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INSIDE: Great Member Benefits
MEMBER BENEFITS
— Denotes Benefit is Only for Certified Professional Category
Wilson
Member pricing and contract package with Wilson and Supplemental Savings Progam contributions
The USPTA has partnered with USPTA Elite Professional Bo Gard of Wells Fargo Advisors to offer USPTA-certified Teaching Professionals with the option of a savings and retirement plan that is customizable to meet their needs. Through the Supplemental Savings Program, USPTA vendors contribute a percentage of purchases made by USPTA-certified teaching professionals to that member’s savings account. For more information, visit uspta.com/supplementalsavings
Tennis Warehouse
30% off MSRP for personal purchases & up to 40% off MSRP for retail/pro shop purchases
10-s tennis supply|Aer-flo|A-Peak|Fiix Elbow Har-tru|StringPing|Theragun*|NFW Promos |ICL ACADEMY Sportmaster |Metaltek Ball Machines |REVO
Exclusive USPTA member pricing discounts and Supplemental Savings Program contributions *Theragun affiliate marketing program provides product discounts and commission on sales
Insurance
• $6 million of on-court liability insurance • Select health insurance quotes through LIG Solutions • Ability to purchase additional insurance products
• Ability to puchase additional insurance products at a significantly discounted rate: • Additional Facility Insurance Coverage: $100 for calendar year, non-prorated • Non-member Teaching Assistant
Coverage: $125 for calendar year, nonprorated • SAM Insurance: $50 for calendar year, non-prorated • Ability to puchase additional insurance products: • Additional Facility Insurance Coverage: $200 for calendar year, non-prorated • SAM Insurance: $150 for calendar year, non-prorated
• Supplemental Savings Program for retirement
• Ability to purchase professional USPTA branded products through the USPTA pro shop • 30% AVIS rental car discounts
• Free access to US Open Series tournaments leading up to the US Open • First come, first serve for tickets to the US
Open (limited availablility for the first 4 days of the tournament) • AIM program discounts on annual dues for membership referrals
• Prescription discount card • Sexual abuse & molestation insurance available
• Eligibility for national and division awards • 5% off Enterprise Rent-a-Car and 10% off National Car Rental at participating locations
• 20% FTD Florist product discount • Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) membership & database access
Education
• Full Access to Education at www.TennisResources.com • Subscription to Racquet Sports Industry which includes USPTA
ADDvantage Magazine • Subscription to digital Tennis Magazine • Access to USPTA Find-A-Pro, Career Services, and USPTA
DirectorSearch • Free monthly webinars • Free USTA Safe Play background screening • USPTA World and Division Conferences • Discount when enrolling at University of Florida Director of Racquet
Sports Certification
uspta Supplemental Savings Program
“Success Secrets”
Todd Upchurch – a modern day Renaissance Man
By Pat Whitworth & Jeff Hawes, USPTA Master Professionals
Todd really does it all. He has held high level positions as director of an HOA tennis program, director at a prestigious platinum country club, director at park & rec, high school coach, league inventor, social media expert, sought after presenter, and after school programming. WOW
Todd began his career teaching summer tennis camps in Archdale, NC and has been a tennis professional for 30 years.
After a successful 9 year run at Carmel Country Club, Todd left to form Serve It UP Tennis Academy. Todd has been a USPTA certified Elite Professional since 1997. He is the recipient of the 1998 Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year, 1999 NC USPTA Professional of the Year, the 2008 & 2017 USPTA Southern Division “Fred Burdick Pride of the South” and the 2014 USPTA NC Industry Excellence Award. Todd has been 2000-2002 NC USPTA State Chapter President, has held numerous positions on the USPTA Southern Division board since 2002 and served as President from 2013-2017. He currently serves as the Regional Vice-President of the USPTA Southern Division. in 2017, Todd earned the USPTA Master Tennis Professional designation. Todd is the very proud father of Noah (16) and Reese (14), who are also ranked tennis players.
