Growing Tennis Newsletter Archives
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Oct 9: High Performance QuickStart Workshop- Jacksonville, FL
Oct 13-16: NRPA Expo- Salt Lake City
Oct 22-23: USPTA Southwest Division Convention- Scottsdale, AZ
Dec 5-7: ASBA Technical Conference- Savannah, GA
Dec 16-19: ITA Convention- Naples, FL

Check Out the On The Road 2009 Schedule to make sure you don't miss out on other important tennis events.

Official Sites To Date:
Tennis Welcome Centers: 2,651
Cardio Tennis: 1,726
QuickStart Tennis: 1,300

US Open Breaks Records
The 2009 US Open was experienced by more fans on-site, on television and online than ever before. Event attendance hit an all-time high, website traffic far surpassed last year’s records, and total television viewership was up.
A new all-time attendance record of 721,059 fans topped last year’s record of 720,227. The US Open remains the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world. Click Here to Read More

New Facility Manager Section Added To The GrowingTennis™ System

You can now sharpen your tennis facility management skills via www.GrowingTennis.com/Resources .  A Facilities Manager’s Manual is now the cornerstone of the new Facility Manager section under Tools & Resources.  It is complete with a searchable table of contents.  The comprehensive manual is a result of the selfless efforts of Rod Heckelman who was interested in sharing his vast knowledge of tennis management experience.  Rod has been a regular guest speaker at several USPTA Conferences and written several tennis management articles for RSI and the USPTA publication, ADDvantage.  This section will be a work in progress intended to make available to tennis facilities the most current tennis facility management information.

Cardio Tennis Players of the Month:
Ned Manning & Armistead Mauck

Make CT a Favorite Family Pastime
“Whoever is in the house an hour before Cardio Tennis class starts will be coming along with these men to burn some calories,” says Troy Robinson, director of tennis at Kinston Country Club in North Carolina. “There are very few things out there that a husband can involve his wife, daughters, daughter’s boyfriend, and his kids' friends from school all at the same time. But Cardio Tennis is one of them and both of these men use it as a family bonding activity.” Click Here to read the whole story.

CT Tips Featuring Cardio Tennis National Speaker Carmen Garcia, Director of Tennis at Seven Oaks - Alpharetta, GA
Q: What is your most helpful tip for conducting a Cardio Tennis class?
A: Have fun! And think outside the box. Figure out what your clients want when they come to Cardio. Do they like more play-based rather than drill based, etc. You might not please everyone but if the majority is happy with the class, then the rest of the clients will adjust to your style and how the class flows.  
Q: What tip would you give to a club that is struggling to start up a Cardio Tennis program?
A: Don't run it just like any other program. Especially, when you are starting the program, think big! Not only put up a flyer and send an e-mail out, talk it up with your private lessons and your groups. If the pro is energetic about the program, the energy will be contagious. Maybe offer a “try it for free” period and ask for feedback. Recruit the people that you think will be the best clients for the CT program and take it from there. Every club is different and sometimes, it takes a few weeks to figure out what time and days work. When you are a Cardio site, you also have so many resources to choose from… from the marketing of the program to access to all of the National Cardio Tennis speakers—so use them!  
Click Here to read the rest of the interview with Carmen Garcia

Please contact Michele Krause at Michele@CardioTennis.com if you are interested in having private Cardio Tennis facility training at your site.

List Your Retail Information on the Web… With this FREE service from the Tennis Industry!
Make sure customers can find you and your retail information—all searchable on consumer websites.
It’s quick and easy. Check out www.PlayTennis.com/Search.

TIA Tennis Forum Reviews Industry, Sets Path for Future
Click Here for press release

Forum attendees listen about the new trends in the industry. TIA Photo/Fred Mullane

The third annual TIA Tennis Forum, presented by Tennis Magazine, took place in New York City during the US Open and brought together industry leaders and many others interested in the future of the tennis industry. The audience heard about the state of the industry, various TIA and Growing Tennis initiatives, and plans for moving the sport and industry forward.

TIA President Jon Muir speaks at the forum. TIA Photo/Fred Mullane

TIA President Jon Muir said that while the Tennis Health Index (a composite of five key measures) shows that the health of the sport has increased 18.1 percent in the U.S. over the last five years, the sport is still facing many economic challenges. “The general feeling is that we kind of bottomed out in the third quarter [2009] in terms of racquet shipments,” he said. “Are consumers essentially delaying certain discretionary purchases? Yes.”
Click Here to read the full story on the forum
Click Here to download the forum presentation

Alan Schwartz Inducted Into 2009 Tennis Industry Hall of Fame

Alan Schwartz accepts his award at ceremony in New York. TIA Photo/Fred Mullane

Alan G. Schwartz of Highland Park, Ill., was honored on Sept. 1 as the sole 2009 inductee of the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at the annual Tennis Industry Association (TIA) Tennis Forum held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

In 1969, Schwartz built Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago, where he pioneered the four-inch baseline, indirect court lighting and cushioned playing surfaces. He also co-created the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP), the sport’s standard for rating players. Since that time, Midtown has become the anchor club for Schwartz’s 45-club Tennis Corporation of American (TCA). Between 1996 and 2000, TCA administered – pro bono – all programs on Chicago’s 680 public parks courts.

Now chairman of TCA Holdings, Schwartz has served as an officer and director of the Chicago District Tennis Association and Chicago Tennis Patrons for 20 years. His most visible achievement, however, has been his volunteer service with the USTA. In fact, according to Schwartz, it was 15 years ago that he and the late Tennis Week publisher Gene Scott “kicked up a lot of dust” as the first industry representatives to join the USTA Board of Directors. During that first year, Schwartz created the organization’s mission statement: “To promote and develop the growth of tennis.” Click Here to Read the Full Story

Midland, MI Wins America's Best Tennis Town
A Town That Swept the Nation
If you had asked tennis players in Midland, MI, six months ago if they thought their town would win $100,000 from the USTA by being named America’s Best Tennis Town, the answer would have been “Yes!”

