes sustaining element.
Instead of eating the right foods
and less of them close to bedtime,
we gorge ourselves. Some may even
drink a good amount of beer and fall
asleep. Your body is your most important asset as a teaching professional,
so take care of it for the long haul.
3. Thou shalt take advantage
of all the benefits
USPTA offers many benefits to its
membership. Unfortunately, most
USPTA Professionals are not aware
of all the opportunities. Education,
competition and resources are but
a few of the perks of being a USPTA
member. The USPTA.com website
connects you to the many avenues
of our divisions and the rest of the
4. Thou shalt find ones passion

I have spent the majority of my tennis career wanting to be somewhere
that I wasnt. When I was a head
pro, I wanted to be a tennis director.
When I became a general manager,
I wanted to be an owner of a facility.
The key was to find my passion as
well as where I could make the greatest impact in the tennis industry.
For me personally, it was about making an impact and sharing my passion
of tennis with as many people as possible. I found over many years that
teaching hundreds of kids at one time
really didnt have as much impact as I
would have liked. I found that working with and testing teaching pros
has had a tremendous effect on what
I was trying to accomplish. Teaching
pros have a lot of students that they
come in contact with.
5. Thou shalt play tennis
This tennis commandment is very
important but is many times overlooked. As an example to your students, fellow workers and industry
professionals, playing tennis is a
premium. You are looked at as an
example and must maintain the
best profile as a teacher as well as
a player. Many times a student will
ask about how to compete or what
to do in a specific situation. No one
can help accurately answer these
questions better than someone who
competes on a regular basis.

Playing tennis in tournaments and at

tennis conventions can be one of the
www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com 47
best networking opportunities that

teaching professionals can find.
6. Thou shalt network with other
teaching professionals
This point, is in my opinion, one
of the greatest assets of being a
USPTA teaching professional. So
much can be learned and experienced by interacting with fellow
teaching professionals. Sharing
experiences and solutions to issues
that our ranks encounter daily can
be helpful to our clients that we
service.

Networking is by far the easiest way

to get that elusive job that you have
been seeking or an opportunity in
the industry. The average tennis
director position has a couple of
hundred resumes flooding the position with about eight seconds being
spent looking at each resume. The
recommendation of a teaching professional to an employer works very
well, as we all know. A personal recommendation gets the best possible
person for the job and a level of confidence to the employer. Networking
in the USPTA will help you go far!
7. Thou shalt talk the talk

and walk the walk
Being in the tennis industry, there
is an extreme amount of scrutiny
that accompanies your interaction
with contacts. Customers, staff, and
fellow teaching professionals are
among the many that are observing
every aspect of your existence. How
you dress, being on time and how
you carry yourself is only the beginning of the essence of a committed
teaching professional.

A mentor of mine used to say to me

to try to raise your personal bar 10
percent every day. What this means
to me is to work at my trade and get
out of my comfort zone. Speak at
a convention, play in a sanctioned
tournament, or attend classes to
learn a skill that will improve you to
be a well-rounded pro and human
being. This pursuit of excellence
has no finish line or ending.
8. Thou shalt be faith-based

in ones convictions
During the height of my tennis ca-
Networking is one of the greatest assets of being a USPTA teaching professional.

reer, all my obligations and profit
centers took precedence over taking
time for my faith. My basic line was
I dont have time. The fact of the
matter was, I didnt make time for
what was the most important aspect
of my life. An old financial planner friend of mine was teaching me
about personal wealth. One of his
first points of emphasis was to pay
yourself first! What this means with
my time is to make appointments
to go to church. If anything gets in
the way, you will have to say that you
have another appointment.

For me, creating a habit was the key

to reading the Bible on a regular basis. I wanted to make this a priority
so I have found that getting up a little
earlier in the morning is the perfect
time because the house is quiet.
Find time to take care of yourself

spiritually with what grounds you.
9. Thou shalt be both ethical

and moral
Above all, always do the right things
and make the right decisions that
are based on your own value system
and the organization that you work

for. I always tell my staff to make
decisions as though the city manager was standing next to you. As
far as the working environment, if
the decisions are based on the core
values and service standards of the
company, one will do great. As far as
personal decisions, make them as
though God or your spouse/partner
is standing next to you.
10. Thou shalt mend the fences
at home first
Many have learned this lesson all
too late in their tennis careers. In
the pursuit of accolades and advancement in this industry, we often forget to take care of the homefront first. When not taking care of
your spouse or family while pursuing personal acknowledgement, one
can lose ones family as a casualty of
personal improvement.

