Summer 2023
The mission of the USPTA Board of Directors is to grow tennis and to facilitate the success of all USPTA Pros. This newsletter is one tool we employ to fulfill our mission. Therefore, our newsletter provides information, tips, and resources to help you succeed and grow the game of tennis.
Letter from the President — Andy Zodin
Dear Intermountain Pros-
As I hit the homestretch of my third and final term as your president, I feel like I must take this opportunity to begin the process of thanking all of you for the support that you all have shown myself and the Board, for these last 6 years!
The Intermountain Division of USPTA is currently in a very healthy (& well-respected) place, thanks largely to a group of 500+ professionals, spread out over a massive 6-state expanse. Our conferences have been well-attended, and our live events have been fun and creative. Most recently, Karl Jones and I did a green-ball junior pro-am, at Rolling Hills Country Club, that was a tremendous success, indicative of some of the collaborative work our division has become known for.
And speaking of Karl, as your next incoming president, as of January 1st, I'm incredibly confident that he will continue to build on the momentum of Intermountain. Karl is polished, bright, and passionate. He is genuinely perfect for this role, and will be a tremendous steward of all of what is important to our association.
So, while I/we still have some unfinished business (World Conference in September in Orlando & planning of our next divisional conference in February), I at least begin to tell all of you how appreciative I am, and how humbling it has been to serve in my current role. It has been an honor, and I thank you!
Andy Zodin Director of Tennis, Columbine Country Club President, USPTA Intermountain Division Host, KickServeRadio.com 303.520.7676THANK YOU ANDY!
In 2014, I was hired to be the Executive Director of the USPTA Intermountain Division. My first objective was to establish a creditable board of directors for the division. Along with Rob Scott, USTA Intermountain Executive Director, we set out to attract some of the most outstanding USPTA members in the division.
After observing Andy Zodin presenting at our 2015 Division Conference, I arranged to meet with him. My intention was to recruit Andy for our board, whereas Andy presumed we were to discuss USPTA sponsorship for his radio show. Our time together resulted in Andy agreeing to run for our board in 2016. Andy was elected Regional Vice-president for the 2016-17 term. After he finished the 2016-17 term as Regional Vice-president, he followed this by running for president in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23.
During his time on the board, Andy has served as our division conference chairman. Due to COVID restrictions, Andy led us thru our first virtual conference in 2021, which was highly successful. We have since followed this with virtual conferences in 2022 and 2023. Andy’s ability to attract and interact with the likes of Darren Cahill, Gil Reyes, Dr. Jim Loehr, Matts Wilander, Emma Doyle, and others to present at our conferences has resulted in enthusiasm and strong attendance at our annual conferences. His leadership, fun, and big personality has also been responsible for our division attracting many other prominent pros to serve on our board and in our districts.
Thank you Andy for your service and leadership. You will be impossible to replace, and will be greatly missed.
Tom Van De Hey Executive Director, USPTA Intermountain DivisionI first met Andy on the telephone. He called with an invite to discuss my work with the Bryan Bros on his show, In The Tennis Zone, which I gladly accepted. Don’t think I made a great guest though. All I remember is laughing at Andy’s quips. His quick wit and concise humor calmed my nerves a little too much cause I don’t recall offering any useful information other than giggles.
Somehow, Andy overlooked my lack of communication and invited me back to talk about my charity tennis tournament, Davis Kup of Las Vegas. Andy himself played in the event, partnering with Steve Fish of John Fish Jewelers in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, this was the same year that the Broncos won the Super Bowl with Payton Manning.
Andy has always been kind to me. His authenticity is infectious. And his inclusiveness is admirable.
Mr. President, thank you so much for your humanity and for all you do in tennis.
Glen Alex, Former Secretary USPTA Intermountain
Thank you, Andy, for being the USPTA Intermountain president, the ultimate MC and moderator, the instigator of conversation, the solver of problems and the mostly funny (sometimes cringe-worthy) life of the party in our Intermountain tennis world! You’ve contributed so much time, energy, heart, humor and knowledge to growing our USPTA Intermountain section.
Thanks so much for all you do and all you will continue to do!
