201605 tennis industry magazine

8/18/2019 201605 Tennis Industry magazine

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unior Players

New recognitionprogram stressesSPORTSMANSHIP

Footwear

How to put yourplayers intothe RIGHT SHOES

Racquet Stringing

MASTER THE WEAVE oncross strings

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g U S P T A

AY 2016 / VOLUME 44/ NUMBER 5 / $5.00

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DEPARTMENTS

4 Our Serve

7 Industry News

12 Letters

14 TIA News

16 Racquet Tech

18 Retailing Tip

20 Junior Sportsmanship

22 Grassroots Tennis

38 Tips & Techniques

40 Your Serve, by Joel Drucker

PLUS

42 CEO’s Message

44 Vice President’s

Message

46 USPTA World Conference

48 Endorsee News

50 Master Pro Corner

54 Beyond the Court

58 Career Development

60 Member News

INDUSTRY NEWS

7 Former WTA CEO Allaster joins USTA Pro Tennis

7 New England groups to

rebuild Havana courts

7 USTA Pro Circuit launches

Collegiate Series events

7 Tennis icon Bud Collins

passes away at 86

8 Hall of Fame elects Henin

and Safin for 2016

8 Industry loses Holabird’s

Sol Schwartz

10 USTA names recipientsof annual awards

10 Short Sets

11 BJK among ‘thought leaders’

at Impact Forum

11 Asics Easter Bowl

awards travel grants

12 Peoplewatch

MAY 2016

TennisIndustry

24 Step in the Right DirectionPutting your customers into the right shoes

involves a balancing act with weight, stability,durability and comfort.

28 Skill SetDon’t just be an ‘order taker.’ Use your

customer-service skills to help your players

select the right string.

31 Hard Acts to Follow These outdoor Distinguished Facility of the

Year award-winners are excellent examples of

hard-court construction.

34 Find the Right Frame!Use our exclusive Racquet Selector to help

your customers find their perfect racquet.

46 USPTA Returns to Californiafor Annual World Conference

48 Enhance Your PerformanceWith Compression Apparel

50 Master the Power of DoublesInstruction

54 Creating Passionate ProblemSolvers on the Court

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2 TennisIndustry May 2016

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www.tennisindustrymag.com

Read more articles online at www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com


FEATURES

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C O V E R P H O T O : B E A U G U S T A F S O N / B I G S W E D E P R O D U C T I O N S I N C .


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Our Serve

W ith 40 years behind us, theU.S. Racquet Stringers As-sociation has certainly come

a long way. Back in 1975, we publisheda small booklet of stringing patternsand tips sent to a handful of members.I’m sure our founders could not haveimagined that in the 2016 edition of

Stringer’s Digest , we would publishstringing patterns for more than 6,000racquets, or that we now have a database of nearly 11,000 patterns, more than 500 current racquets and over1,000 current strings.

The USRSA has evolved and growna great deal these past four decades. And as the new Executive Director, I’mexcited at the opportunities ahead forus—and for our continued partnership

with Tennis Industry as our officialpublication. (In 2005, the USRSA’s

Racquet Tech magazine joined forces with Tennis Industry, and we continue to move this industry forward together.)

As the USRSA E.D., I have very bigshoes to fill. Our first E.D. was Carol Anderson, followed by Jill Fonte, who led the association for 20 years beforehanding the reins to Dave Bone. Over the years, there have been many keypeople who have contributed to our

success. Of special note, I should men- tion the invaluable contributions offormer USRSA staffers Don Hightowerand Crawford Lindsey.

When Dave asked me last year aboutassuming the E.D. role, I was elated. As a longtime stringer and MasterRacquet Technician, when I started working with Dave and the associationfour years ago, I told him the USRSA was my “dream job.” What racquet/string geek wouldn’t want to do this fora living?

But I was also apprehensive, be-

cause—having worked closely with both Jill and Dave through the years asa member, serving on an advisory com-mittee, and as a Certification Tester—Iknew the responsibility was great. I ap-preciate the confidence Dave has in me by providing this opportunity and hiscontinued guidance along the way.

I’ve worked in this industry since1988, first, as a home-based stringer,growing that business into a full-service tennis specialty store that I operatedfor 16 years. During that same time, Ialso did tournament stringing for myown team as well as for others at GrandSlams and other major professional tournaments. Thrown somewhere in the middle, I also worked as a salesrep for a major tennis brand, so I have

experienced our industry from all sides. As an association and as an industry,

we have much to be proud of, but also, we have much that we can build andimprove upon. Be assured, we don’tplan to rest in our work to grow thisassociation and elevate the status ofracquet stringers and technicians.

We very much want to hear from you. After all, this is your organization.Tell us what we are doing well, what weshould be doing more of, what we’remissing, and most importantly, what

you expect from your organization. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t

fix it … but I'm very open to newideas, from both USRSA membersand nonmembers. We want to revieweverything we do, which is something I think every organization should do onregular basis.

MembershipOur membership is strong, but like ten-nis participation overall, we’re gainingnew members at pretty much the same

rate we’re losing current members as

USRSA: Past, Present and Future

4 TennisIndustry April 2016 www.tennisindustrymag.com

they retire or leave the industry. Whilesome may consider that in this econo-my, a “flat” growth rate is good, I know we can do better. We clearly want, andneed, more people to play tennis every year, and I want more stringers andracquet technicians out there to service them. So we’re going to do everything we can to help grow our membership,and overall tennis participation, too.

While we try to keep our mem- berships at a reasonable cost, risingexpenses are inevitable. As one alterna- tive, we have a web-only membership, which reduces our costs of having toship out Stringer's Digests twice a year. We only increase membership prices asa last resort.

Is your membership a good value?

We think it is, but we would like to hearfrom you. Our database of patterns isan invaluable resource to those in theracquet service business, but we alsohave much more to offer. Our online tools assist our members in selectingand comparing racquets and stringsand if you customize racquets, our toolsmake the job much easier and moreaccurate. Manufacturers offer specialpricing and incentives to our members,and some offer even more to our certi-fied members.

What services or benefits would you like to see included in your member-ship? Would you be willing to pay formore benefits or would you like tosee more options for membershipsof different levels and offerings madeavailable?

CertificationOur Certified StringerTM and MasterRacquet TechnicianTM certifications areheld as the highest standards of ourindustry. Earning certification allows

our members to set themselves apart

Bob Patterson, the new executive director of theU.S. Racquet Stringers Association, wants your input.


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Publishers

David 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

Peg Connor

Kent Oswald

Cynthia Sherman

Mary Helen Sprecher

Contributing Photographers Bob Kenas

David Kenas

TENNIS INDUSTRY

Corporate Offices

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

Advertising Director

John Hanna

770-650-1102, [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, 310

Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North, Suite 400,

Birmingham, AL 35203. Periodcal postage paid

at Duluth, GA and at additional mailing offices

(USPS #004-354). May 2016, Volume 44, Number

5 © 2016 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, 310 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North,

Suite 400, Birmingham, AL 35203. 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.

Bob Patterson

Executive Director, U.S. Racquet Stringers Association

[email protected]


and promote their expertise in the

marketplace. We frequently get feedback from those who take our tests—some say they’re to easy, some say they’re toohard, which makes me think they are just about right. We update the MRT test annually to keep up with new technologies introduced by string andracquet manufacturers and we try to make sure the tests are a relevantmeasure of those things a competent technician would know to earn the title. If it were easy to become certi-fied, it wouldn’t mean as much, and we wouldn’t want that.

We realize that terms and information change over the years, so we arein the process of updating both tests, but overall they won’t really change that much. We are, however, explor-ing the possibility of adding additionalcertifications, and we’d like your input,especially from our certified members. Are there areas of service that should be expanded upon, such as customiza- tion, tournament stringing, or something else? Do we need a certification

for these? Let us hear your ideas.

TrainingThis is an area I feel we can improve.Back in the day, the USRSA held workshops at the annual Super Showfollowed by a day of CertificationTesting. But in today’s economy, and with no large, unified trade show, it’shard to make training in hands-on workshops cost-effective for both theassociation and for individual stringers who would have to take the time and

expense to travel.But we haven’t given up. We are ex-

ploring options of tying in with otherindustry organizations at their annualevents, and perhaps there are otheralternatives, too.