Playing in tournaments and winning

trophies and prize money have very
little to do with the needs of the club
in which you are employed. Always
take care of your family and job before pursuing personal benefit. h
Glen Howe is Superintendent of Tennis for the City of Tallahassee, Fla. He served as
treasurer and president of the USPTA Middle States Division and was named Middle
States Division Pro of the Year in 1998. He was twice named USPTA 35s Player of the
Year and has received the USPTA Facility Manager of the Year award. Currently, Howe
is a Florida Division Officer and has been the Florida Head Tester for the past 10 years.
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Beyond the Court
Invest in Yourself
By Ian Thomson, USPTA Elite Professional
here are a lot of articles that

discuss how to come up with
new programs, market your programs to others, and drills to use
with clients, but very few that deal with
the future of tennis professionals. When
the topic of the future is brought up,
many people immediately think it will
only be about retirement and financial
planning, and those are topics that too
few professionals consider. The retirement side of things is just one area that
professionals should consider. But a
professional should understand that the
future will be the present soon and time
should be spent on them. These include
career choices, education, health, and, of
course, r etirement.
Career
The obvious first consideration for

anyone who is beginning their career is
the path that they would like to take. No
one wants to stay in the exact same spot
forever, so understanding where the
professional would like to go is important. There are several questions that a
professional can consider when looking
at career choices:
Education is becoming more important than ever and those who focus on learning
are not only investing in themselves, they are also investing in the membership and
clubs where they teach.
ly work with highly ranked juniors,

juniors in general, or adults?
l Does the professional want to work
at a country club, a public facility, or
independently?
to be at the club even when it is raining.

Others would rather have the salary
when the weather causes lessons to be
cancelled. A professional will also need
to understand what is expected from his
director. And if the professional is the
director, how does the general manager
or homeowners association feel things
need to be done to be successful?

While there are professionals who

will be well-suited to be directors, there
are some professionals who will not
aspire to that. The thing to remember is
that when a professional is first starting
out they may be on the court 30 to 40
hours a week. Can the same professional
continue to teach that much as he gets
older and nearing retirement? Some
professionals are more interested in the
flexibility of making their own hours, and
do not want the responsibility of having
Most directors are going to make sure

that their staff is helping the program
and that they are an asset to the membership, so they will want the professional to invest some time in themselves.
Since a tennis professional may be in this
profession for roughly 40 years or more,
it is important to understand the path
that one wants to take. Education will be
what it will take to get to their goals.
Education is becoming more important than ever and those who focus
l Does the professional want to be a
director of tennis someday?
l Does the professional want to main-
Education
on learning are not only investing in

themselves, they are also investing in
the membership and clubs where they
teach. The most important thing to remember about education is that every
conference, workshop, convention, or
other form of education will produce
new knowledge or will reinforce what
the professional already knows.
The professional as well as the club
will look good when education is a priority. Along with education, attending these
events allows the professional to network
with other professionals, which can lead
to the exchange of new ideas, or create occasions for clubs to work together on new
events so the membership has different
people to play. Sometimes these events
can also lead to new positions. Another
reason for the professional to spend time
on education is the USPTAs continuing
education for certified members. While
some professionals will have to weigh
the idea of losing revenue and time to
travel to some of the offerings in order
to remain certified, it is something that
has to be worked around. Most states
workshops are one-day events that are
near the professionals and easier to get
to. The divisional workshops last a few
days, and the World Conference is a weeklong mega event. The World Conference
is very inspiring and professionals need
to make sure to plan to attend one in the
near future. The advantage to going to a
divisional convention or the World Conference is the break from normal routine
along with educational and networking
opportunities. There is also the advantage
that the cost of the conference can be
used as a tax write-off if the professional
personally pays. A tax attorney will be
helpful here.

