201407 tennis industry magazine

7/22/2019 201407 Tennis Industry magazine

1/68

Management

Make sure yourstaff has powerand INFLUENCE

Customizing

Use our STRINGCHECKLIST toserve players

Juniors

New event forHIGH SCHOOLtennis players

Incorp

oratin

gUSPTA

ULY 2014 / VOLUME 42/ NUMBER 7 / $5. 00

Lake Nona!The New Home for

American Tennis

UnderstandingTennis Shoes

Ball Machines Boosting Tennis IQ Our Annual Guide

The New Home for

American Tennis

UnderstandingTennis Shoes

Ball Machines Boosting Tennis IQ Our Annual Guide

pg.39


2/68


3/68


4/68

DEPARTMENTS

4 Our Serve

7 Industry News

9 Letters

13 Junior Tennis

14 TIA news

32 Ask the Experts

34 String Playtest: Ashaway

Crossfire ZX Tour

36 Your Serve, by Yza Shady

PLUS

40 CEOs Message

42 Vice

Presidents

Message

44 Tennis Teachers

Conference

56 USPTA Benefits

58 USPTA News

62 Career Development

64 Member News

INDUSTRY NEWS

7 Wilson names new GM

of Racquet Sports

7 PTR, USPTA to co-host

Midwest Symposium

7 HOF breaks ground

on improvements

8 USTA creates American

Collegiate Invitational

8 Ektelon, Viking join

IART Symposium

8 UC Berkeley wins ToC title

8 Tennis Resorts Online names

top camps, resorts

9 PlaySight raises $3.5 million

investment

10 Peoplewatch

11 Q1 equipment sales

performance data

12 Short Sets

12 Green solutions can

save money, too

ULY 2014

TennisIndustry

18The New Home forAmerican Tennis

The USTA says the tennis facility to be built at

Lake Nona in Florida will be a game-changer.

22 Impact Through InfluenceWith proper training, youll make sure your

staff has knowledge, power and influence.

24 Stress Relief?A podiatric surgeon and tennis pro says for

performance and protection, we need to

change our priorities with tennis shoes.

26 String ChecklistTo make sure your string selection covers all of

your customers needs, use our checklist.

44 2014 Tennis TeachersConference PlanningInformation

56 Grow Tennis by Growingthe USPTA Foundation

57 USPTA Offers Members Long-Term Care Insurance Options

58 USPTA, Emirates AirlineUS Open Series ContinueCollaboration in 2014

p.26

p.28

2 TennisIndustry July 2014

p.39

FEATURES

p.24

www.tennisindustrymag.com

Read more articles online at www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com


2014 GUIDE TO BALL MACHINES

28 Smarten Up!Push your players to practice with a ballmachine to help boost their Tennis IQ.

30 Ball Machine SelectorOur annual guide lists all the specs and

features so you can pick the right unit.

p.18


5/68


6/68

OurServe PublishersDavid Bone Jeff Williams

Editorial Director

Peter Francesconi

[email protected]

Associate Editor

Greg Raven

Design/Art Director

Kristine Thom

Special Projects Manager

Bob Patterson

Contributing Editors

Robin Bateman

Cynthia Cantrell

Kent Oswald

Cynthia Sherman

Mary Helen Sprecher

Tim Strawn

Contributing Photographers

Bob Kenas

David Kenas

TENNIS INDUSTRY

Corporate Offices

PO Box 3392, Duluth, GA 30096

Phone: 760-536-1177 Fax: 760-536-1171

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.TennisIndustryMag.com

Office Hours: Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Advertising Director

John Hanna770-650-1102, x.125

[email protected]

Apparel Advertising

Cynthia Sherman

203-263-5243

[email protected]

Tennis Industry is published 10 times per year:

monthly January through August and combined

issues in September/October and November/

December by Tennis Industry and USRSA, PO

Box 3392, Duluth, GA 30096. Periodcal postage

paid at Duluth, GA and at additional mailing

offices (USPS #004-354). July 2014, Volume 42,

Number 7 2014 by USRSA and Tennis Industry.

All rights reserved. Tennis Industry, TI and logo

are trademarks of USRSA. Printed in the U.S.A.

Phone advertising: 770-650-1102 x 125. Phone

circulation and editorial: 760-536-1177. Yearly

subscriptions $25 in the U.S., $40 elsewhere.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tennis

Industry, PO Box 3392, Duluth, GA 30096. TI is the

official magazine of the USRSA, TIA,and ASBA.

Looking for back issues of Tennis Industry/

Racquet Sports Industry? Visit the archives at our

website at TennisIndustrymag.com for free digital

versions back to 2004.

Whether paid or volunteer,

if youre in the tennis busi-

ness in any capacity, you

also are, and must be, in the business

of advocating for the sport. Advocating

for tennis is possibly themost impor-tant thing we can do for this sport. It

crosses all lines, all departments, all

committees, all organizationsand

all businesses. And it builds for our

future.The definition of advocacy is

relatively simpleactive support,

especially of a cause. But when it

comes to tennis, advocacy seems to be

a somewhat slippery term to definein a way that can result in meaningful

action.

About a decade ago, the USTAramped up advocacy efforts, hiring

staff and pushing out messaging and

resources. But last fall, the USTA dis-banded its Public Affairs & Advocacy

department. There still is a volunteer

Advocacy/Public Affairs Committee,

and the USTA urges its committees

and departments to continue withadvocacy efforts. However, since the

specific staff department is gone, I

sense a diminished urgency and coor-

dination.

Whats tended to muddy the waterswithin the USTA is there are two advo-

cacy avenues: Theres the big, atten-

tion-grabbing efforts like lobbying

lawmakers in Washington, D.C., court-

ing celebrities, and promoting tennis

at the White House. Then theresadvocacy on the local level, decidedly

less glamorous, but truly the heart of

what it takes to grow this game.

Both avenues are important, but

Im advocating for better advocacy

focusing on the local level. We need amore coordinated effort. Advocating

locally means getting schools, govern-

ments, parks, and community groups

to realize the benefits of tennis. It

involves giving local groups and CTAsa comprehensive toolbox to state the

case for tennis in all situations.

Im hoping the loss of the USTA ad-

vocacy staff does not mean the Advo-

cacy & Public Affairs Committee will

also go away or lose focus. The USTAcommittee not only needs to continue,

it should be split to more effectively

address bothavenues. The side dealing

with grassroots tennis advocacy needs

to coordinate with other committees,

departments and even outside groups

so that effective, consistent tools and

resources reach providers, so they canpush for tennis locally and meet any

challenge or barrier the sport may face

in their communities. In many cases,

these tools and resources already exist(especially within some of the sec-tions). We need to pull this together

and make it clearly available and us-

able nationally.

As Ive said many times, we can have

the best national initiatives in the

world, but growing this game comesdown to being local. Advocating for

tennis in your community isbig. After

all, its our future.

Peter Francesconi, Editorial Director

[email protected]

Its About Advocacy

Advocating for tennisis possibly themostimportant thing we cando for this sport.

4 TennisIndustry July 2014 www.tennisindustrymag.com


7/68


8/68


9/68July 2014 TennisIndustry 7

IndustryNewsInformation to help you run your business

Wilson Sporting Goods in early May announced that Hans-Martin Reh will

replace Jon Muir as the general manager of Racquet Sports.

Reh is coming back to Wilson after 17 years. Most of that time, 14 years,

was spent at Nike, where he was most recently general manager of tennis, basket-ball, indoor, swim and Brand Jordan for Europe, Middle East and Africa. His most

recent position was as the chief commercial officer at Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co., a

leading European manufacturer of home fitness equipment, leisure furniture, out-

door toys and bikes, where he had global responsibility for managing and growing a

200-person sales and marketing organization.Hans-Martin is a unique operational and growth genius, and

his track record as a strategic and disruptive force in the sporting

goods industry couldnt be better suited to our plans to build on

our leadership in Racquet Sports, said Mike Dowse, president and

CEO of Wilson. We are at an exciting and critical inflection pointin Wilson's history, with our digital and smart product launches,

new investments in re-launching our brand, and our recommit-

ment to groundbreaking R&D.

Muir, who was Tennis Industry magazines Person of the Year in

2010, leaves Wilson Racquet Sports after nearly eight years as GM.During his tenure at Wilson, Muir also served as the president of

the Tennis Industry Association for four years and was a presiden-

tial appointee to the USTAs Board of Directors. Muir says he is considering leavingthe Chicago area to return to Southern California.

I want to personally thank Jon for his unwavering commitment to Wilson for

almost two decades, and for helping provide Wilson with a smooth transition,Dowse said.

Wilson Appoints NewGM of Racquet Sports

HOF Breaks Ground onImprovements

The International Tennis Hall of Fame &

Museum in Newport, R.I., broke ground

in mid-May on the first phase of a multi-

faceted $15.7 million capital campaign

and improvement project.

