“Follow the trend” or “follow the money” are often-used catchphrases for success. If the positive talk about tennis, pickleball and platform tennis from the first quarter is any indication, 2021 is going to be another banner year for racquet sports at clubs. This article is designed to help you successfully navigate the anticipated trends and changes coming this year.
TREND #1: Racquets are Hot
The “dual impact” professional (certified in tennis plus pickleball or platform tennis) and the “triple threat” professional (tennis, pickleball and platform tennis certified) are titles being used by the newly formed Professional Sports Registry (PSR). See Sidebar on 30.
PTR/PPR/PPTR foresees dual impact and triple threat being household terms in our industry and the new standard to achieve in racquets certification in 2021 and beyond. Currently, both dual impact and triple threat professionals are a rare commodity. Less than 10% of certified tennis professionals are dual impact members, and fewer than 1% are triple threats. While several of the
current triple threat and dual impact professionals currently work at National Club Association (NCA) member clubs, many more multicertified professionals are needed to meet the current and future demand. There is also an inherent want/need for professionals to upgrade their credentials. We fully expect the number of dual impact and triple threat professionals to continue to increase, and we look forward to having several NCA member clubs hosting certification workshops in all three sports soon.
Another indication of the move to racquets is the name change of Tennis Industry (TI) magazine back to Racquet Sports Industry (RSI) magazine. RSI Editor Peter Francesconi, who led the charge on the more relevant name, is one of the few tennis leaders who early on saw the potential and the opportunity that pickleball represented in the racquet sports industry, including promoting National Pickleball Month each April. USA Pickleball, Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), and RSI magazine are working to popularize and capitalize on National Pickleball Month.
The racquets industry is booming. According to Francesconi, “The recent Physical Activity Council’s (PAC) Participation Report clearly indicated the strength of racquet sports in 2020. Tennis (5th), Pickleball (6th), and Platform Tennis (2nd) were all in the top six of the 120+ sports measured. All three sports grew an impressive 20+ percent!”
Clubs played a considerable role in this growth, which began last summer. Clubs were joined by manufacturers, such as HEAD/ Penn, which sold out of inventory earlier this year due to the record demand for racquets, paddles and balls. The massive growth continued to other sectors. The court construction business also saw one of its best years ever despite some states being shut down due to COVID-19.
American Sports Builders Association Executive Director Fred Stringfellow, whose organization serves tennis court builders, surveys its members annually, and he expects a record year in 2021. “Our builders are projecting that 2021 will be a banner year, especially for pickleball. We project new court construction to be at its highest level ever.”
What does that mean for clubs? First, if you are thinking about adding courts or already have the approval to add courts to meet the demand, it’s important to act quickly. Delaying the start of your project may not only affect your anticipated completion date, but it might be more costly as well because of the increased demand for materials and labor.
TREND #2: Demand for Certified Teaching Pros
The next trend that is affecting clubs in 2021 is the continued shortage of certified teaching pros. There is a massive need for qualified teaching professionals in all three sports, but especially tennis. The number of clubs looking for certified teaching professionals is up tremendously. It is common to get requests from clubs looking to hire more than one pro.
To meet this demand for certified and qualified teaching professionals, we are scheduling more PTR, PPR and PPTR workshops, both virtual and face-to-face. Clubs can play a role in providing a solution by requiring your teaching staff to be certified and verify that your professional(s) are and have maintained their certification. In the latter case, don’t rely on verbal confirmation. Please ask to see their membership card or call PTR/PPR/PPTR at 843-785-7244 to confirm their certification.
Why should your staff be certified?
- All PTR, PPR, and PPTR Level 1 certified members have participated in world-class education to prepare themselves for certification. PTR/PPR/PPTR is the only organization that has required and provided quality coach education leading to certification for all three sports from the very beginning.
- With our partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), all current PTR-certified members now have background checks and have passed SafePlay. Moving forward, members will also be required to complete first aid and CPR training successfully.
- All three certification organizations are a resource for education by offering virtual, hybrid and face-to-face conferences and continuing education, plus coaching magazines, online web resources, etc.
- Online networking offers opportunities to share best practices and to discuss relevant issues.
- Liability insurance is provided for PTR members and is optional for PPR and PPTR members.
- Certified professionals have a positive effect on club members.
Again, with some clubs looking for two or more pros these days, the best way to ensure you are never short-staffed is to host a certification workshop at your club. Hosting a PTR, PPR and/or PPTR workshop offers the following benefits:
- Having current and prospective pros come to your club for workshops you are hosting allows your director to identify potential professionals you may need now or want to hire in the future. With some pros not attached to a club or some actively looking for a job, this is a wonderful way to meet prospective candidates.