Health
The body is the centerpiece for the

career, so the physical and mental health
of the tennis professional has to be valued.
When professionals are on the court for
long hours day in and day out they tend
to wear down, so a vacation or a break is a
good thing. The brain needs a release from
the workload, and what better way to do
this than attending a conference where
someone else does all the work and the
only choice is what to attend during the
stay. Getting away from the grind allows
the professional to be more relaxed and
ready to get back into the normal routine.
Besides the mental health of the
professional, the physical health is also
The advantage to going to a divisional convention or the World Conference is the break
from normal routine along with educational and networking opportunities.
important. Two areas that are major

concerns for tennis professionals are
skin protection and hydration. Working
out in the sun all day makes sunscreen
necessary to prevent skin cancer. Skin
cancer is one of the higher risks for tennis professionals after a long career due
to the amount of time that they are in the
sun. Staying hydrated by drinking plenty
of fluids while teaching all day is also
vital. Professionals should remember to
eat well and rest also because the toll on
the body is tough throughout the year,
and during the whole career. No matter
what happens during the career of the
tennis professional, it is only the professionals who take care of their bodies that
are able to enjoy the fruits of their labor
after they decides to walk away.

Retirement
Retirement is a subject that many

professionals do not relate to well because, one, it is in the future, and two, it is
sometimes tough for tennis professionals
to be able to really plan for their retirement. People in many other fields have it
easier when considering retirement because they are making the same amount
of money each week, or very close to it, so
the consistency allows for a better budget.
Many tennis professionals rarely have a
consistent budget because things change
depending on lessons taught, weather,
getting sick, or other variables.
Many professionals say they will wait

until the next year to start saving for retirement, and soon they are getting close to
retirement and nothing has been done. The
easiest thing to do is to make sure any money that is set aside for retirement comes
out before it is seen. It will come out before
the check is ever sent to the professional,
so even if it is only $20 per check, the more
time that the money has to grow the more
a professional will have when he retires. If
a club matches any investment in the 401K
then the professional will want to make
sure to get the full match. Besides the 401K
there are IRA and ROTH IRA accounts.
The difference is that the ROTH money
was taxed the year it was put in so the money is withdrawn tax free, and a traditional
IRA is taxed when it is pulled out. There
are some requirements that need to be
checked and considered, so consult a financial planner to make sure all the details are
explained. Another option is the USPTA
Retirement Gold+ program, which allows
USPTA Professionals to receive quarterly
contributions from our endorsees.
Go to usptaretirement.com for more
information or to sign up. Just remember
that a professional does not want to get to
60 years old and realize that they cannot
retire after all the years of hard work. Make
sure to consider how to retire and spend
some time looking at it. The future is coming. Are you going to invest the time to be
prepared for it when it gets here? h
Ian Thomson is tennis professional at Buckhead YMCA in Atlanta. In 2010, he was

a Top 10 education recipient at the USPTA World Conference and the Industry
Excellence Award winner from the USPTA-Georgia Chapter. He has specialist degrees
in Competitive Player Development, Sport Science, 10 & Under Tennis, and Facility
Management. He is the First Vice President of the USPTA GA Board of Directors.
Beyond the Court
20 point Inspection Tool

for Youth Tennis
By John Sherwood, USPTA Elite Professional
hen I see great junior

players, some of the
questions I ask them are,
Who were your first
coaches? Who taught you to play?
These coaches inspired those players
and gave them the foundation for success! Are you that coach? Does your
program fill that role? While many
clubs run strong and successful junior
programs, here are several components
that you can use to compare and enhance how you operate today.
1. Select your 10U coaches based on
their ability to communicate, manage the court, and most importantly, connect and have fun with their
students.
2. Clearly communicate to your
coaches the teaching philosophy
and teaching progressions you wish
to use at your club, and especially
within your Foam Ball to Yellow
Ball Junior programs. This can be
accomplished with some in-house
coaching education. I would recommend using the USTA High Performance Stroke Parameters and HP
10U guidelines as a starting point.

Set up weekly continuing education

sessions whereby current staff reviews and discusses current trends.
Structure it so staff contributes and
presents on assigned topics.
3. Develop a weekly theme and/or