The four focus areas of the project,

which is funded by the Match Point Capi-

tal Campaign, are to add additional ten-

nis courts and facilities; to strategically

expand the Hall of Fame's footprint in a

manner that is in keeping with Newport's

historic aesthetic and enhances the com-

munity; to upgrade the museum with

new technology and enhanced exhibi-

tions; and to improve campus-wide ame-

nities including upgrades to the tennis

stadium.

Information and updates about the

project are at tennisfame.com/Match-

PointCampaign.

Facility Owner Buys TennisMachines Business

Tennis Machines, the ball and string-

ing machine sales and service repair shoplocated in St Louis, Mo., was purchased

recently by Terry Ward, a local tennis facility

owner and longtime USPTA tennis pro.

The business, which has operated since

1975 and serves as the authorized location

for all Prince products, carries ball machines

and stringing machines from all major

manufacturers. In addition, Tennis Machines

has expanded its offerings to include racquet

stringing and repair as well as sales and ser-

vice for all things tenniscourt accessories,

supplies and consulting services.

Longtime associate JC Carpentier contin-ues to lend his expertise to the business. Visit

tennismachines.com.

ITA Inducts 7 to Hall of Fame

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association

(ITA) Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame

inducted seven in May during NCAA Divi-

sion I Men's & Women's Tennis Champi-

onships held at the University of Georgia

in Athens, Ga. The Class of 2014 includes

coaches Billy Chadwick (Mississippi),

Timon Corwin (Kalamazoo), and James

Wadley (Oklahoma State U); players Matt

The PTR and USPTA will co-host the PTR/USPTAMidwest Symposium on Aug. 9 at the DeWitt Tennis

Center at Hope College in Holland, Mich. The event

is open to all tennis teachers and coaches, including high

school and college coaches, assistant coaches, and USTAteam captains. Registrants can be members of either orga-

nization. Non-members are also welcome to participate.

Speakers will include Jorge Capestany, Emma Doyle, Julio

Godreau, Dr. Neeru Jayanthi and Oliver Stephens. Registration is $47 and includes

lunch.

A PTR 11 to 17 Certification Workshop will be held Aug. 10 for those who wish toget certified to teach this age group, including high school coaches. For informa-

tion about the symposium and accommodations, or to register, visit Events at www.

ptrtennis.org or call PTR at 843-785-7244.


PTR & USPTA to Co-HostMidwest Symposium


10/68

IndustryNews

Anger (USC), Juan Farrow (Southern Ill

U - Edwardsville) and Alex Kim (Stanford);and contributor, Doug Conant (North-

western).

USTA Creates AmericanCollegiate Invitational

The 2014 US Open will feature a college

tennis competition for the first time ever in

2014, inviting top American college play-

ers to compete in the inaugural American

Collegiate Invitational Sept. 4-6 at the USTA

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in

Flushing, N.Y.

Eight men and eight women will be invited

to play in a singles tournament during the

second week of the Open, with the winners

receiving a wild card into a future pro event.

The Invitational is open only to American

players, and each field will include six players

who are still in college and two who have

exhausted their college eligibility this year,

according to specific criteria.

College tennis plays such a significant

role in the vitality of American tennis, and its

important that we are able to highlight some

of Americas best college players on a world-

wide stage at the US Open, said USTA Chair-

man, CEO and President Dave Haggerty.

TGA Adds Franchise in Calif.

TGA Premier Youth Tennis has awarded

a new tennis franchise in California to

Mike Lipsey, a former Silicon Valley semi-

conductor executive. Lipseys franchise,

located in the San Jose and lower San

Francisco peninsula area, is the sixth in

the state and 25th nationwide.

TGAs program (playtga.com) intro-

duces tennis in schools and supports the

USTAs 10-and-Under Tennis initiative

before transitioning youngsters to USTAprograms, tennis facilities and USPTA

Professionals nationwide.

I am very excited to have this op-

portunity to bring tennis to schools and

impact local youth through the character

development themes that TGA emphasiz-

es, says Lipsey, who spent 25 years as an

executive in the semiconductor industry

overseeing global supply chains.

New YTex String Offered

The newest string from YTex is the

Square-X, a unique squared co-poly that the

company says combines power with control

and feel. The carbon co-poly + polyolefin

is available in 16L gauge/1.25 mm. USRSA

members automatically qualify to receive

wholesale pricing on all sets and reels.

YTex also is looking for U.S. sales reps

and an international distributor. For more

information, contact [email protected]

or 843-816-1440, or visit ytexstrings.com.

Ektelon, Viking Join IARTSymposium

Ektelon and Viking have this year joined

Babolat, Bolt, Dunlop, Gamma, Prince,Wilson and Yonex as sponsors of the 2014

IART Symposium, which will

be Sept. 20-24 at Saddle-

brook Resort in Tampa, Fla.

The eighth annual stringers

symposium includes a

diverse format of seminars

that cover all aspects of business man-

agement for shop owners and pro shop

personnel, plus hands-on training for

racquet technicians.

We continue to offer new classes and

new instructors each year in an effort tokeep it fresh, stimulating and certainly

worth the time for people to attend, says

IART founder Tim Strawn.

The conference will conclude with USR-

SA certification testing and an intense

six-hour racquet customization class.

Visit gssalliance.com.

UC Berkeley Wins TOC Title

The UC Berkeley team from USTA Northern

California earned its third Tennis On Campus

national title in five years, completing an

undefeated run at the Surprise Tennis & Rac-

quet Complex in Surprise, Ariz., by beating

the University of Florida, 27-13. The 15th an-

nual TOC championships saw 64 teams par-

ticipating. Next year, the tournament moves

back to the East Coast and will be start April

9 at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.

Also, Cooper Anderson of Western Wash-

ington University has been named USTA

Tennis On Campus National Leader of the

Year for the 2013-2014 season, and Ferris

State Universitys (FSU) club tennis team is

the 2013-14 Tennis On Campus National

Club of the Year.

Pfaender Retires from Wilson

Bob Pfaender of Lake Mary,

Fla., who was Tennis Industry

magazines Sales Rep of the

Year in 2002, retired at the end

of May after more than 27 years

with Wilson Racquet Sports.

Pfaender, who also serves as

president of the USTA Florida

Section, told TI magazine he plans to

remain involved in the sport. His last

hours for Wilson on May 31 were spent at

the annual Florida USPTA state conven-tion and USTA Florida semi-annual board

meeting.

TRO Names Top 100Resorts, Camps

Tennis Resorts Online recently released

its annual rankings of the Top 100 Tennis

Resorts and Camps worldwide, as deter-

mined by evaluations submitted by tennis

vacationers.

The Top 5 Resorts are: 1. Omni Amelia

Island Plantation Resort, FL; 2. Kiawah Island

Golf Resort, SC; 3. Rancho Valencia, CA; 4.


Business Drive

STRING Tennis Shop in

Dana Point, Calif., has aunique rolling billboard

in the form of a Smart car ad-

vertising its tennis business.

Owner Lars Krogius says the

wrap on the car cost $1,500and the $99 a month lease

makes it a very affordable

way to market his business

and service his customers.



11/68

IndustryNews

July 2014 TennisIndustry 9www.tennisindustrymag.com

Cardio Tennis MessageGreat message on Cardio Tennis

in the June issue (Your Serve,

How Cardio Tennis Contributes

to the Tennis Industry). Herein Texas we are doing our best to

promote the programs and finally

we are getting support from the

pros. More is needed. At our club,Grey Rock Tennis Club in Austin,

the sessions are popular, well

attended and appreciated by our

members and pros.

Fernando Velasco

General Manager andDirector of Tennis

Grey Rock Tennis Club

Letters

Reasons to PlayI saw your Our Serve column in the

June issue of Tennis Industry and its

great!

One of the things that I think is cru-cial for our sport is Jack Groppels 34

Reasons to Play Tennis. PTR has it

available on our website, and everyone

in our industry (pros, facilities, manu-facturers, etc.) needs to promote it to

the world! Check it out at http://www.

ptrtennis.org/benefits/34Reasons.

pdf. This could be the single most

important promotion for tennis!

Julie W. JillyPTR Vice President Marketing &

Events

PlaySight Completes $3.5M

Investment for 'SmartCourt'P

laySight Interactive, creators of the SmartCourt tennis analytic system,

has completed a $3.5 million investment round that includes high-profile

investors such as Novak Djokovic, Billie Jean King, Dr. Jim Loehr, Mark Ein,

Ray Benton, Gordon A. Uehling III and Bill Ackman. The money will fun a global

roll-out of the SmartCourt technology for recreational and elite tennis, as well asresearch and development on applications in other sports.

We are proud to have such a powerful group of investors who share our vision

of bringing elite player technology to the grassroots and club level, said Chen

Shachar, PlaySight CEO. When we developed this technology we saw an oppor-

tunity to create an affordable, easy-to-install, cloud-based system for athletes ofall levels to improve their game. We are certain that SmartCourts will make tennis

more engaging and fun.

Based on concepts originally designed to train fighter pilots, PlaySight combinesadvanced player analytics technology (PAT) with video-replay and social media. It

is approved by the ITF for use in amateur tournaments and has so far been installedin 35 courts, including 19 in the U.S.