Would coming to training work-shops be of interest to you? We’d love to hear your thoughts. What topics?How long? What price would be

reasonable? We all can and should

continue to learn, so training is vital, but we must find viable options forgetting it done. Would you be inter-ested in webinars on certain topics? Are there other methods we haven’tconsidered?

www.RacquetTech.comOur website is comprehensive, to say the least. There is a lot of information at RacquetTech.com for tennisenthusiasts, including a search func- tion to find a competent technicianin their area. For USRSA members, we have even more information,including the online Stringer's Di-

gest , tools for comparing string andracquets, tools to aid in customizingracquets, and much more.

Organizing all this info and mak-ing it easily accessible can sometimes be challenging, but our goal is todo just that. We have purposefullyavoided bombarding you with a lotof ads on the website, especially in the members-only section, and wehave tried to divide the informa-

tion in an intuitive way that makesfinding what you need easy. We areconstantly making tweaks to the siteas members bring things to our attention, so let us know what sugges- tions you may have.

One of our goals is to add videoclips on “how-to” portions of thesoon-to-be-updated Racquet ServiceTechniques guide on the site. We feel this will be a valuable addition, butit is a time-consuming process, so when you see them added in the next

few months, give us your feedback. As I said, the USRSA is your orga-

nization! Please chime in. Send mean email on any or all of these topics,or anything else you think I need to hear or consider. I promise I willanswer each and every query.

Email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

May 2016 TennisIndustry 5


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Former WTA Chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster hasbeen named Chief Executive, Professional Tennisfor the USTA. Allaster will report to USTA COO and

Executive Director Gordon Smith.In her new position, Allaster will be tasked with setting

the strategic vision for the USTA’s Pro Tennis division andwill work closely with the USTA board of directors and cur-rent USTA Pro Tennis staff to ensure the continued viabilityof professional tennis in the U.S. The USTA’s professionaltennis holdings include the US Open, the Emirates AirlineUS Open Series, and the Western & Southern Open Mastersevent in Cincinnati, among others. USTA Chief of Professional Tennis Operations and USOpen Tournament Director David Brewer will report to Allaster.

During her tenure at the WTA, Allaster is credited with generating an estimated $1billion in diversified contracted revenues; building and growing the brand globally withan emphasis in China and Asia Pacific; transforming the WTA Finals into a 10-day sportsentertainment extravaganza; and securing a 10-year media agreement, the largest livemedia rights and production venture in women's sports history.


Industry NewsInformation to help you run your business

USTA Pro Circuit LaunchesCollegiate Series of Events

The USTA Pro Circuit is launching the

USTA Pro Circuit Collegiate Series, a cir-

cuit of more than 10 tournaments held

on or near college campuses nation-

wide to provide a platform for college

players to gain pro experience and

transition to the pro ranks. The USTA

Pro Circuit Collegiate Series will consist

of events that complement a college

player’s schedule, with most events

being held in the fall semester, and will

give players the chance to collect ATP

or WTA ranking points.

The Collegiate Series is scheduled

to begin the week of June 6 with a

$25,000 men’s Futures event held at

the University of Virginia in Charlot-

tesville, Va., followed by a $25,000

men’s Futures event at Wake Forest in

Winston-Salem, N.C.

The series will then continue in the

fall with further men’s and women’s

tournaments to be named with prize

money ranging from $25,000 to

$50,000. Ohio State will host a $50,000men’s Challenger in mid-September,

while two $25,000 men’s Futures

events will take place near the Univer-

sity of California, Berkeley, in October.

The USTA Pro Circuit, started in

1979, is now scheduled to feature

approximately 100 events this year

and will award more than $3.5 million

in total prize money, the most events

and prize money of any season in the

history of the USTA Pro Circuit.

Tennis JournalistBud Collins Passes Away

Longtime tennis journalist and TV

tennis analyst

Arthur “Bud” Col-

lins died March

4 at his home in

Brookline, Mass.

He was 86 years

old. (See Joel

Drucker’s tribute

in the Your Serve

on page 40.)

Inducted into


Former WTA CEO Allaster Joins USTA Pro Tennis

In a historic meeting on March 1, the Cuban government approved a project to rebuildthe tennis courts at the National Tennis Center in Havana. The project is the visionof Jake Agna, tennis pro of Burlington, Vt. The “Memorandum of Understanding”

is between the nonprofit Cuban American Friendship Society (CAFS) of Burlington asthe licensed exporter and the National TennisFederation in Cuba.

“When we saw the National Tennis Center, wewere stunned,” says Agna, who traveled to Cubaseveral times in the last year to play tennis withCuban youngsters. “Courts were crumbling, nets

held up by chairs, tennis balls were threadbare,and racquets needed stringing.” Agna and histeam will embark on the first brick-and-mortarproject to take place in Cuba since the Eisenhow-er Administration.

Agna is founder of the Kids on the Ball, an award-winning tennis and mentoring pro-gram. “I am thrilled to see this project approved,” he says. “I’m grateful to Jared Carterand his team at CAFS, the Ministry of Sports in Havana, along with Sen. Patrick Leahy’soffice, who were instrumental in granting us permission to carry out this project.”

Court renovations are projected to cost $600,000. With financial support from theRobert Stiller Family Foundation, The Argosy Foundation, the Serena Fund and otherdonors, construction can begin in early May, but Kids on the Ball-Cuba continues to seekfinancial support for other phases. Hinding Tennis, based in West Haven, Conn., is on

board with CAFS and Kids on the Ball-Cuba to get the rebuilding project under way.

Vermont Org, Hinding TennisTo Rebuild Courts in Havana

F R E D M U

L L A N E / C A M E R A W O R K U S A

F R E D M U L L A N E / C A M E R A W O R K U S A


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Industry News

the International Tennis Hall of Fame in

1994, Collins starting writing tennis for

the Boston Globe in 1963, and shortlyafter that added tennis TV commentary

to his resume. He is considered the first

sports print journalist to have carved out

a regular gig offering sports commentary

and analysis on TV, too.

From 1972 to 2007, Collins worked for

NBC, hosting the “Breakfast at Wimble-

don” broadcasts and wearing his trade-

mark bow tie and colorful clothes. Last

September, Collins, whose health had

been failing in recent years, traveled to

the US Open in New York, accompanied

by his wife Anita Ruthling Klaussen,


TGA Announces Deals With 2 USTA Sections

TGA Premier Youth Tennis has announced agreements with two USTA sec-tions—Mid-Atlantic and Southwest—for TGA franchises in those sections.

The USTA Mid-Atlantic Section acquired the TGA “master franchise”

rights for the section. Mid-Atlantic will use its network of Tennis Service Represen-tatives to help implement the TGA model in the District of Columbia, Maryland,

Virginia and parts of West Virginia. In this new model, the Mid-Atlantic TSRs willbe called “Community Program Managers” (CPMs) and will be trained to be TGAChapter Directors.

In the USTA Southwest, the section will fund the launch of a TGA chapter inTucson, which will be managed by Gilbert Moncada, the director of TGA-Golf inTucson. Moncada has hired Arnold Lopez to oversee TGA-Tennis operations. Aspart of the agreement, the Southwest Section can assume ownership of the chapterat any time.

“We are thrilled to work hand-in-hand with … USTA Sections to create scalableand replicable local tennis ecosystems that give thousands of kids and their parentsan entrée to tennis and the player pathway,” says Joshua Jacobs, CEO and founder

of TGA.

where the media center at the USTA Bil-

lie Jean King National Tennis Center was

dedicated and named in his honor.

Henin, Safin HeadInto Hall of Fame

Former WTA Tour world No. 1 Justine

Henin, who won seven Grand Slam singles

titles, and Marat Safin, a two-time major

champion and former ATP World Tour world

No. 1, will be inducted into the International

Tennis Hall of Fame in July.

Henin and Safin have been elected in the

Recent Player Category. In addition, Yvon

Petra, a notable French tennis player of the

1940s, and Margaret "Peggy" Scriven, Brit-

ish tennis champion of the 1930s, will be

inducted posthumously in the Master Player

Category.Henin is the first Belgian inductee to the

Hall of Fame and Safin is the first Russian

player to be inducted. Since 1955, the honor

of Hall of Fame induction has been awarded

to 243 tennis champions and leaders rep-

resenting 21 nations. The 2016 induction

ceremony will be July 16 in Newport, R.I.