“We definitely knew we had a chance at winning because of our 35-year-old community tennis center which is also an established USTA CTA,” says Mike Woody, executive director of the CTA. “The CTA was definitely the catalyst and motivator to enter this contest, but it took the community’s support to make it happen.” Click Here to read the whole story on Midland's road to winning America's Best Tennis Town

Cardio Tennis News Cardio Tennis Continues to Boom in the UK Cardio Tennis is not only growing across the US but also continues to expand in the UK. More than 400 tennis coaches across Great Britian have now attended a Cardio Tennis workshop and the publicity the program is receiving is huge! Check out these great articles featured in British Tennis Magazines. TennisHead.net LTA Cardio Tennis Welcomes A New Speaker to the National Speakers Team David Brouwer of Grand Rapids, MI joined the National Cardio Tennis Speakers Team this month and will help conduct workshops and promote Cardio Tennis throughout the country. Brouwer is the Director of Tennis for Saint Mary's Health Management Company where he oversees the tennis programming at three facilities with 20 indoor and 24 outdoor courts. David's clubs were pioneers in the development of the Quickstart format and were one of only six clubs nationally to pilot this program before the USTA rolled it out across the nation. All three clubs are official Cardio Tennis sites as well. Second Annual "Ojakian Tennis Celebrity Pro-Am to End MS" to feature Cardio Tennis Ojakian Tennis will host celebrities Tracy Austin and Matthew Perry, professional tennis players and tennis enthusiasts from around the country on Saturday, November 14 at the Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates, CA. Don't miss out on this exciting event which begins with junior and adult tennis clinics, including several courts of Cardio Tennis, followed by the official Celebrity Pro-Am tournament. The day ends with a cocktail party, silent and live auctions, and an awards ceremony. Click Here for more information Cardio Tennis Site Registration Fee All new Cardio Tennis sites are now be required to pay a one-time registration fee when they complete the online application form at www.GrowingTennis.com/Initiatives. For first-time sites there will be a fee of $100 and any additional sites will be $50.  The fee will go toward helping to cover the costs of the marketing kits that are sent to all new Cardio Tennis sites and adding to the many marketing materials that are also available including new materials for Cardio Tennis for Kids. The registration fee also includes an annual TIA membership ($100 value) and many other Official Site benefits. Follow Cardio Tennis on Facebook and Twitter! Cardio Tennis has joined the latest social networking trends and can now be found on both Facebook and Twitter. Keep up to date with all the latest Cardio Tennis news by following the program on these two sites. Tweet about Cardio Tennis on Twitter Tweet about Cardio Tennis from Ontario Facebook Fan Have Questions about Running or Starting Your Cardio Tennis Program? Ask the Experts Contact Michele Krause, National Cardio Tennis Manager and Speakers Team Director

TWC of the Month: Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex- Surprise, AZ

Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex has created a buzz in Surprise, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix located 45 minutes west of the city. The 25-court public facility opened its doors on September 8, 2007, thanks to supportive city funding, and the facility has been hopping with excitement ever since.

“Tennis wasn't available to a majority of the community in Surprise before we got here and now this place is like the Taj Mahal of tennis,” says John Austin, the facility’s tennis director, who has had experience managing clubs for 20 plus years and was also a former executive director for USTA Southwest. “We’ve been very fortunate to host a Fed Cup match last February, a pro circuit event and the USTA Nationals here. That’s a lot for a brand new facility.”

There are no memberships at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex, but Austin says nearly 500 players currently call the facility their tennis home. And it’s easy to attract new players, he says, because Surprise offers several different beginner-level programs, including its most popular, the Surprise Tennis University. Click Here to Read More

Share Your Success Stories on GrowingTennis Initiatives!

The Top 50 Tennis Welcome Centers of 2008 were announced in the spring. Click Here to see the complete list of facilities that made this year's Top 50.

WTT Smash Hits In Baton Rouge
Billie Jean King and music superstar Sir Elton John are teaming up for their annual charity event—the17th annual Advanta WTT Smash Hits, on Dec. 8 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. They will be joined by tennis champions Andy Roddick, Lindsay Davenport, and Liezel Huber.

This year’s event, presented by the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation and hosted by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, will benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation and AIDS charities serving the Greater Baton Rouge area. Since 1993, Smash Hits has raised more than $9 million. Reserved tickets are available at 800-960-8587 or visit www.WTT.com. Special VIP packages are available by calling 225-928-8346.

The GrowingTennis™ System Is Going GREEN!
In an effort to educate tennis facilities on how they can be more environmentally friendly and save money in the process, a Going GREEN section has been added to the Business Resources section of GrowingTennis.com. As a new TIA partner, Cleantech Solutions is the first company to be added to this new section. Cleantech Solutions is a national energy-services company that specializes in designing and installing high-efficiency lighting and control systems in athletic, educational, and commercial facilities.

Cleantech, which offers 100% financing, starts with an onsite evaluation of a facility and energy audit, then engineers a custom solution for each facility. (Typical solutions pay for themselves in one to three years, says Cleantech.) Cleantech also has an installation team that will quickly install the lighting system to minimize the impact on your operations. Check it out at www.cleantechsolutions.com or 617.899.0507.

Also find out more about Billie Jean King’s Green Slam initiative at www.greenslam.net and ways you can support this movement.