Wild Dunes, SC; 5. La Quinta Resort & Club,

CA.The Top 5 Camps are: 1. Roy Emerson

Tennis Weeks at Gstaad Palace, Switzerland;

2. Cliff Drysdale Tennis at Omni Amelia Island

Plantation, FL; 3. New England Tennis Holi-

days at Sugarbush, VT; 4. Saddlebrook Tennis

(Hopman), FL; 5. John Newcombe Tennis

Ranch, TX.

The complete list is at TennisResortsOnline.

com.

Oncourt OffcourtCelebrates20 Years

PTR and USPTA

Master Pro Joe Dinoffer

announced the 20th

Anniversary of Oncourt

Offcourt. Based in Dal-

las, Oncourt Offcourt

was founded by Dinoffer

in 1994 with just one tennis training aid.

The company has now created over 200

proprietary tennis devices, ranging from


12/68

PeopleWatch

Legendary Austra-

lian doubles pair Todd

Woodbridge and MarkWoodforde received the

ITFs highest accolade, the

Philippe Chatrier Award,

at the 2014 ITF World

Champions Dinner on June

3 in Paris. They are the first

doubles team to receive the

honor, which is awarded each

year for outstanding contri-butions to the game.

For the third consecutive

season, Head Penns Paola

Longoria finished the Ladies

Professional Racquetball Tour

(LPRT) at No. 1 and with an

undefeated record. In the

season-ending Pro Nation-als event in Virginia in May,

Longoria defeated Head Penn

teammate Maria Jose Vargas

in the final.

The Antigua Group has

hired Brian Barth as territory manager

for Northern California and Northern

Nevada, including the San Franciscoand San Jose markets. Based in Mill

Valley, Calif., Barth has more than 20

years of sales experience spanning the

tennis, skiing and biking categories.

The USPTA has hired George Parnell

as the organizations legal counsel.

Parnell has nearly 30 years of legal

experience and has been an advisor

to private equity and venture capital

funds, public and private corporations.

and not-for profit organizations.

Dunlop Squash Tour Team member

and world No. 1 Gregory Gaultier

claimed his second British Open title on

May 18, beating fellow Dunlop player

Nick Matthew. Gaultier plays with the

Dunlop Biomimetic Elite racquet.

Doug Matuska and Bryan Biever of

Saint Paul, Minn., won the mens 35

and 45 singles titles, respectively, at

the $5,000 USPTA Indoor Champion-

ships at Lifetime Fitness in

Lakeville, Minn.

Head Penns Maria

Jose Vargas became

the first female

player from Bolivia to

win the Pan American

Racquetball Champion-

ships.

Pro player Elena Baltacha passed

away on May 4, after battling liver can-

cer. She was 30 years old and a former

world No. 49 who had led Great Britain

in Fed Cup for many years. She wasdiagnosed with the disease in January,

shortly after retiring from tennis and

a few weeks after her marriage to her

coach and partner, Nino Severino.

Stig Ericson, the 2014 Brad Parks

Award recipient, passed away 8 May

after a long illness. Ericson was heav-

ily involved in the development of

wheelchair tennis and was a member

of the International Wheelchair Tennis

Federation and International Wheel-

chair Tennis Association.


IndustryNews



13/68

IndustryNews


innovative training aids to user-friendly

ways to pick up and store tennis balls.

Visit OncourtOffcourt.com or contact

the company for a free 96-page 20th An-

niversary catalog at 888-366-4711.

Tennis Racquet Performance

Specialty Stores

January-March, 2014 vs. 2013

Units 2014 118,022

2013 119,590

% change vs. 13 -1%

Dollars 2014 $17,504,000

2013 $17,702,000

% change vs. 13 -1%

Price 2014 $148.31

2013 $148.02

% change vs. 13 0%

Top-Selling Racquets at Specialty

Stores

By year-to-date dollars, Jan.-Mar. 2014

Best Sellers

1. Babolat Aero Pro Drive 2013 (MP)

2. Babolat Pure Drive GT 2012 (MP)

3. Wilson BLX Juice (MP)

4. Head Graphene Radical MP (MP)

5. Babolat Pure Drive Lite 2012 (MP)

Hot New Racquets

(introduced in the past 12 months)

1 . Head Graphene Radical MP (MP)

2. Babolat Pure Drive Play (MP)3. Babolat Pure Strike 100 (MP)

4. Wilson Juice 100 S (MP)

5. Head Graphene Radical Pro (MP)

Top-Selling Tennis Shoes at Specialty

Stores

By year-to-date dollars, Jan.-Mar. 2014

1. Prince T22

2. Asics Gel Resolution 5

3. Nike Air Max Cage 2013

4. Nike Zoom Vapor 9 Tour

5. Adidas Barricade 8

Top-Selling Tennis Strings at Specialty

StoresBy year-to-date units, Jan.-Mar. 2014

1. Babolat RPM Blast

2. Wilson NXT

3. Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex

4. Wilson Sensation

5. Luxilon Alu Power

(Source: TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys)

USRSA Announces New MRTs

Master Racquet Technicians

William Brown - Bucyrus, MO

Michael Jones - Williamsburg, VA

Samantha Munze - Fayetteville, NC


14/68

ShortSets

Tennis Channel has

unveiled an annualdigital subscription ser-

viceTennis Channel

Pluswhich is available

to all U.S.-based digital

users. The network says

Tennis Channel Plus

expands the amount of

content Tennis Channel

can offer its viewers.

The service, for $59.99

for the season, can be

accessed through the

networks Tennis Chan-

nel Everywhere app or

through www.tennis-

channeleverywhere.

com.

Fromuth Tennis is the

fourth company to par-

ticipate in the USPTAs

Retirement Gold+

program. For USPTA Pro-

fessionals who purchase

more than $750 per year

of Nike footwear and ap-

parel for their pro shops,Fromuth will contribute

5 percent into those

participating profession-

als Retirement Gold+

accounts.

Ashaway Racket

Strings has renewed its

partnership program

with the Women's

Squash Association,becoming once again

"The Official String of

WSA." Ashaway VP

Steve Crandall says,

Many women players,

both amateur and pro-

fessional, find Ashaway

strings ideally suited

for their unique style of

play and we want to do

all we can to support

WSA.

In a new agreement,

Paloma Financial and

John Hancock will offer

a discounted, long-

term care insurance

program to USPTA

members.

TennisBiz has joined

the PTR as a Corporate

Member. TennisBiz is

an online tool built by

coaches for coaches

and enables users toautomate every aspect

of their coaching

administration. PTR

members get their

first month free. Visit

tennisbiz.net or call

800-231-1390.

The International

Tennis Hall of Fames

annual Hall of Fame Ten-nis Championships and

Enshrinement Weekend

will feature an exhibi-

tion doubles match with

Monica Seles, Tracy

Austin, Gigi Fernandez,

and Rhode Island native

and recently retired WTA

Tour player Jill Craybas.

The match will be on

Sunday, July 13, before

the mens final in

Newport, R.I.

Wimbledon has in-

creased total prize mon-

ey for the 2014 event to

$40 million, an increase

of 10.8 percent from last

year. The winning singles

players will receive $2.9

million, an increase from

$2.5 million last year. In

the last four years, prize

money for the singles

winners has increased

60 percent. First-roundlosers also will see a rise

in their pay of about 12

percent, to $45,000.

The Art of Coaching

High School Tennis, by

Bill Patton, published in

March, is now available

from Amazon. Patton, a

longtime tennis pro

and high school coach,provides an intimate

look at the techniques

and relationship of

high school coaches

with their school, play-

ers and parents, offer-

ing practical advice,

informative anecdotes

and more.

The WTA is renaming

its year-end cham-

pionships the WTA

Finals. In addition, the

finals will have the new

theme On Top of the

World. The finals will

be held in Singapore

for the next five years,

in an expanded 10-day

format that will also

include a Rising Stars

Exhibition, Legends

Invitational, Future

Stars junior event, and

fan festival.

New Balance Japan

announced the NB

Raonic Robot, featur-

ing pro tennis player

Milos Raonic, was

certified as the fastest

tennis ball serving

machine at 170 mph

by the Guinness World

Records, at Chuo Uni-

versity in Tokyo.

Mueller Sports

Medicine has signed a

three-year agreement

with tennis star Rafael

Nadal to endorse Muel-

ler ProStrips abrasion

control products.

A fire at a house

owned by James Blake

near Tampa, Fla.

which the tennis star

had rented outwas

determined to be a

murder-suicide. Blake

and his family were at

his Connecticut home

at the time on May

7. Law enforcement

officials say Darrin

Campbell shot his

wife and two teenage

kids before setting the

house on fire.

Cliff Drysdale Tenniswill manage the tennis

program and pro shop

at Arrowhead at Vail,

Colo. The program will

be directed by Steven

Etchells, formerly of

the Drysdale-managed

tennis program at

Omni Amelia Island.


