NOVEMBER 2019 ARE SOME COACHES BECOMING COMPLACENT? Mt. Tam Racquet Club

THIS ISSUE Publisher's Notes - Letters - Facility of the Month - Organization of the Month - Male Pro of the Month Female Pro of the Month - Spotlight Pickleball - Suzanna McGee Fitness - Marsha Friedman PR Trending - Rod Heckelman - Javier Palenque - Roger Stenquist - Rich Neher Feature - Gary Horvath Chris Hagman - Joshua Jacobs - Where Are They Now?

ROD HECKELMAN Rod Heckelman’s career started in 1966 when he began his five-year role as a teacher at John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley, California Later he opened as the resident pro for Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch on Camelback in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1976 he took over as head pro/tennis director at the Mt. Tam Racquet Club in Larkspur, California, and added the title and responsibilities of general manager in 1982. In 2010 he was awarded “Manager of the Year” for the USPTA NorCal Division and the “Manager of the Year” at the USPTA World Conference. He has written several books including, “Down Your Alley” in 1993, “Playing Into the Sunset” in 2013 and most recently, “250 Ways to Play Tennis.” He also produced the “Facility Manager’s Manual” and the “Business Handbook for Tennis Pros,” which is distributed by the TIA.

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Here is the heart of the question when we talk about growing the game…who has the most influence and impact? Is it the associations, the retail industry, the teaching organizations, or possibly the pro tour? It’s most likely a combination of all of them, but if you want to put your money on who has the highest percentage, go with the teaching and coaching organizations. The reason is simple, you need to remember that the teaching or coaching community includes the parents. No group of people has more influence on bringing tennis players into the game than the parents. In fact, it’s safe to say, that most of those who got into tennis were introduced to the sport by their parents.

The parents are also quite frequently the driving force behind the very successful and accomplished juniors. Ambition and goals are primary motivators. They often see tennis as a gateway to a better life via income or recognition. All this is great and gets the headlines, but what we have also learned is that when we talk about growing the game, we need to focus on the bigger market. That market is made up of parents that are not looking at their children as future stars or aspiring champions, but rather they see the game of tennis as a wonderful new discipline that helps in developing strong learning skills and a healthy lifestyle. The ability to master any sport, a musical instrument or even a language, are all great assets for any young person to acquire, tennis just happens to be one that is very accessible and most communities available.

So how does this journey start for any parent? First, often they are already familiar with the game and have a passion for the sport. They may also be near a facility that can provide the venue for learning, court time and possible playing partners. But most parents need to find a gateway…a coach, a location and a program that will open doors and possibilities. This is where it gets tricky, and this is what the coaching industry and organizations need to examine.

Associations such as the USTA, USPTA, ITF and PTR, are all providing the tools for most coaches to develop such a gateway, but what they don’t realize or fully understand is that many established coaches are doing just fine financially, and quite frankly, lack the motivation and need to expand their business and bring new people into the game. On top of that, as the industry has contracted, fewer younger people are looking at coaching tennis as profitable employment. The result is that the coaching community has aged, and more and more coaches have unfortunately become somewhat complacent. It’s just natural that with comfort comes complacency. Any lecture or motivational talk about giving back to the game will fall short. Paying forward…not likely. This observation is not meant to be a knock on tennis teachers, so much as it is an understanding of the natural course that takes place when goals are met, income is established, and the working standards are not challenged. It could even be said, that reaching such a level is a measurement of success and accomplishment in any profession.

The solution may be with a combination of changes. First, we need to work with the new pros that are getting into the game, second, reward publicly those established coaches when they take part in recruiting new players, and third, establish a new relationship between the larger organizations and those working at ground level.

New coaches coming into the game need to be trained to understand the rewards of giving to get. The NextGen program is a great tool to work with and capitalize on. The idea that a junior does not have to pay to get into the program opens the door for these pros to match that policy and provide a free introduction into instruction or programs. This open-door policy will almost always segue into a financially rewarding effort. New pros should have a personal goal of bringing a new player into the game at least once a week. For this to happen, the new student needs to be introduced to the methods of acquiring court time, finding partners and being hooked up with events or programs…none of which often provide an income for the pro, but is crucial in both developing a clientele and growing the game. Again, they must learn to give to get.

To encourage the seasoned pros who are doing just fine, we need to reevaluate our reward system. At this time, the pros that do well are recognized by the associations, which is great, but does little to motivate them in their community. If you were to ask the common tennis enthusiast who are the great coaches of tennis, they would give you a shortlist of those who are in the public eye. We simply do not reward many of the unknown coaches who have a great history in growing the game. We need to enhance their image by building their local profile. Giving them recognition in the general public and not just the associations is missing the mark. The USTA, USPTA, and PTR should all invest more programs that would help in this task. Organizations should be sending these coaches more plaques or visual rewards they could post. There should be updates sent out, and recognition for the accomplishments they have made and the impact they have had. If only the general public, and for that matter, many of those in the governing organizations, knew how much important work went into the early stages of developing players, it would change the attitude of many of these established coaches. Sometimes rewarding the ego can have more impact than any other form of recognition.

Lastly, we need to connect the dots with all the organizations and all the teachers, coaches and parents. They should not have to be a member to access the database of these organizations. If we truly want to grow the game, access to all the data needs to have an open-door policy and a method of sharing. We talk a great deal about becoming inclusive instead of exclusive to the customers, can’t that policy also be true of the organizations in tennis? Do most pros feel they have a say or input? Maybe more important, do most pros even know how to have a say or input? They are out on the court every day making sure that their students are being taken care of and helping their students navigate the sport. Wouldn’t it be great if through a single call or email they could access programs in tennis that would help them with that task of helping their students get involved with recreational events, fun tennis gatherings, community tennis socials? And if you hear that these organizations have this access in place, then ask this question…why does almost every community in this country have some local individual or small group that has found and capitalized on helping teachers find students or students find teachers, not to mention the numerous websites that have been developed to help find players find partners or get involved with tennis programs. Seems to me that the organizations that run tennis in this country should be taking a queue from this and realize that their methods are either missing or ineffective.