Industry Experts Present At TIA Forum, T.O.M.

Hundreds of industry executives, facil-

ity owners/managers and other in the

tennis business attended the 2016 State

of the Industry Forum and Tennis Owners

& Managers (TOM) Conference, held in

Miami in late March. Prior to the Forum,

a POP Tennis demonstration took place

on a 60-foot court set up in the ballroom,

which drew coverage and interviews from

three Miami TV stations.

Speakers at the Forum included top

tennis execs presenting the latest news

and data about the industry, including

participation research, consumer and

technology trends, marketplace data,

grow-the-game initiatives and updates

from the USTA. The TOM Conferencefeatured leading experts in tennis club

and facility management, programming,

leadership, personnel and more.

Stay tuned for more on both of these

events, including important “takeaways,”

in the June issue of Tennis Industry.

Industry LosesHolabird’s Sol Schwartz

Tennis lost a true champion recently when

Sol Schwartz, 46, passed away on March 16.

Schwartz was a Retail Manager and Buyer for

Holabird Sports, having joined that companyin 1993.

He attended University of Maryland–Bal-

timore County and recorded one of the best

seasons in UMBC tennis history in 1991-92

with a 19-2 singles record and 10-4 in dou-

bles. He reached the final of the East Coast

Conference Championship in 1992 at No. 2

singles. An active alum, Schwartz served as a

volunteer assistant coach with the Retriever

tennis programs.

When Hurricane Sandy hit the New York

area in the fall of 2012, Schwartz sprung into

action to help out tennis facilities and teach-



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Industry News

10 TennisIndustry May 2016 www.tennisindustrymag.com

The USTA honored seven recipients of its Annual

Awards during the USTA Annual Meeting and Con-ference in March in Carlsbad, Calif.

• Anthony Lara of Chino, Calif., is the winner of the Brad Parks Award,

established in 2002 to honor an individual or organization that has

been instrumental in the development of wheelchair tennis around the world.

• Cora Masters Barry of Washington, D.C., won the USTA NJTL Founders’ Service Award, created

by USTA Diversity in 2011 to recognize an individual NJTL chapter founder committed to positive

youth development through tennis and education and provides free or low-cost tennis, educationand life-skills programming.

• Youth Tennis San Diego is the USTA Organization Member of the Year, recognized for outstanding

service through its commitment to the tennis community, the organization’s members and the game

of tennis.

• Griffin Family of San Diego won the Ralph W. Westcott USTA Family of the Year Award, which

is given annually to the family that has done the most to promote amateur tennis, primarily on a

volunteer basis.

• David Sommer of Minneapolis is the winner of the Seniors’ Service Award, awarded on the basis of

the recipient’s willingness, cooperation and participation, either in play or organizational work, for

the betterment and furtherance of senior competition.

• Charlotte Johnson of El Paso, Texas (more than 10 years of service) and Jeff Baill of Plymouth,

Minn. (up to 10 years of service) are winners of the USTA’s Volunteer Exceptional Service Award,

which recognizes the most outstanding USTA volunteers.

USTA Names RecipientsOf Annual Awards

ing professionals, initiating a fundraisingcampaign through Holabird. The donations

he solicited from throughout the industry

helped get local coaches back on their feet,

providing cases of balls, hoppers and other

equipment.

Wilson to Host IART Symposium

The annual training symposium for the

International Alliance of Racquet Techni-

cians (IART) will be Sept. 23-27 in Chica-

go. This 10th anniversary will be hosted

by Wilson Racquet Sports.

The Friday kick-off meeting will be atWilson Global Headquarters. On Satur-

day, there is a trip to Midtown Athletic

Club to play tennis and platform tennis.

The event then moves to the Donald E.

Stephens Convention Center, near O’Hare

Airport, for three days of classes. On

Monday, attendees will join Wilson’s Ron

Rocchi for group tours of the Wilson Inno-

vation Center.

Day passes also are available. To regis-

ter, visit iartsymposium.com or contact

IART Executive Director Tim Strawn at

540-632-1148.

ShortSets

The U.S. Davis Cup

Team advanced to theWorld Group Quarter-

finals for the first time

since 2013 after defeating

Australia, 3-1, in March in

the first round, played at

the Kooyong Lawn Tennis

Club in Australia. World

No. 11 John Isner clinched

the tie for the U.S. with

a win over world No. 20

Bernard Tomic. Isner also

set the all-time Davis Cup

and ATP Tour serving

speed record of 157 mph

late in the third set. The

U.S. will host Croatia July

15-17.

Lights, camera, action

will meet game, set,

match, when film buffs

and sports fans gather

for a weekend of sports

documentaries and

programming hosted

at the International

Tennis Hall of Fame

in Newport, R.I. The

inaugural newportFILM

SPORTS film festival,held April 29-May 1, is

a joint venture between

newportFILM and the

ITHOF.

In a two-year agree-

ment, Daylong, one of

Nestle Skin Health’s

products, is now the of-

ficial sun care brand of

the ATP world Tour.

Ashaway sponsored a

blind “challenge” at the

recent PTR Sympo-

sium on Hilton Head

Island that had 15 PTR

members play with two

identical racquets, one

strung with Ashaway’s

MonoGut ZX and the

other with a poly string

from another manufac-

turer. The pros played

back-to-back five-minute

singles drills with each

racquet, not knowing

what string they were

playing with. Ashaway’s

Steve Crandall says 12of the pros said they

preferred the MonoGut

ZX strung frame.

On March 2, Sports

Authority Inc. filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy

protection to restructure

the company. Sports

Authority plans to initially

close 140 stores and two

distribution centers,

and reports are that the

company is looking for a

buyer.

The MIT women’s ten-

nis team is the winner

of this year’s ITA Team

Sportsmanship Award.

MIT was the top choice

by a panel of the eight

participating head

coaches at the 2016 ITA

Division III National

Women's Team Indoor

Championship, hosted

by DePauw University

in Greencastle, Ind.

On March 2, Sinclair

Broadcast Group Inc.

closed on its acquisition

of the stock of Ten-

nis Channel for $350

million. The acquisition

was funded through

cash on hand and a

draw on the Sinclair’s

revolving line of credit.

Sinclair owns, operates

and/or provides ser-

vices to 171 television

stations in 81 markets,

broadcasting 471 chan-

nels and affiliations with

all the major networks.

RS Tennis by Robin

Söderling, based in

Sweden, makes tennis

balls, strings and over-

grips, and the company

is now selling its prod-

ucts online in the U.S.

at Shop.TennisIdentity.

com.

The Mardy Fish

Children’s Founda-tion will take over the

management of the

USTA Pro Circuit event

held in Vero Beach, Fla.

The tournament, which

runs from April 22 to

May 1 this year at The

Boulevard Tennis Club,

will be called the Mardy

Fish Children’s Founda-

tion Tennis Champion-

ships.

Third-seeded Emory

University captured

its sixth ITA Division III

Men's National Team

Indoor Championship

in February, defeating

the No. 4 seed Chicago

7-2 in the final. The

Eagles hold the most

D3 ITA Indoors National

Team titles.


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ons, Kuhle said, adding that the assis-

tance is one way the tournament helps

top juniors in making a transition from

junior tennis to the collegiate or profes-

sional game.

Ashaway Offers Zyex Racquetball Strings

While nylon strings have long domi-

nated racquetball courts, recent years

have seen a decided increase in the use

of other specialty polymers, principally apolyetheretherketone polymer—better

know as PEEK—marketed under the brand

name Zyex.

Ashaway Racket Strings currently of-

fers two families of Zyex®-based strings

for racquetball, UltraKill® and PowerKill®,

both of which feature the high dynamic

stiffness and superior tension holding

characteristics of this space-age polymer.

“The property that makes Zyex so good

for racquet strings is its low dynamic

stiffness, which allows strings to stretch

and recover more completely than othersynthetic materials," said Ashaway's

Steve Crandall. "This generates power

with low impact shock (soft power).” Visit

ashawayusa.com.