IndustryNews


Green Solutions Can Save You Money The Tennis Legacy Fund is a non-profit committed to increasing theawareness of sustainability within the tennis industry and community. To

help tennis providers operate a more profitable and sustainable business,

TI magazine will run occasional tips by the Tennis Legacy Fund in partner-

ship with Greenlight Solutions and a sustainability initiative by students at

Arizona State University.

Minimize Your Water Use:A low-flow aerator is an inexpensive and

easy way to lower your bills and reduce water use. This simple technol-

ogy attaches to almost every faucet and only costs $1-$5 each. Aerators

can reduce water flow from 2.5 gallons to 0.5 gallons per minutea 75

percent water savings. According to the Federal Energy Management

Program, this installation can save an average of $130 annually with a

payback period of less than a month.Kathleen Bauer

CLASSIFIEDSYONEX ES5 Pro Stringing Machine, with extras ($3000)

- Custom stainless steel diablo, Custom tower knob covers,

Tilt mechanism, 2 sets of clamps5-tine and 3-tine

BABOLAT RDC (blue case) with ($3000)

- New motherboard, New display, Stand (usually an optional

extra)

FLEX-FOUR mechanical analysis device ($300)

PACIFIC grommet shaper ($200)

GROMMET KITS (about 600 + extra pieces), catalogued &

sorted into bins ($1500)

Contact information is: Vince Chiarelli, 727-656-6587, email:

[email protected]. All prices are PLUS shipping via FedEx

Ground.


15/68


Eligibility requires high school

team affiliation and, unlike othertournaments, does not have an age

component. A committee will deter-

mine the final field based on UTR

ratings, geographic distribution and

success in state play.The expectation is that this

tournament will grow in stature

and become a staple on the national

calendar, says Bill Mountford, USTA

director of junior tournaments. Theexperiences that the players will en-

joy in 2014 will put this tournament

in a great place for future years.

Currently there will be no national

or sectional USTA (or ITF) pointsawarded, although an ITF event wild-

card will be offered both the boys and

girls champs. In addition to the guar-anteed four matches, participants can

also look forward to mixing with play-

ers they wouldnt see at their local andstate competitions, the opportunities

to be observed by college recruiters,

social events in the evening, and New

Balance swag, including a gear bag

with apparel and shoes.Plans for next year are to build on

the event and push for more state

and local connections to a national

event. In conjunction with other

New Balance efforts to support highschool tennis, there is consideration

of coupling this event to additional

local outreach, including potential

sponsorship of seminars for coaches

on technique and nutrition.

The result should be an increasedpresence for New Balance in the

amateur tennis arena, an expan-

sion of the USTA Community Tennis

portfolio, and opportunities for high

school players and coaches previouslyreserved for those involved on the

junior circuit.

New Balance, USTACreate H.S. EventBy Kent Oswald

JuniorTennis

With a goal to explore the

possibilities for a frequent-ly overlooked audience,

New Balance and USTA Community

Tennis teamed for the initial year of

the New Balance High School Tennis

Championships. The hard-courttournament, which will take place at

Harvard Universitys Beren Tennis

Center, a short walk from the Ameri-

can manufacturers headquarters,

will be July 21-25, and will feature64-player compass draws and some

of the countrys premier boy and girl

singles players.

According to Bruce Schilling, New

Balance general manager for tennis,the tournament came about, in some

sense as a celebration of the people

who play and what the game meansto them. In other words, what makes

this tourney different from other

junior tournaments is its emphasison drawing in high school players, not

necessarily the same demographic as

regulars on the junior tennis circuit.

Schilling, who champions his own

high school tennis coach and con-stantly makes connections with peo-

ple through their shared high school

tennis experiences, believes, High

school tennis is an unacknowledged

sector of the sport. In some sense thetournament will be a celebration of

the players and coaches and what the

game means to them.

The tournament has been gaining

attention with an aggressive market-

ing campaign to high school tennisassociations, players and coaches.

As time draws closer to the event,

more applications to the tourna-

ment (singles only this year, although

doubles competition is expected to bepart of the future) are being accepted

via the USTAs TennisLink.


16/68

The 7th Annual TIA Tennis Forum on Aug. 24 willstart at 5:15 p.m. on the Ballroom Level of the GrandHyatt New York in Salon E. The Forum, which is freeto attend, will present the latest news about thestate of the tennis industry, including participation,equipment sales data, grassroots initiatives, YouthTennis, and more. It also will outline pathways toincreasing the number of frequent players, ways tobetter define and boost the economic growth andimpact of the tennis industry, and effective waysto distribute clear, consistent messaging of health,fitness and the reasons to play tennis.

The TIA Tennis Forum will conclude with aninduction ceremony for the Tennis IndustryHall of Fame. This year, tennis industry pioneerJim Baugh will become the ninth inductee,joining Howard Head and Dennis Van der Meer(2008), Alan Schwartz (2009), Billie Jean King(2010), Nick Bollettieri (2011) and Howard GillJr., Walter Montenegro and Sheldon Westervelt(2013). Plaques of Tennis Industry Hall of Fameinductees are on permanent display at theInternational Tennis Hallof Fame in Newport, R.I.

4Acelon Tennis Strings4Adidas4Aer-Flo4Antigua4ASICS America4Babolat4California Products Corporation4Century Sports4Coach Youth Tennis / USTA Coaches Education4Dartfish4Diadora4Dunlop Sports Group America4Fast-Dry Courts/10-S Tennis Supply4Ferris State University4Fromuth Tennis4Gamma Sports

4Har-Tru4Head PENN4Hoparazzi4Inphorm4Intercollegiate Tennis Association4Junior Tennis4Kinesio Holding Company4Metaltek/Playmate Ball Machines4Methodist University PTM4MyTennisLessons4National Family Championships4NetKnacks4Oncourt Offcourt, Ltd.4Paloma-Financial Southwest Securities4Play Your Court4Prestwick Limited

4Prince Global Sports4Professional Tennis Registry4SportsTutor4StringAdvantage4Tennis Channel4Tennis Industry Association4Tennis Machines Sales & Service4TennisSource.net4TGA Premier Youth Tennis4USPTA Player4USTA College Tennis4Voice Activated Score Boards, LLC4Volkl & Lotto4Wilson Sporting Goods4WTT4Zepp Labs

Celebrate the Business of TennisAt The Tennis Show 2014 in NYC

Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org14 TennisIndustry July 2014

Attend the TIA Tennis Forum and Tennis Industry Hall of Fame

Join these companies and organizations that will be exhibiting at The Tennis Show 2014:

Make sure youre in New York on Sunday, Aug. 24, to attend The Tennis Show 2014 atthe Grand Hyatt. Held in conjunction with the Tennis Teachers Conference and the USOpen, The Tennis Show will be a celebration of the business of tennis and include theTIA Tennis Forum and Tennis Industry Hall of Fame induction starting at 5:15 p.m.,and an exhibitor show from 6 to 10 p.m.

The exhibitor show will be in the Grand Hyatts Manhattan Ballroom andManhattan Ballroom Foyer areas. Nearly 50 tennis industry manufacturers andorganizations will be on hand, displaying their latest products and services.In addition, participating companies will be offering prizes valued at more than

$20,000 to show attendees.Even though exhibitor space has been sold

out, industry businesses and organizations that wish to bea part of The Tennis Show 2014 still can get their message in front ofattendees through The Tennis Show Virtual Bag. The TIA has partnered withVirtualEventBags.com to provide this unique opportunity, which allows showattendees and others to view, save and redeem offers from both exhibitors andcompanies/organizations unable to exhibit on site. For more information onThe Tennis Shows Virtual Bag program, visit TennisShow.com.

Tennis Industry

HALL OF FAME

Innova

tor Fou

nder Invento

rC

on

trib

uto

r

Register now to attend the Tennis Show and TIA Tennis Forum.Registration is free. Visit TennisShow.com.

Jim Baugh


17/68

The TIA Board of Directors will meet on Monday, Aug. 25, in New York City toreview efforts to grow the sport and industry, and to identify areas for enhancedcollaboration. The next day, the TIA will meet with retailers and manufacturers tohear about industry research that takes an in-depth look at the marketplace. TheUSTA also will be on hand to discuss upcoming promotions and efforts together withthe TIA and industry partners to drive tennis participation and the tennis economy.

TIA to HostMeetings During

US Open

The 2014 edition of the State of the Industry, now availableto TIA Industry Level members and above, highlights thelatest data and research from nearly 80 TIA surveys andstudies. Among the key datathat industry companiesand providers can use to

help grow their businessesare current participationfigures, equipment salesand trends, and teachingpro and court contractoroutlooks.

Starting this year, the TIAchanged the source of the data for determining tennisparticipation and will include reporting from the annual

Physical Activity Council (PAC)Participation Study, the largestsingle-source independentsports participation project inthe nation supported by sixsports and recreation trade

associations. The previousUSTA/TIA participation reportproduced by Taylor Groupchanged methodology froma phone survey to online,and the change doesntallow for overall historicalparticipation trending priorto 2012.

