FUTURE CHAMPIONS FOUNDATIONS FOUNDER ADAM JASICK WRITES ON LINKEDIN:

Future Champions Foundation was founded with the single focus of creating opportunities to lead impactful lives in their communities.

Our first major project is the construction of a Primary School in the village of Bogaré in northern Togo, West Africa.

ADAM JASICK NAMED 2019 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) presented its annual awards this week during the PTR International Tennis Symposium. The event, which includes more than 40 educational presentations for tennis coaches, was held February 11-15, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Adam Jasick, of Palm Desert, California, has been named PTR Volunteer of the Year. Jasick is the Director of Tennis at Onteora Club in Tannersville, New York, and Head Tennis Professional at The Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert.100

As a PTR Clinician, Adam has delivered the Level 1 Certification courses since 2003. He has spent more than a decade consulting for many organizations on 10 & Under Tennis programing and player development. He has presented content for the ITF, Chinese Tennis Association, USTA, TIA, USPTA and PTR, as well as many others in Asia, Central America, Caribbean and Europe. Not only has he been a presenter at the PTR International Tennis Symposium, PTR Asia Symposium, ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference and other national and regional conferences, he is also the host of the PTR/WTCA Indian Wells Coaches Summit.

Before his current roles, Jasick founded the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Junior Academy, worked as a Department Manager for the BNP Paribas Open, as well as served as the Executive Director of the NJTL of The Coachella Valley. He also did stints as Director of Tennis at clubs in Michigan and New York. Jasick proudly started his career at Van der Meer Tennis Academy. He was honored when he was awarded the PTR Michigan Member of the Year in 2005. A member of the Wilson National Speakers Bureau, Jasick has been a TIA Global Master Trainer and a graduate of the USTA High Performance Coaches Program, Jasick has enjoyed sharing the game with coaches all over the world.

PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals with more than 16,500 members in 125 countries. It has the greatest percentage of multicultural and women members of any such organization. PTR is dedicated to educating, certifying and serving tennis teachers and coaches around the world in order to grow the game.

QUESTIONS FOR ADAM JASICK

TCB: Adam, where were you born?
AJ: Whitehall, Michigan (1/2 way up the western Michigan lakeshore…the most beautiful place in the country!)

TCB: How old were you when you started playing tennis and who got you into it?
AJ: I started playing at about 11 years old, it was a community program at my local high school courts taught by a high school english teacher.

TCB: After playing High School and College tennis in Michigan, what did you do?
AJ: Once done playing tennis in college, I went to Van Der Meer Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, SC. It was absolutely the best decision that I could have made. Working for Dennis and Pat gave me the opportunity to learn many aspects of the industry.

TCB: When did you decide to teach tennis?
AJ: I started working for my coach as a junior at the high school courts when I was 14, assisting with classes for the younger kids. I started working at the local indoor club at 15 years old and made the decision that tennis was going to be my life's work.

TCB: When did you join the PTR and why?
AJ: I came to PTR as a Van Der Meer Academy coach, when I left the academy to take a commercial job I started as a clinician with the PTR.

TCB: What made you move from the California desert to upstate New York?
I have been working winters in the California desert for the past 6 years. The past 3 years I started as the Director of Tennis at Onteora Club in Catskill Park, NY. The two clubs have seasonal tennis programming that fit together perfectly.

TCB: How do you like working at Onteora?
AJ: I absolutely love the Onteora experience, it is an 1887 established club with 80 member cottages. It is a wonderful family club that embraces the mountain experience.

TCB: Are you teaching pickleball at Onteora?
AJ: No pickleball at Onteora, we don't have any hard surfaces at the club: red clay courts, dirt roads, lake and beach… We are working on how and where we might be able to incorporate pickleball into the offerings at the club.

TCB: Why did you decide on the Togo school project for the Future Champions Foundation?
AJ: It was the other way around…I was delivering a workshop that a coach from Togo (that now lives in the USA) attended. After the workshop she emailed me to see if I had any equipment that I would be willing to donate. I sent her everything I had in my garage and when she called to say thank you, I asked if there was a next level of support that I could provide…maybe building courts. She replied with "if you build tennis courts there, they will put a building on them. If you want to make an impact you build a school." This was the catalyst for many conversations that resulted in my first visit to Togo. Once I visited the village and fell in love with the people, the decision to go forward with building the school was made. The Future Champions Foundation was formed with this project in mind.

TCB: What is the timeline until completion of the project?
AJ: We are building as we raise money, we are about 1/3 of the way through the project at this point. The current fundraising pace, we should be looking at completion during next summer and open for the 2020-2021 school year (their school year is the same as it is here in the USA).

TCB: How can other tennis professionals and clubs help you with this particular project?
AJ: ABSOLUTELY! We have had a great response from my network of coaches and clubs that are helping with fundraising in many different ways: holding a fundraiser, creating a new event to benefit charity (and selecting ours), turning a current event on their calendar into a benefit where the money raised is donated. We are always looking for partner clubs and organizations that are interested in supporting our mission! The best part of Future Champions Foundation is that 94% of all money donated goes to support our mission.

TCB: How did you find/select your Board of Directors and the Togo Project manager?
AJ: Our initial board is a group of my close friends, each with a specific skill set that benefits the foundation's mission. We have a CPA, a VP of Food Sales and a Journalist/Media Professional. We are currently adding a well known PR professional to the board and undergoing a Board of Directors expansion.

TCB: Are you planning to start a tennis program at the Togo school?
AJ: When the 5 clay courts at Onteora Club were redone last year, I collected the old lines and nails. We have shipped these lines and will be using them to form a soccer field and two small tennis courts in the negative space that the school, bathrooms and commissary will create. The sporting space will also be used for civic gathering space among other purposes.

TCB: What are your plans once Togo is completed?
AJ: Togo won't ever be really completed as we are focused on sustaining the school in perpetuity. We are taking an "adopt a village" approach and will work on a commissary then planning secondary education, likely in the form of a trade school.

TCB: What is your tennis racquet/pickleball paddle of choice?
AJ: Wilson has been an amazing partner for many years and has supported this project by donating equipment and offering auction items. I have played with the Blade Series of frames for the past 10-12 years and now play with the Clash 98!

TCB: Thank you, Adam Jasick.