Industry News


Magic-Net CreatesPortable Nets in Seconds

Magic Net sets up in less than 5 sec-

onds for multiple racquet and ball sports,

including tennis, POP Tennis, pickleball,

ping pong, and

badminton. The

Magic Net pack-

age consists of two

rustproof stainless-

steel spring-loaded

canisters in heavycolorful plastic

cases with a 22-foot

long by 2-inch wide

bright yellow can-

vas net band.

Each canister

incorporates a molded “hanger” and also

a Velcro option that makes it easy to hook

or connect onto a chair, fence, vertical

pole, and other readily available object.

Suggested retail price is $39 (includes car-

rying case). It’s manufactured and distrib-

uted by Oncourt Offcourt. Call 1-888-366-4711 or visit oncourtoffcourt.com.

Asics Easter Bowl Awards Travel Grants

The Asics Easter Bowl awarded

$10,000 in travel grants in the form of

vouchers for airline travel and hotel

expenses at this year’s ITF event, which

took place April 2-10 at the Indian Wells

Tennis Garden in California, said tour-

nament director Lornie Kuhle.

The grants help offset the costs par-

ents must pay to raise junior champi-

Billie Jean King was among a select groupof 250 of the nation’s top CEOs, healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators, gov-

ernment officials and other thought leaders atthe Lake Nona Impact Forum held in Februaryin Orlando, Fla. The executives engaged in three days of collaborative, action-ori-ented discussions to develop solutions to improve health, wellness and sustainableliving throughout the world. King was interviewed at the Impact Forum by Dr. JimLoehr, cofounder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute.

BJK Among'Thought Leaders'

at Lake NonaImpact Forum


14/64


Industry News


People Watch Chris Kermode was ap-

pointed to a second termas ATP executive chairman,

through 2019.

Former World No. 1 Boris

Becker is teaming with the

Mission Hills Group to

develop tennis in China and

create the Boris Becker Ten-

nis Academy in China.

Steve Hall will join the Mc-

WIL Squash team as a seniorpartner. McWIL Squash is a

leading squash court builder

in North America. Hall brings

with him more than 25 years

of experience in the sports

industry as a player, squash

teaching pro and racquet

industry executive, including

12 years as Dunlop Sports’

director of marketing.

The Anti-Defamation League

honored Tennis Channel presi-

dent Ken Solomon at the 2016

Entertainment Industry Dinner

held in April at the Beverly

Hilton Hotel. The ADL Entertain-

ment Industry Dinner honors

individuals in the entertainment

industry annually for their vi-

sion, leadership, accomplish-

ments and contributions tothe community.

Rachel Dagen has been

appointed the Intercollegiate

Tennis Association's As-

sistant to the Chief Executive

Officer & Special Projects

Coordinator, announced ITA

CEO Timothy Russell.

Get Dennis Into the Hall!I just read Our Serve in the April issue

(“Righting an Industry Wrong”) and

completed my nomination of Dennis Van der Meer for the International

Tennis Hall of Fame. Thanks for

bringing this to our attention. I

hope it will get others to act. I can’tthink of a more deserving candi-

date—Dennis is a great person,

teacher, giver and friend.

After I first met Dennis as a

South Carolina volunteer in 1984,he always greeted me by my first

name and that famous Dennis Van

der Meer smile. Whether I was a

state volunteer or the president ofthe USTA Southern Section, he was

always the same—warm, friendly and

entertaining! We’ll hope for the best.

Thanks again.

Rex Maynard Former President, USTA Southern

Letters


15/64www.tennisindustrymag.com May 2016 TennisIndustry 13

Industry News

‘Club Concerns’ On the MarkI wish to compliment Alex Kor for

his fine “Your Serve” article (“ClubConcerns”) in the March issue on

indoor club closures, college programclosures, and raising some questions

about the future of U.S. tennis.

I have worked to get low-cost first–

class tennis facilities and programsbuilt and expanded in the Washing-

ton, D.C., and surrounding areas for

over 55 years. I agree with Mr. Kor’s

assessment of concerns about the

future of indoor and outdoor facili-ties and programs in the U.S.

Robert E. Davis

USPTA Master Professional

Silver Spring, Md.

Missed ConnectionI am considered a poor reader per my

technique of skimming from back

to front and only settling on items

that pique my interest. But the onecolumn I always read thoroughly in

Tennis Industry is Pete Francesconi's

“Our Serve,” as it is always insightful,

caring and honest. Pete challenges us

instead of just trying to paint a rosypicture, which seems to be popular,

even though we are in the midst of a

downturn in participation along withmost other youth sports.

I actually looked at every page ofthe March edition, searching in vain

for Pete’s “Our Serve” article. I hope

I don't have to go another month

without the insightful tidbits I always

gain from his column. Bill Ozaki

Director of Programs &

Player Development

USTA Southern

Editor’s note: Thanks, Bill, for your kindwords and great support. Nice to know

my Our Serve was missed! In this current

issue, the Our Serve was written by new

USRSA Executive Director Bob Patter-

son (TI is the official publication of theUSRSA), and I hope you’ll find it equally

insightful. —Pete F.

USRSA AnnouncesNew MRTs

Master Racquet Technicians

Christian Varriale–Ontario, Canada

Saad Sayeed–Ontario, Canada


16/64

14 TennisIndustry May 2016 Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org

Physical Reasonsto Play Tennis

Tennis helps your:

1. aerobic tness by burning fat and improving yourcardiovascular tness and maintaining higher energylevels.

2. anaerobic tness by offering short, intense bursts ofactivity during a point followed by rest which helpsmuscles use oxygen efciently.

3. ability to accelerate by practice in sprinting, jumping

and lunging to move quickly. 4. powerful rst step by requiring anticipation, quick

reaction time and explosion into action. 5. speed through a series of side-to-side and up and back

sprints to chase the ball. 6. leg strength through hundreds of starts and stops

which build stronger leg muscles.

7. general body coordination since you have to move intoposition and then adjust your upper body to hit theball successfully.

8. gross motor control through court movement andball-striking skills which require control of your largemuscle groups.

9. ne motor control by the use of touch shots like

angled volleys, drop shots and lobs.

10. agility by forcing you to change direction as many as 5

times in 10 seconds during a typical tennis point. 11. dynamic balance through hundreds of starts, stops,

changes of direction and hitting on the run. 12. cross-training by offering a physically demanding sport

that’s fun to play for athletes who are expert in othersports.

13. bone strength and density by strengthening bones of

young players and helping prevent osteoporosis in

older ones.

Health Benets of Tennis: Why Play Tennis?

Here are the facts:

• People who participate in tennis 3 hours per week (atmoderately vigorous intensity) cut their risk of deathin half from any cause, according to physician RalphPaffenbarger who studied over 10,000 people over aperiod of 20 years.

• Competitive tennis burns more calories than aerobics,inline skating, or cycling, according to studies oncaloric expenditures.

• Tennis players scored higher in vigor, optimism andself-esteem while scoring lower in depression, anger,

confusion, anxiety and tension than other athletes andnon-athletes, according to Dr. Joan Finn and colleaguesat Southern Connecticut State University.

• Since tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking,it may generate new connections between nerves inthe brain and thus promote a lifetime of continuingdevelopment of the brain, reported scientists at theUniversity of Illinois.

• Tennis outperforms golf, inline skating and most

other sports in developing positive personalitycharacteristics, according to Dr. Jim Gavin, author ofThe Exercise Habit.

By Jack L. Groppel, Ph.D.

With these results in mind, let’s take a look at 34 specic reasons

why you should consider playing tennis regularly!

Dr. Jack Groppel was a featured speaker at the TIA State of the Industry Forum and Tennis Owners & Managers

Conference, held in Miami in March. His message was about tennis and health, and the need to change behaviors so

Americans will make healthier choices, including playing tennis to stay t. With that in mind, here are Dr. Groppel’s “34 Reasons to Play Tennis.” Please post these at your facility and, better

yet, post them where non-tennis-players will see them and understand that it’s time they hit the courts!


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Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org May 2016 TennisIndustry 15

14. immune system through its conditioning effects whichpromote overall health, tness and resistance to disease.