Shot for the Week for each week
of lesson program and its sessions.
4. Develop detailed lesson plans for
each level (red, orange, green, etc.)
per week/day with some built-in
flexibility to address individual
group levels and coaching styles.
Select your 10U coaches based on their ability to communicate, manage the court,
and most importantly, connect and have fun with their students.
These lesson plans should include
coaching notes that help young
coaches focus on the key areas for
each drill, lesson or task. There is a
lot of work involved in developing
well thought-out teaching progressions that cover technique, game
strategy and athletic and mental
development. This is missing in
most clubs/programs.
5. Having themes, lesson plans, and
weekly planning meetings with
coaches is key to having a well-coordinated developmental pathway
and will positively affect student retention. It will provide a consistent
product presentation, from session
to session, year to year, and provide
greater continuity as coaches come
and go. In addition this really builds
your club/program as a brand.
6. Hold weekly coaching meetings to

review the upcoming weeks lesson
plans, on-court drills and key points
for the coming week. These are different from the continuing education meetings.
7. Mentor your coaches and give them
plenty of time for continuing education outside of the club.
8. Establish teams and team leaders for
each level of progression Foam and
Red Ball leader, Orange Ball leader,
Green Ball leader, etc. Hold these
coaches accountable for lesson quality, sign-ups, retention, and parental
contact. They should report the 10U
director or junior director.
9. Your junior director or 10U director
needs the flexibility to manage and
float between programs, levels

and courts freely. They need to be
able to interact with coaches, players and parents at will, rather than
be tied down on court. Their job is
to build and manage the program
through developing players and
coaches and cultivating parent
relationships.
10. Hold a parent orientation before
the start of each session (session
being multiple week lesson program).
11. Set up a more formal parental contact plan via email, handouts and
coach interaction. Having parents
educated and involved in your program is key to player retention and
program growth. Coaches should
provide updates on the students
progress every two weeks. Coaches
should review the lesson topics
covered and whats coming up. This
communication should dovetail
into registration initiatives for the
next session.
Ball players that runs parallel to

and compete each week so they can
your regular programs. As part of
build on what they learned within
this pathway, establish minimum
their lesson.
participation parameters like three
sessions per week plus one private 19. Educate the players and parents
lesson per week. These are your
about the local USTAs Orange
committed players.
and Green Ball play opportunities
in their area. Expose them to the
17. Expose your younger players to
tournament pathway.
your more accomplished players.
Allow your older players to be role 20. Young players need open court
models, big brothers/big sisters to
time, free time and time to play
the younger players. If possible,
tennis with their friends without
have your older players work with
coaches or parents or formal struccollege players and strong adult
ture. Make sure you encourage parplayers, especially in doubles. Playents to set up these play sessions.
ers need to see where the developmental pathway leads.
Building and incorporating these
simple components into your program
18. Set up a formal league/ladder for
may take time and several evolutions
each level of competition. There
to get everything in place within your
are many ways to structure this,
business format. However, it is worth
but the key is to provide every play- it! YOU can have a great impact on your
er the opportunity to play, have fun business, and a young players life! h
Hold weekly coaching meetings to review the upcoming weeks lesson plans,
on-court drills and key points for the coming week.
12. Teach your players parents basic

hand-feeding drills so they can
play, practice and interact with
their child outside of the lesson.
13. Use your team leaders to establish an in-house team that
discusses player progression and
advancement between levels. Ensure a player has mastered all skill
sets before graduating to the next
ball color or court size. This should
be completed two weeks before the
current session ends, allowing time
to market the next session.
14. Set up Red Ball private lesson
times where six Red Ball private
lessons can take place on one court
at one time. You can use half- and
full-hour formats.
15. Use video technology to present
lessons/strokes and stroke analysis. Video should be a part of every
group lesson at least once per week.
It can be as simple as watching a
one-minute lesson or professional
players stroke and discussing.
16. Establish a High Performance
pathway for Orange and Green
John Sherwood is a USPTA Elite Professional and USTA High Performance Coaching graduate. He played Division I tennis for the University of Toledo, after which
he embarked on a business career. He became chief club operating officer of Five
Seasons Sports C.C. in Cleveland, Ohio, and Burr Ridge, Ill. He also served as a coach
at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., and as director of High Performance Tennis at Centercourt Athletic Club in Chatham, N.J. In addition he served as a coach
for the USTA Spring National Team Championships for the last two years, and is currently on
staff with the Boston College womens team. He has coached and guided hundreds of junior
players along the developmental pathway to Major DI college teams and into the professional
ranks. While developing solid fundamentals in his players, his coaching skills excel in developing his players mental, strategic and problem-solving skills that set the top-tier players apart.
USPTA News
$10,000 USPTA Clay Court

