CERTIFICATION HELPS PROS PREPARE FOR A DIRECTOR OF RACQUET SPORTS ROLE

media. The club’s Sunday afternoon interclub tennis match was played without supervision; a club-member captain ran the show. Players brought their own drinks and their own balls.

The role of directing the tennis program back then was just not that complicated.

Today, demands for the position, which is now often called the “Director of Racquet Sports,” range from everything concerning hiring and training staff, erecting air structures, managing build projects and hanging windscreens to running programming, events and instruction for players from age three to 93 in a variety of complimentary racquet sports such as pickleball, padel, plat- form, POP, SPEC and touchtennis. Oh, and did I mention that parents expect report cards for skill progress, want a birthday party for little Jimmy and will tell the general manager if the director isn’t quickly responsive to their request for ice in the coolers and someone to help squeegee on Court Four?

Until recently, new directors had to figure it out while on the job. Now, learning on the job has been a challenge since current directors and assistants have 40+ hours of work. There is little extra time for mentoring sessions.

The good news is that in 2021, a very clear educational path emerged to help a person feel equipped to move from on-court to the director of racquet sports role and to feel equipped and not panicked with the new responsibilities. This June, the USPTA is celebrating two years of recognizing professionals as certified directors of racquet sports after pros graduate from the Director of Racquet Sports Certificate Course, delivered online by the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance. The course, which requires Elite Professional certification and three years of industry experience to enroll, includes curriculum funded by the USTA and created by a committee of respected directors of tennis/racquet sports. The committee also included USPTA CEO John Embree.

“The committee worked tirelessly for over a year to determine all of the skills necessary for a pro’s transition to leadership,” USPTA CEO John Embree said. “I wanted to be a part of the process because I knew that our members needed the education, and it would be best for the industry if pros were to learn strong leadership and business knowledge.”

Over 90 pros, ranging from assistants to current directors, have entered the certificate course in the two years since its inception. All have full-time jobs. They take advantage of the flexible nature of the course, which gives students one year to complete it, although the number of hours required to do the work is estimated to total 90 hours. If a pro can find four hours a week, they’ll finish in about six to seven months, but if they have busy weeks or busy months, they can slow down and catch back up when their schedule allows.

Over 30 pros have completed the course and several more are approaching the final exam, having completed the course’s 10 modules of work on subjects such as facilities, technology, leadership, budgeting, marketing and customer experience. There is also one module which covers the many complimentary racquet sports played in addition to tennis in most clubs today.

Pros who are now USPTA Certified Directors of Racquet Sports include Ajay Pant, Lifetime; and Butch Staples, MidTown. The certificate course is just one way to learn the curriculum. The other is to get a master's in sport management with a specialization in director of racquet sports.

“The director of racquet sports course is valuable to the aspiring head professional or assistant professional who has not been getting the individualized consideration they need from their current director,” Michael Pereira, USPTA Elite Professional in Georgia and certificate course graduate in 2022—now getting his master’s—said. “I think that because many assistant pros spend most of their days on-court to make ends meet, they don't take the time to learn about tennis as a career path or learn about other aspects of the industry. This is where the university course shines.”

Many of the top industry position listings for director of racquet sports now require enrollment in the Director of Racquet Sports Certificate Course, or completion of it, as a requirement of hiring, and the DORS education has already been shown to spring load some careers.

USPTA Elite Professional Eric Engelsgjerd started the course while an assistant pro in Arkansas and finished it as director of racquet sports at The Club at Las Campanas in New Mexico. He explained that, in the interview process when he was applying to be head pro, “One of the tennis committee members characterized me as a ‘complete racquets package.’” He went on to say, “This DORS certification was the top item mentioned regarding my resume and was the lightning rod that sparked where we ultimately ended up!”

As the industry grows post-COVID and there are many current directors set to retire in the coming years, it’s reassuring to know the industry now has a complete path from entry level pro to the top position – with clear educational steps.

For the pro at my childhood club to have advanced further in his career in 1969, he would have had to learn by talking to a director of tennis at a bigger, more complex program, since he already was in the top role at my club. At that time, he would not have had the option for an educational course to teach him the ropes. Now there is.

“The DORS program transformed me from a tennis professional to an individual who feels confident in all aspects of directing a racquets program,” USPTA Elite Professional Mike Nott of Northwood Country Club in Dallas said.

The UF/USPTA curriculum to become a certified DORS includes 10 important business and leadership topics. It’s fully online and open to pros who are a USPTA Elite Professional and have three years of industry work experience. The price to take the course is $2,395. You can find additional information at www.UF-USPTA.com.