15. nutritional habits by eating appropriately before

competition to enhance energy production and aftercompetition to practice proper recovery methods.

16. eye-hand coordination because you constantly judgethe timing between the on-coming ball and the propercontact point.

17. exibility due to the constant stretching and

maneuvering to return the ball toward your opponent.

Psychological Reasonsto Play Tennis

Tennis helps you:

18. develop a work ethic because improvement throughlessons or practice reinforces the value of hard work.

19. develop discipline since you learn to work on your

skills in practice and control the pace of play incompetition.

20. manage mistakes by learning to play within yourabilities and realizing that managing and minimizingmistakes in tennis or life is critical.

21. learn to compete one-on-one because the ability to

compete and ght trains you in the ups and downs of acompetitive world.

22. accept responsibility because only you can prepare to

compete by practicing skills, checking your equipmentand during match play by making line calls.

23. manage adversity by learning to adjust to the elements

(e.g. wind, sun) and still be able to compete tenaciously. 24. accommodate stress effectively because the physical,

mental and emotional stress of tennis will force you toincrease you capacity for dealing with stress.

25. learn how to recover by adapting to the stress of a

point and the recovery period between points which issimilar to the stress and recovery cycles in life.

26. plan and implement strategies since you naturally

learn how to anticipate an opponent’s moves and planyour countermoves.

27. learn to solve problems since tennis is a sport basedon angles, geometry and physics.

28. develop performance rituals before serving orreturning to control your rhythm of play and deal withpressure. These skills can transfer to taking exams,conducting a meeting or making an important salespresentation.

29. learn sportsmanship since tennis teaches you to

compete fairly with opponents. 30. learn to win graciously and lose with honor. Gloating

after a win or making excuses after a loss doesn’t workin tennis or in life.

31. learn teamwork since successful doubles play dependson you and your partner’s ability to communicate andplay as a cohesive unit.

32. develop social skills through interaction and

communication before a match, while changing sidesof the court and after play.

33. have FUN… because the healthy feelings of enjoyment,

competitiveness and physicalchallenge are inherent in the sport.

Summary and Reason #34

Is it any wonder that scientists andphysicians around the world view tennisas the most healthful activity in which you can participate? There may be other sports that can provide excellenthealth benets and some which can provide mental andemotional growth. But no sport other than tennis has everbeen acclaimed from all disciplines as one that developsgreat benets physically, mentally and emotionally.

Tennis is a sport for kids to learn early in life. What parent

wouldn’t want their children to get these benets throughtheir growing years?

It’s not too late for adults and seniors too! The humansystem can be trained and improved at any stage of life.

Here’s the key… you must begin playing tennis now to getthese benets throughout your lifetime. And that brings usto reason #34:

Tennis is truly the sport for a lifetime! It’s been proven.


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By Bob Patterson

Racquet Tech

16TennisIndustry May 2016 www.tennisindustrymag.com

When I teach workshops for beginner racquet technicians it

seems the No. 1 thing they are interested in improving is

stringing faster, especially weaving crosses. My first response

is to caution that faster is not necessarily better—while you should

strive for an efficient pace, just because you do it faster is of no value if

your job is faulty or sloppy in any way.Smooth and efficient weaving will definitely make the job go faster

but much like anything one learns to do, speed will come with practice

and simple repetition. It all starts with a good foundation, and as you do

it over and over and become more comfortable, you will find that you

are going much faster. A good start is to employ One-Ahead weaving(see the Racquet Tech article in the April 2015 issue).

The Push With this technique the string tip is held between two fingers (one hand

above and one below) to push the string away from you and across themains, bobbing up and down to achieve the correct weave. Some use the

index fingers, others use the middle fingers—so experiment to find what

is comfortable for you.The first key is to pull enough string through the beginning grommet

to reach across the string face before you start the weave. This meansyou are simply pushing the weave across and not trying to pull the string

through the grommet while weaving. It sounds simple, but it makes a

huge difference in how easy it is to manipulate the string as you weave.

The second key is to weave across the mains at an angle rather than

straight across. This allows for more room as you work away fromcrosses that have already been tensioned. Of course, as you work your

way down the mains, you have less room to operate, so things will slow

down a bit to get the last few crosses in compared to the first few.

The Pull

With this technique the string tip is pulled across the mains towardyour body. Most employing this method pull about 10 to 12 inches of

string through the initial grommet and then form a loose loop with

the string and force the loop up and down as you work your way across

the mains with one hand above forcing the string down and one handunderneath forcing it back up.

Again, the key is pull through an adequate amount of string to reach

across the racquet so your aren’t pulling the string so much as just ma-

nipulating it up and down across the mains. I find it easier if the tip of

the string is toward the open end of the racquet away from the already

tensioned crosses. It seems to glide more smoothly.Regardless of the technique you settle on, have patience and continue

to work on the technique to find what is comfortable to you. With rep-

etition, the speed and efficiency will come.

Mastering the Weave Whether you weave your crosses with a push, a pullor a combination of both, these tips should make the

job easier and more efficient.


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A s online shopping grows,

consumers, of course, will have

fewer contacts with a live human

being. But for those who play tennis—or

the 15 million who may not play cur-

rently but are “interested” in playing,

according to research by the Tennis

Industry Association—it’s also a time to

seek out contact and a relationship with

a knowledgeable retail associate who

can become a consultant and advisor

about the tennis lifestyle.

Shoppers and customers are willing

to pay more for what is fast becoming

a rare and value-added attribute from

physical stores—human contact!

We are witnessing a renaissance of

sorts of personal customer service and

human contact on retail sales floors, just as online is growing as a component

of retail brands and we hear more about

the end of so-called “pure-play” online

retailers. Amazon is about to open its

second brick-and-mortar bookstore

and is rumored to be on the hunt to

acquire a large retail brand in order to

shift from being the nation’s largest

pure-play to an omni-channel model

that incorporates both physical and

online retail components.

Walmart is once again at the bottom

of the American Customer SatisfactionIndex, as the nation’s largest retailer

struggles to hang onto its sales associ-

ates by increasing wages and opening

a reported 200 training and education

centers around the country—while its

online sales increase and it searches for

its omni-channel balance point.

Retail Heart & Soul

But what these retailers and online ten-

nis retailers don’t get is that real human

sales associates are the heart and soul of

retailing, and converting consumers inthe form of shoppers to customers for

life is all about the experience gener-

ated by human contact. As retailing

author T. Scott Gross says, “Great sales

are the result of great service.”

In his book, “When Customers Talk…

Turning What They Tell You Into

Sales,” based on a national survey of100,000 customers, Gross lists what

customers like most about the brick-

and-mortar shopping experience. At

the top of the list, with 41.4 percent, is

knowledgeable/helpful salespeople,

followed by courteous/friendly/car-

ing staff at 27 percent. Then came low

prices and product information at 18.3

percent, merchandise organized and

easy to find at 8.8 percent, and fast

checkout at 4.3 percent.

Some shoppers may place a high

value on low prices, and tennis shopshave to decide how their merchan-

dise mix will best serve this group of

consumers. However, product informa-

tion and high-quality sales associates

are obviously valued higher by more

shoppers—and importantly, they offer

a significant point of differentiation

from low price, self-service and online

competitors.

What this boils down to for specialty

tennis retailers and tennis pro shops is

holding onto and nurturing what may

become harder and harder to find: reallive, knowledgeable, helpful, courteous,

Jay Townley is a partner in the retail

consulting firm Gluskin Townley

Group (www.gluskintownleygroup.com).

friendly and caring sales associates.

If you already employ top-drawer

customer-service professionals, then

develop a plan to retain them while

working with them to constantly re-

cruit, educate and train others. Empha-

size having fun while working at yourtennis store and the real enjoyment and

accomplishment of creating lifestyle so-

lutions for customers and their families,

which will make them clients for life.

If you’re looking for a higher level of

sales associate, but feel you can’t afford

them, then you need to rethink your

business model to include a “hiring

smart” program that utilizes online

assessments to make sure the sales

associates you employ are “naturals”

who want to serve your customers and

who you can educate about the tennislifestyle and teach them the product

knowledge they need to turn great cus-

tomer service into great sales.