Set for May at TOPSL
he USPTA Clay Court Championships return to Florida

but have a new home in 2016.
This years tournament will
be hosted by TOPSL Beach & Racquet
Resort in Miramar Beach, Fla., May
14-16, and is open for registration
to USPTA-certified Professionals
through May 6.
TOPSL is a beach and racquet resort located in Miramar Beach in the
Sandestin area of Northwest Florida.
Situated on 52 private acres, the fullservice resort is bordered by the
beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and a nature preserve, and the tennis facilities
are home to 12 newly resurfaced clay
courts. Tennis Resorts Online consistently rates TOPSL Beach & Racquet
Resort as one of the worlds Top 100
Tennis Resorts & Camps and a Best
Value for the Dollar.
Total prize money for the tournament is $10,000 and will feature events
in the following categories: mens and
womens open singles and doubles
competition; mens 35, 45, 55 and 65
singles; mens 35, 45, 55 and 65 doubles;
womens 35 and 45 singles and doubles;
and mixed doubles.
Tournament players will also have
the opportunity to earn continuing
education credits while on site. USPTA
Master Professional Bill Tym will conduct a professional development seminar on Saturday, May 14, from 8-9 a.m.
Also on Saturday will be a vendor showcase of several top tennis equipment
manufacturers, a player luncheon from
11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a player welcome
party that evening.
As a benefit to certified members,
the surface championships provide an
opportunity to play against other USPTA Professionals, showcase skills, and
win prize money. Members who play
in the surface championships have the
opportunity to play their way into the
USPTA Masters Invitational, which

will be held in September at the 2016
USPTA World Conference in Indian
Wells, Calif. This tournament, which
replaces the International Championships, gives USPTA-certified Professionals an added opportunity to showcase their skills and earn a portion of
the $7,500 prize money.
Players receive points in both the
main draw (if they win at least one
match) and in consolation play (if it
is offered). In consolation matches, a
player or team advancing by default will
receive credit for a win as long as that
player or team does not default the next
match. Doubles players will receive individual rankings.
The USPTA Surface Championships are open to all USPTA-certified
Professionals in good standing. To see
the current rankings or learn more
about ranking rules, sanctioned tournaments, and tournament regulations
and requirements, go to uspta.com/
tournaments. h
2016 USPTA Surface

Championship Schedule:
USPTA Indoor Championships
March 18-20, 2016
Racquet Club of Memphis
Memphis, Tenn.
USPTA Clay Court Championships
at TOPSL
May 14-16, 2016
TOPSL Beach & Racquet Resort
Miramar Beach, Fla.
USPTA Masters Invitational
Sept. 24-27, 2016
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Indian Wells, Calif.
USPTA Hard Court Championships
Nov. 4-6, 2016
Hollytree Country Club
Tyler, Texas
Visit uspta.com/tournaments to register.
Career Development
Division Activities
Exams, Upgrades Coach Youth
Tennis Workshop
& PTCA I
(6 credits)
(4 credits for PTCA I segment)

April 9-10
Aurora, Ill.
April 9-10
Orlando, Fla.
April 10-11
Lakewood, Calif.
April 11-12
San Francisco
April 11-12 Atlanta
April 13
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
April 14-15
Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
Midlothian, Va.
April 17
Las Vegas
April 17-18
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
April 19
Tyler, Texas
April 20-21
Des Moines, Iowa
April 23
Albuquerque, N.M.
April 23-24
Fairfield, Conn.
April 23-24
* This course is held at the USPTA World Headquarters.
Exam reservations must be made at least 21 days
prior to the dates listed. Each date includes an exam,
upgrade and PTCA I unless noted. Exam cancellations
must be received no later than 14 days before the
exam, or a cancellation fee will be charged accordingly.
April 24-25
(2 credits)
April 2
May 1
May 14
Gainesville, Fla.
Pensacola, Fla.
Palmetto Bay, Fla.
May 21
Port Orange, Fla.
May 22
Albuquerque, N.M.
USPTA Eastern Convention

Chatham, N.Y.
May 1-2 USPTA New England Convention
Norwich, Conn.
May 12-14
USPTA Southern Convention
Atlanta
May 15
USPTA Hawaii Convention
Honolulu
For more workshops, visit coachyouthtennis.com.
Cardio Tennis
March 18
Cardio Tennis Training Course

Crooked Creek Tennis Club,
Alpharetta, Ga.