You are a master of the career pivot. How have you become so adept at changing careers within tennis? The short answer is that I like to grow in the profession, try new things, and to never be satisfied with where I am currently. The long answer is that sometimes I want to stretch out to new areas. It keeps me from getting bored, keeps me fresh. I want to be more well-rounded and not so narrowly focused in just one area of our business. I have been able to leverage my skills and contacts to continue to pivot to other areas.
You make it look easy Todd. How much time and work does it take to launch into a new area? I always think of it like the duck on the pond. It appears to be leisurely floating around, but underneath it is working like crazy. It does take quite a lot of work, and I don’t sleep too much, so I spend time creating and learning. I work in time blocks, often a few hours at a time, so when a product is ready to launch, I am ready and confident to move forward. John C Maxwell calls it Failing Forward. There are plenty of long days and nights to get all the pieces together.
What are some downsides of pivoting to other areas like you do? What makes it hard? You have to have an appetite for starting over and building. The downside is comfort and security. When I decided to leave the Country Club (a platinum level club) and to start up a new business, it was exciting. Others may be too risk-averse to take that step. It can be stressful and hard, but the journey is worth it.
As you are launching new programs, what advice do you have to help ‘close the deal’ and get clients signed on? It is important to just be the best that you can be. At my first job at a public facility, I had to believe in myself and my skills so others would believe. My father always told me that I could do anything that I set my mind to. Trust the work that you have done to prepare for this moment.
With over 2 decades of service to USPTA as a state, and mostly a Southern Board Member, has this involvement helped you in your career? ABSOLUTELY it helped me. When I got the country club job at Carmel, the current director was one of the original 17 Master Professionals. He had a large network and reached out to Fred Burdick to check on me. Fortunately, Fred gave a great report, and the rest was history. By the way, Fred was not on my reference list. I have recently taken on a new club, and they mentioned multiple times how happy they were that I am a Master Professional, involved in the association, and staying current. On a personal note, many of my friends are USPTA members that I have known for over 20 years.
If you can share 1 or 2 light bulb moments, either on or off the court? I had just left the country club, and my son Noah was just starting kindergarten. His first day coming home, he had a flyer from school with the after school sports programs. I stood up right then and wondered why there was no tennis. Serve It Up was created, and we have served the program in over 20 schools for 12+ years. Another light bulb moment was probably adding too many schools and dropping the quality of the program. Once we settled in with the proper staff and proper amount of schools, we have continued to keep their business for over 10 years.
If you were able to start your tennis career over again, what would you do differently?
Todd took a long pause on this question.
There are some small things I would have done differently, but the things I did right have gotten me to where I am, as have the things I did wrong. I don’t want to live my life looking in the rear view mirror, I want to look ahead. I think the one big thing is that I wish as a high school student I would have taken a job at a club or tennis program instead of washing cars or serving burgers. I did not know this type of job existed, and this would have provided an early mentor.
QUICK REFLECTION - Another thing my dad taught me was "Would you pay for the lesson you just gave?" You need to teach you would want to be served.
What 2 or 3 suggestions would you offer to a new professional? Find a mentor. Amazingly, I and many other experienced professionals would gladly share and mentor. I would love to be asked. Kevin Theos has pushed the USPTA mentor program to new heights and it has been successful, but this does not have to go through official channels to happen. Just ask. Be as involved in the industry as you can, and keep learning. I have 30 years of experience, and still learn and study daily, and keep looking for new and fresh ideas. Even working in a club, it is important to expand your business skills so you can work your business within the business, and prepare for the next career step.
You are a parent of a very accomplished athlete, a top level soccer player. How do you approach being a sports parent? I do not comment on their sport. They know more about the sport than I do. What I comment on is the effort. Win or lose, you must give 100% effort. If you stop wanting to be involved, then let’s drop it. I let the coach do the coaching and I am the support.
What is your most interesting to-do on your bucket list? Compete in an Iron Man. I would like to attend all the grand slams finals or finals weekend, and do all 4 in the same year. My personal Grand Slam.