With great customer service, you’ll

grow your tennis store’s reputation for

delivering outstanding human con-

tact and retail experiences—points of

differentiation that have real value to

consumers.

Human Contact—a Rare and Valuable Commodity By Jay Townley

Retailing 144

www.tennisindustrymag.com8 TennisIndustry May 2016


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Promoting sportsmanship in ten-

nis has been a priority for USTA

President and CEO Katrina Adams (far right).

“Our sportsmanship initiative re-

mains a high priority,” she recently told

800 people gathered near San Diego for

the USTA Annual Meeting. “We mustmake our players aware of what our

sport teaches us. We’ve made it clear we

will not tolerate inappropriate behav-

ior, and we are doing our utmost to

inspire fair play and sportsmanship atevery level of play.”

“Sportsmanship is so critical,” says

former pro and current TV analyst

Mary Joe Fernandez. “It’s so impor-

tant to set a good example for the nextgeneration and play fairly. It makes the

game so much more enjoyable.”

“From the juniors all the way to thepros, you have to be able to handle

the ups and the downs with the same

amount of grace,” adds Lindsay Daven-port.

While the push for sportsmanship

in tennis involves players at every age,

clearly making sure juniors pay proper

respect to the game and their oppo-nents is a huge deal in sports today. To

that end, the USTA recently initiated

a Junior Sportsmanship Recognition

Program, in an effort to recognize and

reward junior players who have bestexemplified the positive qualities and

behaviors not just on the court, but off-

court, too.

The recognition program includes

junior players in each section, designed

not only to honor young players andgenerate local media coverage for them

and their sections, but also to increase

publicity for junior competition and the

importance of sportsmanship in tennis

in general.Juniors were picked by each section’s

Player Development staff, with helpfrom others involved in that section’s

junior player landscape. The young

players selected make up the “USTA

Junior Leadership Team.” Among thecriteria, candidates within the last year

had to have:

• Successful USTA junior tournament

results;• Exhibited positive on-court behavior

and exemplary sportsmanship;

• Shown off-the-court benevolence

(i.e., volunteering, community ser-

vice, etc.).“These are players whose achieve-

ments speak volumes about their

character, both as tennis players and

as members of the community,” saysBill Mountford, the USTA’s Director of

Junior Tournaments. “With the USTALeadership Team, we’re glad to have a

way to recognize the tremendous ex-

amples they’ve set on and off the court.”

The inaugural USTA Junior Lead-

ership Team, named in late March,includes:

Boys• Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal, Guayna-

bo, P.R.

• Bradley Frye , Overland Park, Kan.• Brandon Holt, Rolling Hills, Calif.

• Jon Dollahite, Orem, Utah

• Josh Xu, Chandler, Ariz.

• Luke Phillips, Pittsburgh• Mark Johnson, Hudson, Wis.

• Matthew Gonzalgo, Plantation, Fla.• Nick Stachowiak, Cary, N.C.

• Peter Conklin, Fairfield, Conn.

• Phuc Hyunh, Honolulu, Hawaii

• Ryan Fishback, Geneva, N.Y.

• Spencer Whitaker, Richmond, Va.• Stefan Leustian, Mather, Calif.

• Trey Hilderbrand, San Antonio, Texas

Girls• Allison McCann, Amherst, Mass.

• Anna Alons, Salix, Iowa• Cyd Melendez, Cayey, P.R.

• Emily Soares, Hilo, Hawaii

• Ena Shibahara, Rancho Palos Verdes,

Calif.• Gibson Thomas, Mount Vernon, N.Y.

• Izabella Edin, Staples, Minn.

• Laurel Wanger, Belleair, Fla.

• Marlee Zein, Sugarland, Texas

• Meredith Lee, Pottstown, Pa.

• Michaela Gordon, Los Altos Hills,Calif.

• Reilly Tran, Dunn Loring, Va.

• Samantha Martinelli, Denver• Somer Henry, Franklin, Tenn.

New Junior Recognition ProgramStresses Sportsmanship

Junior Players


C A M E R A W O R K U S A / F R E D A N D S U S A N

M U L L A N E

C O U R T E S Y U S T A


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Southern California

LA84 Foundation & NJTL Set StandardIn Southern California, the LA84 Foundation and the National Junior

Tennis and Learning Program have established a new standard when it

comes to a successful joint venture. The LA84 Foundation is responsible

for allocating funds realized by the creative staging of the 1984 Los Ange-les Olympic Games. At the end of January, the organization decided for

the 31st consecutive year to team up with the the program again.

Thanks to the funding, the NJTL has 46 year-round and 160 summer

locations where economically disadvantaged youngsters have opportuni-

ties to learn tennis. In this setting the LA84 Foundation is, truly, one of akind in its tennis outreach effort and its longstanding partnership.

“This is terrific news, and a direct reflection of the care and attention

that Melanie Bischoff and Evan Smith have given this project,” says Bill

Kellogg, president of the Southern California Tennis Association. “It’s a real feather in our cap.”

“We are extremely fortunate to receive another year of funding that will provide thousands of kids with a chance to learnand play tennis,” adds Smith, NJTL and Diversity & Inclusion coordinator. —Mark Winters

IntermountainLife Lessons for Young Lives Arthur Ashe said, “From what we get, we can make living; what we give, however, makes a life.” Those words hold special mean-

ing for Clinton C. Vessels, III, the interim president of the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation (CYTF). The stage-4 cancer

survivor, who at one point had been given six months to live, is now more

determined than ever to bring the opportunity of tennis to everyone—es-

pecially underprivileged youth.Stepping onto the court at age 10 with his father, the number of doors

that tennis opened for him is hard to count. He was a ball boy for Arthur

Ashe, then selected to play national tournaments. The sport has allowed

him to meet “extraordinary people from all over the world,” he says,

including Althea Gibson and other tennis greats. “I was very lucky to be a

part of that.”Being one of the first African-American athletes to have these opportu-

nities ignited his passion to open doors for others. Today, Vessels is on a

mission to raise money for CYTF so he can break down the economic and

social barriers that still exist for young athletes.

Vessels is in his 19th year on the board of the CYTF, which helpsprovide scholarships and program grants for players from ages 8 to 18

to ensure all kids have access to tennis. Tennis isn’t just a sport, he says,

it’s much bigger. “Tennis teaches etiquette, sportsmanship, honesty,” he

explains, adding that it’s such a mental game, it forces players to think.

USTA Colorado Executive Director Fritz Garger says Vessels’ strength and commitment are invaluable. “Clinton hasbeen an integral part from day one of the revitalized CYTF Board. He represents so much of what is truly good about this

sport. He’s thoughtful, considerate, caring and professional. The CYTF has been fortunate to have someone of his character

involved with our work and our mission. He’s passionate about helping kids in need and knows first-hand what this sportcan do for youngsters.”—Katie Newell

Play It Forward!

Grassroots Tennis


CTAs, public parks, schools and NJTLs areon the front lines when it comes to growingthis sport in communities.


C O U R T E S Y S C T A / C Y N T H I A L U

M

P H O T O

B Y B A R R Y G U T I E R R E Z


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N ot surprisingly, shopping forshoes was simpler in ancient

times. The Roman poet Horace

explained that, “A shoe that is too large

is apt to trip one, and when too small, to

pinch the feet. So it is with those whosefortune does not suit them.”

As it relates to matters on a tennis

court, Horace’s wisdom that fortune

begins ground up holds true today.

However, to help today’s consumersas they confront the tennis shoe wall,

we need to download some updates to

Horace’s thinking.Ignoring matters of style that seduce

the eye, the most important choicesare no longer between what is too big

or too small, but involve consider-

ations of where on the spectrum of

available high-performance tech-

nologies lies the best place for each

individual’s kicks.“Every player’s needs are differ-

ent, so it’s important to align the key

features of a shoe to one’s game,”

advises Babolat USA Senior Market-

ing Manager Daniel Becker.For obvious reasons, creating a

shoe demo program is impractical.

Getting a player into the best shoes

requires a combination of work from

sales personnel, manufacturers andthe player him- or herself. While

everything a player wants may be avail-

able, there is little chance it will all be

present in one shoe. So, compromise

will be necessary, with the most impor-

tant taking place in balancing weight(and, related to that, comfort) with

durability (and, relatedly, stability).