April 9
Webinars
(.5 credits)
April 13
TBD
Emilio Sanchez
Cardio Tennis Training Course
Maines Pines Racquet & Fitness Club,

Brunswick, Maine
Please visit www.cardiotennistraining.com to register.
Watch all 2015 recorded webinars at youtube.com/

user/TheUSPTA. For more information visit uspta.com/
Education>Education Calendar.
Applicant: late cancellation fee $95; failure to cancel

application fee is forfeited. Certified members: late
cancellation fee $25; failure to cancel $25 plus the
upgrade fee is forfeited. Registration for another exam
will not be accepted until cancellation fees are paid.
Accredited
Professional
Coach
Register your Accredited Professional Coach (APC)
and specialty course credits earned with the USPTA
SmartCode Education System. This uses your
smartphone to instantly register your attendance
to all seminars and specialty
courses earning APC.
To use the system at a
seminar, general session or
specialty course, you must
scan two QR codes. One QR
code is on your conference badge. The second
QR code will be in your conference notebook and
cannot be scanned until the end of the session or
the beginning of the next session.
If you do not have a smartphone, you may use
someone elses. Forms are available upon request.
Education requirements
All USPTA-certified Professionals must earn 6 education credits in a three-year period
to remain current. Go to USPTA.com/Education for a partial list of eligible activities. Please send verification (email, letter, certificate, receipt, etc.) that shows you
attended the event/activity and submit it along with the date and agenda to education@uspta.org to receive your credit. (International members, Recreational Coaches
and those over the age of 65 are exempt.) Questions? Write to education@uspta.org
or call 800-877-8248, ext. 147.
Member News
USPTA Past President Tom Daglis was selected to receive the International
Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award. This is a great honor that was
presented to him at the USTA Annual Meeting in La Costa, Calif., in March.
The list of past award winners is impressive, with many having strong
ties to USPTA: George Basco, Bill Tym, Jim Reffkin, Peter Burwash, Nick
Bollettieri, Kirk Anderson, David T. Porter, Tim Heckler, Steve Wilkinson,
Mark Kovacs, Butch Staples, Vic Braden, Jack Barnaby and Kathy Woods.
La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA WEST announced the appointment of Lynne Rolley as director of tennis. Rolley will be responsible for the leadership and oversight of all tennis operations
at La Quinta Resort & Club, including instruction, clinics, seasonal tennis
camps and educational/social programs serving the 776-guestroom resort
and members of The Citrus Club at La Quinta Resort. A USPTA-certified
teaching professional with more than 40 years of instruction and coaching
expertise, Rolley previously served as director of tennis at Berkeley Tennis
Club in Berkeley, Calif., where she was responsible for all member operations
since 2007. She also held posts as tournament director for the Girls and
Seniors National Championships. Her lifelong passion turned career also
included posts as Director of Womens Tennis for the USTA where she coached Jennifer Capriati
and US Open winner Lindsey Davenport to center court. Rolley is also the first woman to coach
a mens collegiate tennis team in the U.S., early in her career at St. Marys College in Moraga,
Calif. Ranked in the top 10 as a junior player in the USTA, Rolley resides in Palm Desert and is a
certified PTR and USPTA Elite Pro, member of the ITF International Coaches Commission, and
2008 inductee into the Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame.
In a moving style reminiscent of inspirational author Andy Andrews, Amazon No. 1 Bestselling
Author David F. Berens blends his expertise as a USPTA tennis-teaching Professional and fiction writer to bring us not
only an exciting look into the grind of a single professional
tennis match, but the life that is changed within it. Whitfield
Franklin Andrews, the burned-out veteran pro tennis player,
is on his way to losing an important tennis match. The book
opens at 6-0, 5-0 rock bottom for a tennis player but he
quickly realizes that hes at rock bottom in his life as well.
The journey through his epic comeback in this match leads
the reader to explore and find nine life lessons that relate not
only to tennis players, but to regular people as well. Break
Point is an inspirational and motivational story that will keep readers engaged and reflecting
until the end. To order visit Amazon.com.
Never Give Up is the inspiring true story about Brad Minns, a
USPTA Professional who, at age 3, became sick with an extremely
high fever. The battle over sickness left him with a severe hearing
impediment. Never Give Up chronicles Minns life in which he
overcomes adversity to win at tennis, bodybuilding and life. Minns
journey to come from behind at the 1985 World Games for the Deaf
in Los Angeles to win the gold medal is one of the most incredible
sports comebacks in history. To order a copy of the book, visit
www.BradMinns.com or Amazon.com.
ADDvantage magazine editorial offices