The change in determining overall participation bringsthe tennis industry in line with methodology used for 120other sports and activities measured by PAC, says TIA

Executive Director Jolynde Boer. We have beenusing the PAC study since

2008 in a comparison oftennis to traditional sports,which continually showstennis among the toptraditional sports. Industryobservers will note that thenew methodology yields

a lower overall participation figure from studies we usedin previous years. However, frequent tennis participationusing the new methodology does compare accurately withprevious years.

In the 2013 PAC study, overall tennis participation was17.68 million players, a 4% increase from PAC data from2012. Total frequent players (who play 21 or more timesa year), who account for over 70% of consumer spending

on tennis, increased 5% to 5.48 million. Meanwhile, totalplay occasions increased 4%, to 461 million. Additionallythe PAC study reports another 13.2 million intermittentplayers (those who consider themselves players) anda latent demand (non-players who are interested intennis) for tennis of over 15 million.

For more information on how to obtain a copy ofthe State of the Industry report, contact the TIA [email protected] or 866-686-3036.

Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org July 2014 TennisIndustry 15

Overall Tennis ParticipationGrows 4%; TIA Transitions toPAC Research Methodology

2011 2012 2013

17,772,000 17,020,000 17,678,000

10,183,278 12,020,251 13,275,746

12,116,493 13,162,985

15,283,788

Tennis Players and Latent Demand PAC Study

Total Active Tennis Players

Intermittent (consider themselves players)

Latent Demand (Number of non-players who are interested in tennis)15.75

17.75

18.55 18.72

17.77 17.02 17.68

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

MillionsofPlayers

U.S. Tennis Participation Physical Activity Council (PAC) Study (2007-2013)


18/68

In May, hundreds of tennis facilities and teaching pros joinedthe Try Tennis for Free campaign that was driven throughPlayTennis.com and designed to get more consumers intothe game. Now, that successful campaign will be offeredagain in September.

Try Tennis for Free is designed to bring new playersto the game and returning players back to tennis. Thepromotion, for players of all ages, is supported by boththe PTR and USPTA. The free sessions offered can varydepending on the location, as each individual facility orcertified professional can choose the best introductorysession or programs they feel will encourage new andreturning players to step onto the court. Free offers caninclude lessons, clinics, Cardio Tennis, USTA Play Daysfor kids, and more.

For Try Tennis for Free in September, the TIA will again

offer a hundred prizes that will include tennis gear,apparel and more. There will also be a sweepstakes thatwill include three- and five-day camps and clinics fromtop resorts and tennis academies.

Tennis providers can easily sign-up for free onPlayTennis.com. The TIA also offers free, customizablepromotional material on PlayTennis.com that providerscan use to promote Try Tennis for Free.

Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org16 TennisIndustry July 2014

Boost Your Business WithTry Tennis Freein September

Go to PlayTennis.comor more information

Go to PlayTennis.com to get started!

Introduce a

Friend to Tennis

Save the Dates!

JOIN YOUR INDUSTRY, MARCH 17-20, 2015,IN INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIATIA TENNIS SUMMIT AND THE2ND ANNUAL TENNIS OWNERS &MANAGERS CONFERENCESTAY TUNEDFOR MORE DETAILS.

SM

TW

TF

S

12

34

56

7

89

10

1819

2021

2627

28

29

2324

2530

31

2015

March

22 14

15 1312

1116 17


19/68


20/68

Future of Tennis

18 TennisIndustry July 2014 www.tennisindustrymag.com

The New Homefor AmericanTennisThe USTA says the tennis facilityto be built at Lake Nona in Florida

will be a game-changer for thesport at every level.


21/68

In mid-May, the USTA officially acknowledged what many in the industryhad already known: A state-of-the-art tennis facility will be constructed

at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., which will have more than 100 courts and

house the USTAs Community Tennis and Player Development divi-

sions. The site is targeted for completion toward the end of 2016.

This new home for American tennis will truly be a game-changer for our

sport, said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Dave Haggerty at a press

conference in Orlando on May 14. This world-class facility will be an inclusive

gathering place for American tennis and will allow us to impact our sport at

every level, from the grassroots to the professional ranks.

Haggerty was one of a number of people who spoke at the gathering, which

included Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and University of

Central Florida President John C. Hitt.

The facility, on 63 acres in the innovative Lake Nona community with easy

access to the Orlando airport, will cost about $60 million, according to the USTA.

Construction will start in the fall.

The land is being leased long-term for a nominal payment, essentially free,

said USTA Executive Director Gordon Smith. One of the important things to

note is this is based significantly on some very good incentives to us by the Tavis-

tock Group in Lake Nona and local governments.

In addition to tax incentives, the USTA also is receiving grants from the state

for transportation construction purposes. Tavistock Group is an international

private investment organization behind the master-planned development at

Lake Nona.

Tennis Gathering Place?Our vision is that this would be a fantastic place for other tennis-related com-

panies or sports companies to relocate to because of what is here in Lake Nona,Haggerty said.

There already has been speculation that some tennis organizations, including

possibly the USTA Florida Section, may move to or maintain a presence at Lake

Nona. There also has been talk of helping to start a Professional Tennis Manage-

ment program at nearby University of Central Florida, which will have use of

hard courts for its mens and womens teams.

USTA Player Development, currently based at the Evert Academy in Boca Ra-

ton, Fla., will move to Lake Nona after the current lease is up in a couple of years,

said USTA General Manager of Player Development Patrick McEnroe. I think

its safe to say we will have a presence still in New York at the National Tennis

Center, and we will have some presence in Southern Cal. We'll have the next year

or so to really look into that and evaluate what is going to work best.

We really see a great advantage for not just Player Development, but for de-veloping players, American players, which is why we've given it a working name

of the Home of American Tennis, Haggerty said. The USTA is hoping more

than 100,000 people will be using the facility throughout the year.

This will address American tennis broadly from community tennis, Smith

added. Our entire Community Tennis department will move here. We'll be

doing events here, league championships, we'll have a collegiate facility, we'll be

doing all kinds of training here.

About 150 USTA staff positions will be relocated to Lake Nona from the US-

TAs headquarters in White Plains, N.Y., and from Boca Raton. Smith said there

will still be a substantial continuing presence in New York, not just for the

US Open and the National Tennis Center, but for many USTA shared services,

sponsorship and marketing. The USTA corporate headquarters will remain in

New York.



22/68


Future of Tennis


Going Beyond Player DevelopmentVirgil Christian, the USTAs senior director of market/facil-

ity development and collegiate tennis, said the process that

led to this new complex started about three years ago, dis-

cussing ways to find more courts for Player Development,since the Evert facility had limited space with no expansion

possibilities. Then it started to grow, he added. As we

started talking to cities and communities, it became appar-

ent there was more to it than just Player Development.

The USTA did consider other areas for locating the new

facility, but were pulled to Lake Nona, said Smith, by the

combination of government support, University of Central

Florida, the type of development that the Tavistock Group

has hereall those things really set Lake Nona and Orlando

apart from any of the other competitors. In the end, it was a

very easy decision for us.

One attraction is the innovative and collaborative com-

munity being created at Lake Nona by the Tavistock Group.

Lake Nona started as a residential project, but in the last

decade focus has shifted to the pioneering Lake Nona

Medical City, a carefully planned, 650-acre health and life

sciences park. Medical facilities include the UCF Health

Sciences Campus, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research In-

stitute, VA Medical Center, Nemours Childrens Hospital,

and University of Florida Academic & Research Center.

No Limits Tech InfrastructureCurrently, there are about 3,000 occupied homes at Lake

Nona, which covers more than 7,000 acres. Thad Seymour,

senior vice president of Lake Nona/Tavistock Group, said

they expect to have 11,000 homes of all sizes in the next

decade. There will also be a new commercial district, alongwith hotels that will ultimately provide about 2,000 rooms.

Seymour says Tavistock is creating a technology infra-

structure with no limits, including a fiber and wireless

network into every home that will be unmatched in terms

of speed.

It is hoped that the USTA presence in Lake Nona will

serve as an anchor for a world-class sports performance

district, added Seymour, which could expand to more than

100 acres.

Christian said the facility will include not only courts

with blended lines, but standalone 36- and 60-foot courts.

"We do want to see some Pro Circuit events find a home

here, especially some clay events," he said. "We hope toplay national tournaments here, and hope to start some

new events. And we'd love to see folks from other countries

come in and play. I think you'll see a wide variety of events

and players using this facility.

This will be unlike any facility, he added. The stuff

thats going to happen here has never been done before in

terms of technology.

Basically, said Smith, we've been delivering on our

missionwhich is to promote and develop the growth of

tennisfrom a glass office building in Westchester County.

Now we're going to be delivering the mission from Orlando,

Florida, with the finest facility in the country. It will be a

real game-changer.

Breaking Down the Tennis Facility at Lake NonaThe USTA is collaborating with Lake Nona and Tavistock

Group, along with a consortium of regional and state part-

ners. The complex will be located on 63 acres of land and will

include: Tournament and League Area: 24 clay courts and 16 hard

courts, two player pavilions, a tournament administration

office with trainer rooms, a stringer area, player lounge,

public restrooms, and a check-in area.