Know Their Feet!The first task is to know the feet. Becker

points out that while his company made

sure to pay attention to players’ needs

for in-shoe support, they are very high

on the new, ultra-light performanceBabolat JET because, “Today’s athletes

need to be faster than ever, making light-

weight gear key to their success.”

For some players, particularly juniors,

the need to think about their feet is anidea that needs to be reinforced. Weston

(Conn.) Racquet Club Director of Tennis

Angelo Rossetti says players need toknow the width and not just length of

their feet and, “purchase tennis shoes

rather than fitness or running shoes.

Since tennis shoes are made of a stron-

ger, more durable upper, they providelateral support. The width of the midsole

and sole is larger for greater balance and

support, particularly for ankles.”

Having once worked at a big-box re-tailer, Rossetti knows that some people

will choose price over performance. But

he does all he can to discourage that

thinking. He also advises doing research

online as well as in-store, and he is a

proponent of orthotic inserts, addingone more layer, albeit an important one,

to the balancing act between weight and

support.

The second key regarding shoe choice

is awareness of playing style and uponwhich surface the majority of play will

take place. Erika Offerdahl, Head PennRacquet Sports assistant product man-

ager, encourages in-store person-

nel to ask customers what kind ofcourt they usually play on. Specific

to her company’s products, she

recommends the Revolt Pro with a

durable outsole and reinforced toe

and medial side for an aggressiveslider who also drags his or her toe

when serving on a hard court, while

an attacker playing on clay might

find a better fit for their game and

needs with the lightweight HeadNitro Pro.

“Comfort should be a given,” Of-

ferdahl says. “Every shoe, whether

it’s a durability or a lightweight

product, should provide cushion-

ing, flex, ventilation, etc.” And eachplayer will have only moments in the

store to make their best determina-

tion on whether the particular shoe’s

construction accommodates their foot,

whether it is narrow or wide, and has alow or high instep. Unfortunately, the

comfort a shoe provides while sitting

Stepping in the Right Direction

By Kent Oswald

Footwear


While size still matters, putting your customers into theright shoes involves a balancing act that includes weight,stability, durability and comfort.



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in a store cannot equate with actual

play.

Push Two Pairs Westen McNely, a sales associate at

Tennis Ace in Albuquerque, N.M., often

sees juniors in particular who pick a

shoe for its softer sole because, in the

store, it feels ready to strap on and playwith immediately. However, in McNe-

ly’s part of the country, where most

courts are hard, “They quickly find that

their shoes are wearing out, and their

feet and calves and lower legs hurt, be-cause there is no support for their arch

or the balls of their feet.” More durable

shoes would have made a better choice.

Actually, the better choice is for

players to buy more than one pair ofshoes, whether they do so to break

them in properly, or to be prepared with

shoes that are on different places of theweight/durability spectrum for differ-

ent playing circumstances.

“If you rotate your shoes every weekor every other day they will last much

longer than if you just buy and use one

pair of tennis shoes,” says Rossetti.

“The mistake most players make, since

they can’t wait to play with and showoff their new shoes, is using them all

the time cold turkey. I’ve seen ankle

sprains, lower-back problems and

blisters.

“Break them in slowly, using themfor a few games to one set at a time

and a half day at a time, until they feel

comfortable like your old ones. Put ten-

nis balls in your shoes when you aren’t

wearing them to stretch out the leather

uppers.”

In-Store Maneuvering With all of that background, when aplayer is in your store, he or she must

still try on the shoes and try to de-

termine how they’ll do under match

situations.

If you can accommodate it, Wilson

Footwear Developer Antoine Oui rec-

ommends short sprints to test speed

and comfort, and then possibly morespecific tests to see about support, such

as, “breaks/cuts and jumps to test how

the shoes hold your feet. In the mean-

time you can test dynamic cushioning,

check the heel impact by hitting thefloor and the forefoot response while

jumping around. Check the lateral

rolling of the shoe, look for a shoe that

provides support to your ankle.”

“Each person comes in with a differ-ent priority,” says Pam Ponwith, owner

of All About Tennis in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“But because people don’t always know

their own feet,” the most important

act she can perform is to watch how

players try on a few pairs to see whatthey need but don’t know to ask for.

Ponwith says she wishes tennis shoemanufacturers could get together on

some sort of categorizing of shoes in

the way running shoe manufacturershave.

Currently, adds Ponwith, “The most

important thing is that people lace up

their shoes.” All other issues of weight

versus stability aside, perhaps thebiggest problem today is that shoes—

particularly those worn by younger

players affecting a certain style—are

not laced up properly. In actual play

with incorrectly laced shoes, toes get jammed, heels don’t stay in place, andthe foot slides around. The failure

in-store to do a proper lacing not only

gives a false sense of the shoe, but leads

to on-court defeat of even the best

technology and all the thought that hasgone into the shoes prior to sale.

Today, the issue of which shoe is best

is a complicated one. But for tennis

players and retailers, being thoughtful

and paying attention to basics (such asproper lacing), means it is not unsolv-

able.


Footwear


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W hen helping a customer with racquetservice, do you utilize your expertiseas a racquet technician? Or do youfind it easier to comply with “just doit the same…” instructions?Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with

“the same” if at some point in the past you have taken the

time to analyze and discuss the customer’s game, needs and

desires in order to help them choose the proper string and

tension to optimize their performance on the court.But if you haven’t done this and find yourself just taking

orders and giving advice only when requested, then you are

doing your customers, as well as your business, a disservice.

Sure, if you have a decent flow of business it is easy to justfall into an order-taking mode and string them up and collect

the fee. But, if you are willing to invest a little time to really

find out something about your customer and his or her game

and work with them to get the right set-up that will elevate

their game, alleviate their sore arm, or whatever else they arelooking for, you will have a lifetime customer who will be do-

ing more word-of-mouth advertising for your business than

you can ever buy.

I’ve been in this business for decades, yet I’m still con-stantly amazed at what customers ask for. When asked, “Whydo you want that particular string?” their answers vary,

everything from, “My favorite pro player uses that” to “That’s

what my friend said was the newest and best” to everything in

between.

It may be easy to simply install the stiff poly string at 64

pounds for the 65-year-old 3.0 player just because he askedfor it. But when he hates it, or if it takes his game down a

notch or puts him out of the game to heal his arm for three

months, he isn’t going to blame himself—he’s going to blame

you. So, instead of having a customer singing your praises to

everyone and increasing your customer base, you have nowalienated one more.

The Poly TrendFor a variety of reasons, the current trend is for polyester-based strings, and the demand for poly seems to have no end.

I have nothing against poly strings—in fact, I think they are

a great innovation. But they are not for everyone, and in this

case, they should not be for the majority of recreational

players.In our May 2015 issue, we discussed this topic in “The

Evolution of Poly Strings” with a panel of experts from vari-ous string manufacturers who nearly unanimously agreed

that they shouldn’t be for every rec player. So why does such a

large contingent of recreational players still use them?

I believe much of the blame falls on us for not educatingour customers. We’ve all dealt with some hard-headed players

who—despite you having solid credentials and experience

fitting customers to the right racquets and strings—will still

ignore your best attempts to advise them.

But there are many other customers who will listen, pro- vided they are given the proper information in the proper for-

mat. I think, though, that we often fail to do just that, because

it is easier to give them what they want—without taking the

time to educate them.Before we simply give them a string and take their money,

we owe it to their games, their health, your business and our

profession to, at the very least, let them know why we may not

recommend a particular type of string for them.

For a customer who insists on using a poly string, two key

areas that must be discussed are stiffness and longevity.

StiffnessPoly strings are much stiffer than other strings and must be

installed at much lower tensions than other types of strings.

This takes some detailed explanation to make them under-stand why this is necessary. Stringing at higher tensions is

basically going to negate most of the good attributes of the


Racquet Stringing

Skill Set


By Bob Patterson

Don’t just be an ‘order taker’;employ your customer-serviceskills to help your players select

the right string.


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string. It will feel much harsher, impact more shock to your

arm and be much less forgiving on off-center hits.