- Your staff will be at your club so, if an urgent situation occurs, the staff member could step away from the workshop to deal with the issue immediately.
- Your club members see that your staff is training to better themselves and thus the club.
- Your staff does not have to take the time or expense of going to another club to be trained. Twenty percent of our workshop participants fly or drive a long distance to attend workshops,
thus incurring expenses like airfare, gas, parking, hotel, etc. The cost of which is usually more than the cost of the workshop. If you have multiple staff, the savings can be tremendous.
- You get one free workshop for hosting a workshop at your club.
TREND #3:
Demand for Consultants
Clubs continue to expand and develop their racquets program, another trend is the need for consulting help clubs starting or improving programs, especially pickleball. One of PSR’s top consultants for pickleball is industry leader Jarrett Chirico, who also serves as the vice chairman on the PPR board. Chirico, a triple threat certified professional, has started and directed two successful club programs for pickleball. One at Green Valley Country Club in Philadelphia and most recently at Baltimore Country Club.
Chirico is the author of several articles on pickleball, numerous blogs and is a featured speaker at every significant pickleball conference, including the PPR Conferences. Chirico holds the distinction of being the first to popularize and monetize clay court pickleball, which has helped expand the sport in clubs across the country. “Clay court pickleball adds another amenity to a club and provides an opportunity for those who cannot play on hard courts,” stated Chirico. “I firmly believe that this decade is going to be remembered in our industry as the “decade of racquets.” While I think sports
like tennis, pickleball, padel and platform tennis will all continue to grow, I predict before the end of the decade that pickleball may be the most played racquet sport in the United States.”
TREND #4: Pickleball Leagues
Leagues have always been a staple for tennis, and their success continues to grow and prosper. Now you are seeing pickleball leagues starting to sprout up all around the club scene. Directors such as Juan Arraya, Greenwich Country Club in Greenwich, Conn.; Mikk Irodja, Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J.; and Lee Whitwell, Widgi Creek Golf Club in Bend, Ore., have recently started large pickleball leagues with remarkable success.
The first, though, to get pickleball leagues going in a big way was Dan Regan, director of racquets at Brook Hollow Country Club in Dallas. Regan met with the Ladies Dallas Tennis League, resulting in the formation of a ladies pickleball league for clubs in the Dallas area, which is now the largest in the country.
TREND #5: Everything Pickleball
The influx of new pickleball leagues has spawned another trend: pickleball ratings clinics and pickleball camps. PPR camps will debut this summer. The camps are only 2 hours, with the emphasis placed on introducing club members to pickleball. The camps are being packaged with PPR certification workshops to provide the club professionals with an intensive pickleball experience.
Regarding ratings, players want to get a baseline of their playing level and then work to improve their rating. Chirico and Collin Johns (the No.1 doubles player in the world along with his brother, Ben) have piloted several successful ratings clinics at clubs in the Northeast. They are assisting PPR with their format to conduct PPR pickleball ratings clinics throughout the United States. The ratings are based on criteria set by USA Pickleball.
With the increasing number of pickleball leagues, club members naturally take private and group lessons to improve, be more competitive, and win more matches. Currently, most pickleball lessons are being given to introductory players. Since pickleball is easier to become more proficient than tennis and is more social-oriented, most players don’t take as many lessons. However, with the advent of more pickleball leagues, we predict that trend will change.
TREND #6: Racquet Collaboration
The final racquets trend is very welcome and much needed. Tennis, pickleball and platform tennis seem willing to work together. Kudos go to the new leadership at the USTA for recognizing that a healthy club system is in the best interest of tennis, especially with the massive influx of new and returning players to tennis in 2020. The USTA is putting in new pickleball and padel courts at their national campus in Orlando. Moreover, the USTA will host PTR and PPR certifications at their campus.
I believe the key word for clubs in 2021 is a term I coined, “Clubcation.” Your club is the perfect alternative to the traditional vacation at the beach, mountains, national parks or big cities, as families are traveling less because of COVID-19. Thankfully, the upward trend of racquets fits nicely into your member’s clubcation.
By ensuring your club has a certified staff along with an abundance of racquets activities, you can provide for an incredible summer and beyond. A successful and dynamic racquets program will allow you to do, as we say at PTR, “make a world of difference” in your members’ lives.