Collegiate Tennis Area: 12 hard courts and a future tourna-

ment show court. Will serve as the home of the University of

Central Floridas mens and womens varsity tennis program.

The courts will have high-mast lighting for televised events

and elevated seating for 1,200, with room on the ends

for additional seating. The area will allow two collegiate

matches to be played simultaneously. A two-story pavilion

will house concessions, restrooms, locker rooms, and areas

for trainers and officials.

Team USA Area: Eight hard and eight clay courts, to be uti-

lized by the 17 USTA Sections along with coaches and their

players to work collaboratively with USTA Player Develop-

ment.

High Performance and Player Development Area: Eight

hard courts, eight red clay courts and six covered courts for

USTA Player Development. Dormitories can house 32 boys

and girls. The strength and conditioning area will include a

sand and workout area.

36/60-Foot Tennis: Eight 36-foot and eight 60-foot courts

for youth and adults.

USTA Office Building: Ground floor will include a pro shop,

fitness area, locker rooms, player lounge and cafeteria.

USTA offices will be on the second and third floors.

Technology: The USTA says the facility will be an epicenter

for tennis innovation and education, incorporating the lat-

est technology for players, coaches and spectators.

At the announcement of the "new home for American tennis" were (from left)Jim Zboril, Tavistock Development Group, president; Rasesh Thakkar, TavistockGroup, senior managing director; Mayor Buddy Dyer, City of Orlando; GordonSmith, USTA executive director; Florida Gov. Rick Scott; Patrick McEnroe, USTAPlayer Development, general manager; Dave Haggerty, USTA chairman of theboard; John C. Hitt, University of Central Florida president; Mayor Teresa Jacobs,Orange County; and Thad Seymour, Lake Nona, senior vice president.


23/68


24/68

Facility Managers Manual


There our countless manuals and books on how

to properly train employees. In general, most

are helpful, but in the club industry there are afew twists that are often not brought into the

equation in these manuals.

First, and most important, unlike a shopper at a store or a

person attending a restaurant or, for that matter, most of the

service industry, a club member frequents the facility repeat-

edly over a long period of time. In fact, the goal of most clubs

is to encourage this to help create high membership reten-

tion. But as a result of this, members frequently know either

as much as or more about how their club operates than many

of its employees. This creates a dynamic that needs to be

taken into consideration when training your facilitys staff.

Imagine how a restaurant would operate if a diner was

more knowledgeable about the menu than the waiter, or howa sales clerk would react if the customer knew more about the

product, its cost, its supply and how it functioned.

So, lets look at this dynamic and try to understand the im-

pact. If knowledge is power, then in many cases the member,

not the employee, may have the power and, in turn, the influ-

ence. Your training program needs to reverse this dynamic.

Training for InfluenceYou need a training system that creates a method for your em-

ployee to have the knowledge, then the power, and finally an

equal or superior amount of influence. It is with this influence

that your staff can guide the members through their use of the

club. To best understand this, here are few common examples.

A club member has been a long-time client of one of your

teaching pros and has children who are interested in learn-

ing to play tennis. The member asks the front desk person,Who would be best to work with my 5-year-old? The club

has in place a teaching pro who works specifically with kids,

and the staffer begins to make that recommendation, but

then another member overhears this and recommends

another instructor. If you have trained your employee

properly, he or she will not contradict or try to override that

recommendation, but rather say, Yes, theres a lot of great

programs. You should look into several of our programs

and dont forget to ask your teaching pro that you currently

work with. The follow-up would be to leave a message with

the clubs pro who specializes in juniors with a note stating,

Contact within 24 hours. This example illustrates how

properly training your front desk staff about programs al-lows them to better direct the customer, instead of challeng-

ing or misdirecting.

Heres another common occurrence. A member asks about

a rule concerning the court reservation system. For years

they have followed the rules correctly, but noticed that a few

others have been working the system to their advantage.

First, you need to assure that member you will immediately

address this issue and the last thing that should happen

is that the member ends up policing this themselves. It is

important that you present to that member your apprecia-

tion of this information, but at the same time take them

out of the process of resolving the problem. If a staff person

displays a lack of confidence or direction, the member will

ImpactThroughInfluenceWith proper training,youll make sure your staffhas knowledge, powerand influence.By Rod Heckelman


The complete Facility Managers Manual is available for download at the TIA Associate Member level and above.

Visit TennisIndustry.org for more information.


25/68www.tennisindustrymag.com

likely go to a higher authority or try to take care of the

issue themselves. Again, you need to train staff to act withconfidence that comes from their experience. This action

will continue to grow and help them develop their influ-

ence on the members.

A final example: A member is a captain of one of your

teams, and has a problem with one of the participants, so

he comes to your staff for a solution. The best response

will be for your employee to listen and document, but in

this case not to provide solutions. They then assure this

member the issue will be addressed immediately by the

appropriate person. The worst response would be for

your staff to comment on the issue when they do not have

the skills or the insight. If staff tries to provide informa-

tion and it turns out to be incorrect, you may have lost

that members support and, in turn, their positive

influence.

So why the importance of influence, and how is it dif-

ferent from information? Influence, not information, will

coach a member into using the club. Influence guides the

member to spend more money at the club. Finally, it will be

influence, not the re-addressing of the rules, that will help

employees create that quality club that will have a reputa-

tion of being well-run and inviting.

Developing Intuitive SkillsHow do we create this new paradigm in our training

programs? First, you will need to help develop employeesintuitive skills. This is accomplished through four steps.

1. When training, provide the history behind the infor-

mation and why a rule or policy is in place. Most rules

came about for a reason; let that employee know what

those reasons were. Also, explain why the rule is in place,

the practicality of the rule and its fairness. This type of

understanding creates a new learning pattern that will

include the process of deduction and reasoning.

2. Coach staff in understanding the consequence of their

actions. It is from this study and evaluation that they

will also become more skilled at anticipating events. Forexample, if one of your staff is asked to address a conflict

between two members, they should try to think through

what the results of their attempted resolution might en-

tail. Are the two members going to get along? Will both

be satisfied with this resolution? These questions will

help develop the thought that this could happen again,

and actions taken sooner might help in avoiding this

conflict. The hope is that employee will be more preven-

tive and less reactive to issues.

3. All well-run facilities develop a system where the em-

ployee has a sense of responsibility and autonomy in

their decisions. You want both the member and the staff

July 2014 TennisIndustry 23

to realize there is no going over their heads to a higher au-

thority. This policy allows the manager to delegate authorityand responsibility so they have more freedom.

But there is more to this than just setting up a chain of

command. The employee needs to feel their actions have

both direct and indirect influence. If they should have to

provide a response to a member concerning a membership

policy, they would hope such a response would first impact

that person, but would, secondly, send a message to any oth-

er member or staff person that this action had been taken.

This is best accomplished through efficient communication.

How often do you overhear one of your employees address

a member with instructions about a rule or policy and notice

that the member was uncomfortable with that answer? Not

so much with how that information was delivered, but rather

because that answer does not work well for their agenda.

They want to play back-to-back, or want to play only with

better players, or basically, they want their needs met and

are not concerned about what works for everyone. Too often

these interactions are not recorded or reviewed. By keeping

an ongoing journal, or some method of communicating with

the entire staff, the employee can document this event and

be able to influence the entire staff. This constant back and

forth interaction, which would include management, helps

everyone get on the same page.

4. Lastly, good training means giving up control. Training is

ongoing, but not if you are saying the same things over and

over. Continue to broadcast and highlight the successfulevents of your staff, but take it one step further; explain why

they were successful. It is important to review the whys

and what happened when something goes wrong, but it

is equally, if not more important, to review the success of

your staff. For example, one of your employees picks up on

a non-member who is consistently coming into the club as

a guest and violating your guest policy. Its great that they

caught this person, but why did they catch him and what are

the consequences? Have staff learned to be more observant

about usage? Are they better at interacting with those com-

ing into the club? Maybe most important, were they able to

transform that person from a non-member to a member and

receive some financial reward?

This expanded form of training may seem challenging, but

just as you are able to elevate the performance of your employ-

ees, you will find that you also elevate your managerial skills.

This will not only better the quality of how your facility is run

but also increase the value of your management.

Rod Heckelman has been the longtime general manager of Mt.

Tam Racquet Club in Larkspur, Calif. His Facility Managers

Manual is available digitally through the TIA at TennisIndustry.

org. He recently added another manual, The Tennis Pros Busi-

ness Handbook.


26/68

Footwear


While pretty much everyone knowsnot to judge a book by its cover, too

few apply that knowledge when theypurchase tennis shoes. Its as if they

live in a fantasy land where the shoes

they slip on in the store will feel and respond the same after

hoursnot to mention monthsof having ounces of foam andrubber stood on, jumped on and slid on by pounds of player.

Among those with a mission to change minds and improve

the situation for feet is Dr. Allan Grossman, a board-certified

podiatric surgeon in Pennsylvania whose residency was at

Harvard Medical Center. Grossman has solid on-court cre-dentials: Hes a former ranked junior player, a current USPTA

pro, and a tennis coach at Franklin & Marshall.