While most manufacturers recommend a 5 to 10 percent

drop in tension when stringing poly strings, I believe forrecreational players it should be a larger drop than that. To

reap the best benefits of the string—spin potential—the strings

have to be able to move in order to achieve that superfast

snap-back effect that puts extra spin on the ball. Most recre-

ational players don’t (or can’t) swing the racquet fast enoughto achieve this, especially with strings at high tension. Lower

tensions will not only help with this, but also will slightly lower

the shock factor and provide a bit more forgiveness on those

off-center hits.

LongevityFor most players, poly strings are much harder to break and

thus are often considered a good choice for durability. This is

true if you are a string breaker, meaning that you break strings

long before they lose their resiliency and effectiveness.The truth is that poly strings generally lose resiliency and

tension retention faster than other types of string. This is why

you see the pros going to a freshly strung racquet so frequently.

Poly strings may not break easily, but they lose there “stuff”

fast!

This is a big problem on the junior circuits where long days

of training put a lot of stress on strings and on young play-

ers’ bodies. Many juniors can go through a set of nylon-based

strings every session, and some even faster, especially if usingan open pattern racquet. So, for the sake of the budget alone,

parents switch to a poly string.

The trouble is that since the poly string doesn’t break after

four hours like the nylon may, the junior plays on it longer

than he or she should. It becomes much deader and the playeris working harder to get depth, so he or she is putting more

stress on the wrist, elbow, arm and shoulder and taking a lot

more shock that will eventually lead to injury.

Adults can see the same problems, too, since poly strings

most likely will show no signs of wear after three months of

league play, and so they keep on playing with the strings untilthe pain comes and it is too late.

Trends are good, but don’t let them dictate your recommen-

dations. Give customers your best advice. If they still insist on

trying something you don’t recommend, offer advice on things

they should watch for as signs the string or tension they haveinsisted on may not be working, or may be doing them harm.

In the end, all you can do is give it your best shot, but we owe

it to our customers to give them the value of our knowledge

and expertise.

www.tennisindustrymag.com May 2016 TennisIndustry 29


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Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards

Seven outdoor tennis facilities were honored in

2015 with Tennis Industry/American Sports

Builders Association Facility-of-the-Year

Awards. One facility, the Bell Recreation Center

of Sun City, Ariz., won “Outstanding” honors

and was featured in our February 2016 issue, and three others

were clay-court facilities that we highlighted in the April issue

as “Distinguished” facilities of the year. The remaining three

Distinguished facilities are primarily hard-court centers and

include a high school in Nevada, a university in Ohio, and a

health & fitness center with hard and clay courts in Colorado.

In addition to the Outstanding and Distinguished awards,

for 2015 the ASBA created Silver and Bronze honors, and thenew tennis complex at Bishop Manogue Catholic High

School in Reno, Nev., is the inaugural Bronze Award winner.The project was a design-build of nine post-tensioned con-

crete courts, complete with vinyl-coated fencing and specta-

tor seating. The courts are tucked into a hillside, so landscap-

ing rock and plantings were used to hold back the soil and

drain water away from the courts. The contractor was given

two and a half months to complete the entire project because

a major donor was only going to contribute if the deadline was

met, which it was—on budget and on time.

The new tennis center at Life Time Fitness Center in

Centennial, Colo., includes four clay courts and six hard

courts, which have blended lines on them for short-court

tennis, too. The general contractor lacked experience with

designing and building courts, so the specialty contractor was

enlisted to fine-tune the drawings and specifications. Then

an engineering subcontractor was called in to redesign the

post-tensioning system to better fit the project, which uses

an encapsulated post-tensioning system so the steel anchor

plates and any exposed cable ends will be protected from rust.

Exterior drainage was achieved by sloping the ground away

from the courts, then planting with sod and native Colorado

plants to prevent soil erosion.

The project at Xavier University Brockhoff Family

Tennis Facility in Cincinnati was a renovation of the six

existing varsity tennis courts, which was necessary in partbecause the site is in a valley and water was being trapped

under the courts, and pushing up to the surface. The solution

was to install a perforated “under-drain” into the subsurface

drainage system, tied into the existing storm sewer system on

the exterior of the facility. To help promote lateral subsurface

drainage from the high side of the courts and into the new

under-drain system, a 3-inch drainage mat was installed be-

tween the existing asphalt surface and the new 3.5 inches of

asphalt. Existing asphalt walkways also were raised with 3.5

inches of new asphalt to match the grade of the new courts.

The vinyl-coated chain-link fencing was modified to taper

from 10 feet high down to 4 feet high along the sidelines.

—Peter Francesconi

Hard Acts to FollowThese outdoor facility winners are excellentexamples of hard-court construction.

May 2016 TennisIndustry 31www.tennisindustrymag.com

Xavier University

Brockhoff Family Tennis Facility


34/6432 TennisIndustry May 2016 www.tennisindustrymag.com

Bishop Manogue Catholic High SchoolReno, Nev.

(Nominated by Tennis & Track Co.) Architect/Engineer: Pezonella & Associates

General Contractor: Tennis & Track Co.

No. of Courts: 9

Surface: California Sports Surfaces

Concrete: 3D Concrete

Nets, Posts, Straps: Douglas Industries

Bleachers: Southern Bleachers

ASBA Certified Builder: Brian Renner

For details on the 2016 Outstanding Facility-of-the-Year Awards, contact the ASBA at 866-501-ASBA

or [email protected], or visit www.sportsbuilders.org.

Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards

Life Time Fitness Center

Centennial, Colo.(Nominated by L.E.R. Inc., dba Renner Sports Surfaces)

Architect/Engineer: KWS Engineering & Development

Consultants

Specialty Contractor: Renner Sports Surfaces

No. of Courts: 10 (6 hard, 4 clay)

Surface (hard courts): Renner Sports Surfaces

Surface (soft courts): Har-Tru Sports

Nets, Posts, Straps, Windscreens: Douglas Industries

Lights: LSI Industries

ASBA Certified Builder: Colin Donovan


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Xavier University Brockhoff Family Tennis FacilityCincinnati, Ohio

(Nominated by Sportworks Field Design) Architect/Engineer: Sportworks Field Design

No. of Courts: 6

Surface: Neytra Industries Inc.

Drainage: ADS

www.tennisindustrymag.com May 2016 TennisIndustry 33


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2016 Racquet Selector


W ith hundreds of current racquet mod-

els available, it can be a daunting task

for even a seasoned dealer to choose

which ones to carry in inventory.Think about what your customer feels

like when they go shopping for a new frame—the choices can

be overwhelming. If you are not considering their perspective,

you may be losing out on sales.

As a dealer, you obviously cannot stock every racquet on

the market. So how do you choose? And, are you missing sales

because of your choices?

Long gone are the days when your customer would never

look beyond the models hanging on your wall for his or her

selection. Information is readily available today—most con-

sumers are going to hit the internet before they hit your store

to shop. But that doesn’t mean all is lost. They are, after all, in

your store, so don’t waste the opportunity.They have some information, they have prices, and they

probably have an idea of what they think is the perfect racquet

for them. But they don’t have your knowledge and expertise.

It is up to you to make the sale and not let them peruse your

wall and go home and order a racquet elsewhere, or worse

order from their phone or tablet right in your shop.

Know Your Inventory, Know The MarketplaceIf you’ve done your homework, you have a great selection of

racquets to cover all the various player needs. Even with a

small inventory budget, you can cover a lot of ground. Utiliz-

ing our Racquet Selector Tools can ensure that your inventory

covers all the bases. If the customer asks to see a particular

racquet that you don’t have in stock, you can simply explain

and even show them another model or two that have the

same or similar specs to try. To do this you have to know your

inventory, but also have a good working knowledge of what isavailable, even in the brands you don’t stock.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. In order to help the cus-

tomer select a racquet, you have to know about their game

and what they feel is important. The customer will usually

appreciate that you are truly interested in helping them and

not just trying to get a quick sale.

Try Before You BuyOffering demos before customers buy is the best way to close

a sale. This is another area where you have the upper hand

over online dealers. The ability for your customer to walk out

of your store with a couple of demos that you have helped

them select will increase their loyalty to you. This is espe-cially true if you explain that they should come back after the

test-drive with information that you can use to help them

choose something else or even customize that one by helping

them choose the right strin

201605 tennis industry magazine

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