USPTA World Headquarters
3535 Briarpark Drive, Suite 202
Houston, TX 77042
Phone 713-978-7782 / 800-USPTA-4U
Fax 713-358-7794
email magazine@uspta.org
Managing editor
Circulation
USPTA Professional Lane Evans was

awarded the USTA NC
Carlton Harris NC Pro
of the Year for 2015.
He also received
the Master Tennis
Performance Specialist Designation from
International Tennis Performance Association. Evans is Director of Tennis & Wellness
at Champions Hills in Hendersonville, N.C.
After rapid success as Director of Tennis Operations at Renaissance Family
Fitness, USPTA Professional
Umang Chadda recently
accepted a new challenge to
oversee the complete fitness
club operations and serve as
RFFs General Manager. Chadda serves on the
USPTA Louisiana Board and recently organized
the USPTA Southern Adult One Day Tournament at Renaissance. Chadda received a 10
years of service award with USPTA in 2015.
Mike Carrigan passed
away on Friday, Nov 27,
2015. He was 68. He
had a lengthy career as
a USPTA tennis-teaching
Professional and had
been the director of
tennis at a club in
Gainesville, Fla. More recently he worked in
residential real estate and played in many
USTA leagues. C
arrigan was on the 2015
Shipwatch mens USTA 65+/8.0 team that
won the Florida Sectional in April 2015.
NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
First Vice
President
Chuck Gill
Gary Trost
Vice Presidents

Past President
CEO
Legal Counsel
Alan Cutler
Feisal Hassan
Ken McAllister
Jack Michalko
Diane Selke
TM
Kimberly Forrester
Kathy Buchanan
Office hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Central time

ADDvantage is published monthly by the
United States Professional Tennis Association.
Tom McGraw
John Embree
George Parnell
The opinions expressed in ADDvantage are those of the

authors and not necessarily those of ADDvantage or the
USPTA.
Copyright United States Professional Tennis
Association, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of any portion of the magazine is not
permitted without written permission from USPTA.

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Racquet Tech

Check out the

APRIL 2016 / VOLUME 44/ NUMBER 4 / $5.00

T.O.M. Conference and

PTR, TennisEurope partner

Pound, Maule have new

New edition out for

USTA awards Wheelchair

From high fashion, to toned-down neon, to

10 Solinco adds new Hyper-G

These outdoor Distinguished Facility-of-theYear award winners are excellent examples

11 i TPA to hold 2nd World

54 20 Point Inspection Tool

Read more articles online at www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com

David Bone Jeff Williams

t was exactly nine years ago

ten with Dennis in mind.)

Peter Francesconi, Editorial Director

Special Projects Manager

USTA PlayDev Creates New

STA Player Development has created a

T.O.M. Conference Slated

The conference will bring together

Held in conjunction with the

coaches, says PTR CEO Dan Santorum. We

Pound, Maule Take On

for racquet sports in the Americas.

New Edition Released For

Babolat Introduces New,

abolats new, lightweight JET shoe is now available, weighing in at 11.46

Frank Giampaolo has come out with the

U.S. Fed Cup Team

he USTA is awarding $62,550 in

Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center, St.

Mitch Case is newest

SCTA Presents Awards

to joining the ITA, Beaullieu

Evelyn Houseman Junior Sportsmanship Award: Brandon Holt and Ena

sity mens and womens tennis

Service Awards were presented to

Solinco Adds New

2015 graduate of Colorado

US Open Pickleball Chps.

olinco introduces a new string to its formidable lineup. The Hyper-G is a

trainers, athletic trainers, physicians, healthcare providers and other

iTPA to Hold 2nd Annual

of the Year Award. Also,

Laykold Masters systems

the event, which was

TGA Premier Youth

Hot New Racquets

Top-Selling Tennis Shoes

he Professional Tennis Registry

Lorenzo Beltrame of Windermere, Fla.,

Certification Program at the HPI and

Aruna Bernier Named

PTR pro Aruna Chettri Bernier of

2016 PTR Awards

PTR Hall of Fame: Billie Jean King

State of the Industry Forum

TENNIS OWNERS &

YOUTH TENNIS MARKET

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

11 i TPA to hold 2nd World

54 20 Point Inspection Tool

Utilize Red, Orange and

4) Provide activities for important

2) Fill your existing programs, or help

5) It is a new, exciting campaign that

3) Add new members and players,

Download free guides and