Overgeneralized, Grossmans reasoning is that feet need

bolstering in their role as the foundation for the body in termsof the stresses during play on ankles, knees, back, etc., as wellas for the footwork necessary to hit effective groundstrokes.

The physicality of the game has totally changed over last

10 years and shoes, interestingly, have

not really changed, he says. Having

tested playing tennis in running shoesand found them much more stable

for tennis than he had expectedbut

not nearly durable enoughGross-

man centers much of his critique on

how running-shoe manufacturers

addressed that sports concerns (andadmittedly much larger market) to a

greater degree than is done for tennis.

He also calls out the design and construction for the inter-

nal cushioning and support in shoes, which is mostly based

on findings from force-plate testing and impressionisticreporting by testers. (Force-plate testing measures pressure

exerted on the sole when someone walks or runs over a flat,

metal surface.)

Both force-plate testing and impressionistic reporting can

offer insights, but, as Grossman sees it, should not take theplace of analysis of the foot biomechanics taking place inside

the shoe during actual play. The mantra for his practice and

teachingat his base at the Harrisburg (Pa.) Foot and Ankle

Center, on USTA committees, as an industry consultant, and

university professoris always, evidence-based medicine iswhat really needs to happen.

Of particular interest was research he did that involved

applying a sheet of sensors to a foot and pressure-mapping(tracking the changes in how a foot stresses) during simu-

lated play. Not surprisingly, there was a great disparitybetween computer-based testing and what testers say

they experience. [Video of a rep-

resentative sample of the testing

can be seen at www.youtube.com/

watch?v=ro1zup6pRTQ]

While everyone is aware tennisrequires the foot to move in a greater

variety of ways in generalstresses

multiplied when considering the

challenges of different surfaces and

innovations such as the increase ofsliding on hard courtsmost shoes

StressRelief?A podiatric surgeon andtennis professional says for

performance and protection,players and manufacturers needto change priorities when itcomes to tennis shoes.By Kent Oswald



27/68www.tennisindustrymag.com

seem to be created with priorities of,

first fashion, then outsole durabil-ity and weight, and, finally, internal

comfort.

Issues that are not being addressed,

according to Grossman, include

feedback from players without hear-ing from any who spend months in

the shoes, as do most wearers. He also

questions how often people receive

proper fittings or are offered shoes

with flex points that adequately fittheir play.

Most of all, because there is not

enough testing with in-shoe sensors,

Grossman fears the internal work-

ings are designed and developed

without regard to how players willput unexpected stress first on their

shoes, and then injurious stresses on

their feet. Even more, they might not

have the opportunity to even try on

the shoe that is right for their body

July 2014 TennisIndustry 25

and playing style given the smallish

selection at most retailers. That shoesizes are not true across brands and

there are no industry-wide accepted

measurements for shock absorption

and support adds to the complexity of

making sure the shoe fits.He insists there are good shoes

available and adamant that he is not

anti-manufacturer. But, Were

focused on the racquet and string,

Grossman says, and not on address-ing footwork, the most important part

of game.

People need to know that there is

more to [their health and game] than

walking into a store, trying some-

thing on and saying, This looks like agood shoe. Forces and stresses lead

to injuries and manufacturers need

to understand the mechanics of the

game. Right now, all I want to do is

raise questions.

Selling the Right ShoesDr. Allan Grossman says tennis retail sales

staff needs to be trained properly. While

for decades, fashion has been a priority

among tennis shoe buyers, there are other

considerations. A few issues retail staff

should know about when dealing with

customers:

Feet have slightly different shapes whensitting and standing.

If a customers second toe is longer thanthe big toe, check fit using the second

toe.

Most people have one foot thats largerthan the other; make sure you fit the

larger foot.Encourage a customer to try on the

shoes and move in a way similar to how

theyd react on a tennis court.

Try to make sure flex points in the shoeadequately fit with a persons style of

play.


28/68

Racquet Stringing


With more than a thousand stringsavailable, it can be a daunting task tochoose a good selection to stock foryour business. You want to have theright product to be able to help yourcustomers choose the string that will maximize their perfor-

mance on the court. To make sure you provide your custom-

ers with a great selection, our checklist can help.

As a minimum, offer at least two choices from each ofthese categories: Natural Gut, Multifilament Synthetics,

Basic Synthetics and Co-Poly.

Tailor your inventory to meet the needs of you clients.

If the majority of your clients are hard-hitting juniors,

skew your inventory to offer more strings to meet their

needs.

Assess the diversity of your inventory. If you have three

strings that are basically the same, consider getting rid

of two and adding two new ones that will increase your

variety.

Stock enough of each string to ensure that you are never

out of stock.

For USRSA members, use the String Selector Map Tool

on racquettech.com to ensure you have a wide variety of

strings. The map will help you choose a good variety of

power and control, as well as stiffness and tension loss.

Offer a wide variety of string gauges. While a 16-gauge

may cover the majority, there are those who prefer a

thinner string. With the prevalence of open string pat-

terns in spin racquets, youll also want to include some

thicker strings as well.

Offer a wide variety of price points. You never want price

to be the determining factor in making a sale, but you

also dont want to miss sales by not having a range of

prices to choose from.

Offer your entire inventory for

hybrid set-ups instead of just

packaged hybrids. Offering to

sell any string in your inven-

tory in half-sets increases yourstring selection exponentially.

Just save the remaining half

set for the next customer. Keep

small zip ties handy to recoil

the remaining half and store it

away.

Listen to your customers and

try to stock what they want.

If colors are a frequent re-

quest, then choose some basic

synthetics to stock in multiple

colors.

If a customer requests a string

you dont have in stock, use the

String Selector Tool on rac-

quettech.com to see if you have

a string in your inventory with

very similar specs. If not, then

special order. Take note of such requests and consider

adding to your inventory if there is sufficient demand.

StringChecklistTo make sure your stringselection covers all of yourcustomers needs, use ourchecklist, and tools at

racquettech.com.By Bob Patterson

Not a USRSA member? Then youre missing out on important

tools and resources that can help your business. Join now at

racquettech.com.

How to IncreaseYour Stringing BizWant to increase a

customers stringing

frequency? Institute a

string-bed monitoring

system.

Checking string bed

deflection or dynamic

tension and recording it

after each string job will

allow you to show the

customer the tension

loss and resulting energy

loss from the strings

over time and use. When

you show them the

numbers, it is easy

to convince them to re-

string when it is needed,

rather than waiting for a

predetermined restring

dateor for the string to

break.


29/68


30/68

2014 Guide to Ball Machines


Tennis experts are always offering opinionsabout whats wrong with American tennis. But

its simple: The Tennis IQ of the American

player is much less than what it could and

should be.

Tennis IQ includes a players ability to understand andarticulate technical and tactical solutions given a shot or

situation during a match, mental solutions, and equipment

knowledge.

Lets look at a typical tennis lesson in the U.S. Whether a

player is a beginner or advanced, most of the lesson is taught

with the pro standing at the net feeding balls. This eliminates

the players ability to have solid decision-making capabilitiesor to have different shots in his arsenal. Players continue to

perfect that one groundstroke, which is just one of many dif-

ferent shots a player will get during just one point of a game.

Over the years, Ive asked coaches and teaching pros, Whydo you feed from the net? I have never received an answer

with any merit. They typically say, Habit, or, Its easier, or,

Its how I was taught, etc. This has led to a culture where

tennis is now taught in a closed skill (non-decision-making)

mode. But in a match, a player needs to play in an open skill(decision-making) mode.

This culture has also caused teaching pros to focus their

lessons on one ball, micromanaging the low-to-high ground-

stroke, which has limited teaching pros knowledge of andability to teach and demonstrate the rest of the shots required.

As I travel around the country, I ask tennis players whoare also golfers: As a golfer, what would you do if your ball

were 150 yards from the hole? The golfers response usually

begins based on his skill and power as he first names his club

of choice for that distance. But then he says, Ultimately my

club would depend on if I am in the rough or fairway, windconditions, if the pin placement on the green was up or back,

if there were hazards nearby, if the ball was above or below my

feet, etc.

Then, on the court, I feed a high approach shot out of a ball

machine and ask what he would do with this ball, and whathis shot would look like technically. The player almost always

responds with something generic regarding where he would

hit the ball, i.e. to the opponents backhand, and in most cases

he has no idea how a high approach is played technically asopposed to his groundstroke.

Note that practice habits for golf and tennis are quite

different. The golfer spends hours on the range, whether it is

warming up or improving a weak area of his game. That same

player in tennis rarely if ever just goes out and hits or uses aball machine (the tennis players range) to improve weak

areas. With tennis, the practice habit is almost always some

sort of match play or a lesson. Golfers practice what they

dont do well; tennis players rarely practice at all.