Ginger and Mike PhillipsI want to take a moment to thank Andy Zodin for his role as our USPTA Intermountain President. In these last eight years or so, our division has put together the best USPTA Intermountain Conferences that I can remember in my 23 years of attending. Andy has an incredible network of players, coaches, specialists and friends that have been key presenters in our conferences, whether in person or over Zoom. His ability to interview others is second to none.
Andy joined forces with Marshall Carpenter, Director of Tennis at Cherry Hills CC, and me to have a Zoom presentation with Dr. Jim Loehr for our club members a couple of years ago. Our members were extremely grateful and impressed with the information that Dr. Loehr shared. Andy led the interview-style presentation in such a natural and professional way. His leadership has provided our division of the USPTA the opportunity to shine. Other divisions have taken note and the USPTA Intermountain has become a wellrespected and on-the-rise division ever since.
I would also like to share a memorable story from the Orlando World Tennis Conference a few years back. Andy and I arrived at the hotel the night before the conference began. We decide it would be a great idea, and also fun, to hit some balls to loosen ourselves up and get some exercise. We drive around Orlando looking for public courts to play on and didn’t have any luck. However, we finally came upon some courts at a condominium complex and decide it was worth the risk of trespassing to play some tennis. We managed to get a great workout and hit some balls at sea level, in high humidity, and in 90° heat. Before we left, Andy asked if I wanted to run lines. I turned him down because I considered this a vacation and it didn’t sound too appealing to me.
He went on to run lines by himself. I sat down and watched. Five minutes later we began to walk away from the courts when Andy got a little queasy and needed to sit down for a few minutes. He got up eventually from his sprawled-out position on the ground. We jumped in the car to head back to the hotel. Just a few blocks away he tells me to hurry up and pull over. Quickly, I slowed the car, he jumped out before it completely stopped, and he lost his lunch on the side of the road. We sat there for 10 minutes before he gave the signal to return to the hotel. After a shower and short rest, we met in the hotel restaurant, ate, rehydrated, and got ready for the next day. I am willing to bet Andy will not be running lines this year at the USPTA World Tennis Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Thanks again Andy for your great leadership and the resources that you have provided to make our division what it is today. We have a great team and you certainly created a majority of that momentum.
Matt Helm, Colorado Director of Racquet Sports at the DCC USPTA Intermountain Vice President
I would like to recognize Andy Zodin, USPTA Intermountain President, for his leadership of our USPTA Intermountain section for the past several years. He, along with Tom Van de Hey, were instrumental in guiding us through a very unique and tough COVID challenge where they successfully kept everything going smoothly, most especially the USPTA Intermountain Virtual Conferences. These conferences had always been in-person and the transition to virtual took much planning and organization. All of this work proved to be a success much thanks to Andy.
I also want to express my gratitude to Andy for his continued dedication to the USPTA Intermountain board with his leadership. The time he spent in organizing and scheduling our monthly discussions, finding valued team members to join the board, and being a big part of why our section was recognized for its outstanding contributions to the USPTA enterprise are all much appreciated.
All USPTA tennis professionals in this section have so much to be thankful for to have had Andy as our leader. We in Idaho wish him the very best in his future endeavors.
Bill Gray USPTA District President of Idaho
Andy Zodin has done so much for me personally and for the USPTA pros of Montana. When I was asked to come back as the USPTA Montana representative to the ITA USPTA board back in 2019, Andy called me and introduced himself, gave me a sense of where the Intermountain section sat with national, and laid the platform for the next few years as a section and what he wanted to see out of the district reps.
His leadership of the section and mentoring of others has been amazing to watch. And he is a man of his word does what he says he will do. His involvement in our charity event in Missoula over the last couple of years and his connections around the tennis industry have helped grow the statue of the event. I can’t thank him enough for his support of the state of Montana with educational opportunities while here at the pro-am for our pros.
I’d like to thank Andy personally for his commitment to USPTA Intermountain, his leadership, and his support of USPTA Montana. Thank you, along with Tom Van De Hey, for leaving the section in such a wonderful place.
All the best and I look forward to having you serve as our past president.
Scott Potter, Director of Tennis Peak Health and Wellness USPTA District President Montana
scott@peakmissoula.com