Next, it is said that players just need to play more and drillless. Players play for 20-plus years and still do not know how

to play a high approach as opposed to a low approach or a

moonball. Is playing more going to help that? To be com-

petitive, players have to learn the shots, and then game play

would help them to hit different shots

and construct points.But today, there is a lot of technol-

ogy available to assist us in improving a

players Tennis IQ. The problem is, tools

such as ball machines, video, apps, and

racquet diagnostic equipment (to helpplayers understand their equipment)

are rarely used. The state of U.S. tennisdepends on our ability to change the culture of simply feeding

from the net. Lets use more technology to do that feeding.

Changing this culture will give players a better understand-ing of different shots, allow us to demonstrate shots and strat-

egies more effectively, and ultimately improve the Tennis IQ

of American players.

Smarten Up!Push your players to practice witha ball machine to help boost theirTennis IQ.By Stan Oley

Stan Oley, a member of the USPTA, PTR and Cardio Tennis Global

Speakers Team, has been working with and teaching with ball

machines for 23 years. He is a product marketing specialist for

Playmate Ball Machines and founder of FBT60 (Fit By Tennis in 60

Days), a tennis/fitness program combining nutrition and a series

of ball machine drills. He is sponsored by Adidas and Babolat.

For all the latest ball

machines and all their

specifications and fea-

tures, see our exclusive

Guide to Ball Machines

starting on page 30.



31/68


32/68

www.tennisindustrymag.com30 TennisIndustry July 2014

Lobster Sports 800-526-4041 www.lobstersports.com

Elite Freedom $799 2 21 x 14 x 20 150 36 X 2-12 70 X X X

Elite Liberty $899 2 21 x 14 x 20 150 38 X 2-12 80 X X X X

Elite Model 1 $1,089 2 21 x 14 x 20 150 40 X 2-12 80 X X X X



Elite Grand IV $1,899 2 21 x 14 x 20 150 44 X 2-9 80 X X X X

Elite Grand V $2,199 2 21 x 14 x 20 150 44 X 2-9 80 X X X X X 6 6

Elite Grand V Limited Edition $2,499 2 21 x 14 x 20 150 44 X 2-9 80 X X X X X 6 6

Phenom $2,999 2 32 x 25 x 50 250 99 X 2-9 90 X X X X

Phenom 2 $3,499 2 32 x 25 x 50 250 99 X 2-9 90 X X X X X 6 6

Match Mate 800-837-1002 www.matchmatetennis.com

Rookie $449 2a 11 x 11 x 22 70 22 X 2-10 35 X Topspin X

Quickstart $558 2a 12.5 x 12.5 x 28 80 29 X 2-10 30 X X

iSAM Value $759 2a 19 x 17.5 x 18 250 34 X 2-8 65 X X X

iSam Extend $799 2a 19 x 17.5 x 18 250 39 X 2-8 65 X X X

iSam Ultimate $999 2a 19 x 17.5 x 18 250 39 X 2-8 65 X X X

SAM P1 Value $1,099 2a 19.5 x 16 x 21.5 300 48 X 2-8 85 X X X X X

Sam P1 Pro $1,199 2a 19.5 x 16 x 21.5 300 48 X 2-8 85 X X X X X

Sam P1 Ultimate $1,299 2a 19.5 x 16 x 21.5 300 48 X 2-8 85 X X X X X

Sam P 4 Trainer $1,599 2a 19.5 x 16 x 21.5 300 48 X 2-8 85 X X X X X X

Sam P 4 Pro Trainer $1,799 2a 19.5 x 16 x 21.5 300 48 X 2-8 85 X X X X X X

Sam P 4 Ultimate $1,899 2a 19.5 x 16 x 21.5 300 48 X 85 X X X X X X

Sam Coach $3,999 3 35 x 25 x 50 250 87 X 1.5-8 95 X X X X X X 7 7

Playmate 800-766-6770 www.playmatetennis.com

Half Volley $1,430 2 Ltd 19 x 21 x 25 200 42 X 1-10 70 X X X X

Volley $1,990 2 Ltd 19 x 21 x 25 200 46 X 1-10 70 X X X X X 2

Ace $3,850 3 Ltd 35 x 21 x 38 200 85 X 1-10 90 X X X X 3

Smash $4,845 3 Ltd 35 x 21 x 38 300 85 X 1-10 90 X X X X X 7

Deuce $5,730 3 Ltd 35 x 21 x 38 300 85 X 1-10 90 X X X X X 7

Genie $6,610 3 Ltd 35 x 21 x 38 300 85 X 1-10 90 X X X X X 7

Smash w/ iPlaymate Tennis $5,840 3 Ltd 35 x 21 x 38 300 85 X 1-10 90 X X X X X 8 INFINITE

The Slam $8,260 3 Ltd 35 x 21 x 38 300 110 X 1-10 120 X X X X X X 7

Robot Optimizer 888-8BOOMER www.playmatetennis.com

Boomer (with Camera) $14,4504 2 38.5 x 31 x 21.5 300 124 X 0.8-10 100 X X X X X 30 1000

Boomer (without Camera) $12,450e 2 38.5 x 31 x 21.5 300 124 X 0.8-10 100 X X X X X 30 1000

Silent Partner 800-662-1809 www.sptennis.com

Lite (Edge Series) $799 2 24 x 22 x 16 200 35 X 1.5-10 95 X X X X

Lite-R (Edge Series) $949 2 24 x 22 x 16 200 35 X 1.5-11 95 X X X X

Sport (Edge Series) $949 2 24 x 22 x 16 200 46 X 1.5-10 95 X X X X

Star (Edge Series) $1,099 2 24 x 22 x 16 200 46 X 1.5-10 95 X X X X

Rival (Scoop Series) $1,399 2 28 x 22 x 18 300 48 X 1.5-10 95 X X X X 3

Quest (Scoop Series) $1,799 2 28 x 22 x 18 300 48 X 1.5-10 95 X X X X X 2 3

Smart (Scoop Series) $2,299 2 28 x 22 x 18 300 48 X 1.5-10 95 X X X X X 20 3

Spinfire 888-976-6532 www.mambatennis.com

Pro 1 $1,599 2 26 x 20 x 20 200 48 X 2-15 80 X X X X

Pro 2 $1,899 2 26 x 20 x 20 200 48 X 2-15 80 X X X X

Sports Attack 800-717-4251 www.sportsattack.comAce Attack $5,999 1 34 x 53 220 150 X 1.5-12 110 X X X X X 4

Ball Machines on the Market

Model Price Warranty Dimensions

(MSRP) (years) (Storage Inches)

2014 Guide to Ball Machines

a1 year battery

b2-4 Hours of Court Time

c4-8 Hours of Court Time

dor $600/month

eor $300/month

BallC

apacity

Wei

ght(

Lbs.)

Propulsion

Spin

ning

Whe

el

AirP

ress

ure

Fee

ding

Inte

rval

s

(se

cond

s)

TopSp

eed(M

PH)

Ele

vatio

nCo

ntrol

(Ele

ctric)

Ele

vatio

nCo

ntrol

(M

anua

l)

Ab

leto

Feed

Lobs

Abl

eto

Feed

Tops

pin&

Und

erspin

A

bleto

Feed

Side

spin

Oscillatio

n

No

Oscill

atio

n

Os

cilla

tion

-Ran

dom

Os

cilla

tion

-Pro

gram

able

#o

fsho

tsin

prog

ram

#

ofpr

ogra

mstha

tcan

be

stor

ed

1 - Fast Charger $99

2 - Horizontal Oscillation

3 - Horizontal Oscillation + Spin Control

4 - Triple-Oscillation (Horizontal + Vertical Oscillation)

5 - Triple-Oscillation + 2-Line Narrow, Wide

6 - 6 Pre-Programmed Court Drills (6 ball sequence per drill)

7 - 3 Position Settings of 2-Line (Narrow, Medium, Wide).

8 - 12 Pre-Programmed Court Drills + 6 Custom Programmable Court

Drills + 2-Line Narrow, Medium, Wide

9 - 12 Pre-Programmed Court Drills + 6 Custom Programmable Court Drills +

18 locations to choose from + 2-Line Narrow, Medium, Wide

10 - iPhone/Android Remote Control compatible

11 - Great for youth and beginners to work on dealing with topspin

12 - Especially designed for 10 and Under tennis

13 - Extra Heavy Duty Battery $35, 110/220 Volt AC converter $135, Wireless Remote

$100. Water Resistant Cloth Storage Cover $68

14 - Comes standard with 2 8-amp 12-volt batteries

15 - Lob Enhancer $30,110/220 Volt AC Converter $135, Water-Resistant Storage

Cover $68, adjustable oscillation width

16 - Ships via LTL Freight, Feeds Balls from 30" above ground

17 - Oscillation Upgrade $225, Remote Control Upgrade $310

18 - Additional Non-Memory Battery Upgrade $166.95


33/68

www.tennisindustrymag.com July 2014 TennisIndustry 31

$119 X 8.5b X X $49 X 1, 2

$119 X 8.5b X X $169 X X $49 X 1, 3

$119 X 18c X X $169 X X $49 X 1, 3

X X $119 X 18c X X $169 X

201407 tennis industry magazine

Documents