February 2009 -- Question: I have seen where several USPTA pros have been really stepping up in their communities with our PR initiative, Tennis - for the health of it!?SM Can you share some of the activities and specifically how they are getting started in their communities?
Answer: To continue from where we left off in my last column, let's talk about what leadership is and the various definitions that illustrate how we can all become better leaders. Before providing any definitions from the literature, however, let's be sure we are on the same page. I am not necessarily talking about a departure from being a tennis teacher or coach, but I am saying that there could be a paradigm shift for some of us.
Teaching tennis strokes, movement, fitness and drilling players might seem unrelated to the concept of leadership but, again, maybe it isn't. For example, how do you get more people taking lessons? How do you promote your drill groups, leagues or Cardio Tennis classes? Do you outwardly promote or do you let "word of mouth" spread the news of your quality programs? Whatever your method, there has to be some sort of leadership involved. Let me explain through some commonly held definitions and then I want to challenge you to go above and beyond, to promote tennis in your community in a bigger and better way. It can be done; it has been done by some of your peers, and you can do it. After all, if tennis-teaching professionals don't grow the game in their own communities, who will?
Leadership was defined in 1957 by Hemphill and Coons as "the behavior of an individual directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal." In 1970, Greenleaf defined leadership as
serving by saying that "the servant-leader is a servant first; it begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first." As the world of leadership continued to evolve, it was viewed by Richard and Engle in 1986 as being "about articulating visions, embodying values and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished." But, the one thing that leadership is not was best offered by David Cooper, who said that "perhaps the most central characteristic of authentic leadership is the relinquishing of the impulse to dominate others."
More recently, Valenzuela, in 2007, gave what I believe is a solid definition of leadership in saying that "leadership is the ability of developing and communicating a vision to a group of people that will make that vision true." Let's go with that definition for the time being. My question to you is this: What is your vision for your facility and your community to improve what you do and who you are?
I want to take that question and discuss what some of your peers are doing in their own communities. In my last column I mentioned how Britt Feldhausen had created a "prescription" to work with physicians who were already playing at his facility or with whom he already had a relationship, and to broaden his network of physicians. Gary Trost has networked his way into working with Mick Cornett, the mayor of Oklahoma City, who is an avid tennis player and credits tennis with losing weight and helping him get healthier. There are a few others I want to mention.
The pros in South Texas have begun
Tennis - for the health of it! outreach programs for adults in their region. They have organized a call to action in the various communities and are paying for four ads in the local newspaper to promote the program. When I heard about this, I contacted fellow national board member Ron Woods, who told me that this was definitely a group effort and a lot of pros were involved. But, if there is one person who has taken a leadership role, Ron said it would be Gerry Maingot. When I asked Ron to tell me a little about Gerry, I was absolutely humbled at the work he has done and continues to do. This is what Ron said about Gerry: "He is a past president of the USPTA Texas Division, past president and current treasurer of the South Texas Pro Association, coordinator for the adult USPTA and USTA leagues and USTA mixed doubles leagues locally. He is on the USTA Texas Section League Committee and Junior Competition Committee. And he runs a large league playoff event called 'Little State' for the second-place finishers from the USTA spring leagues. He does all this as well as running a successful tennis operation at the Corpus Christi Country Club. He, along with the other pros in town, do a USPTA Tennis Across America™ event jointly every year."
To Ron, Gerry is a great example of a leader in our area as he is very good about getting the tennis pros in town to work together to grow the "tennis pie" in South Texas and make each of their slices larger as well. And, to me, Gerry serves as an example for us all in terms of belonging to our great organization, getting involved, and taking advantage of USPTA, USTA and TIA programs to grow, promote and market tennis.
A final example for this month's column would be Brett Stephenson. Brett lives in the Northern California Division, owns his own business, and has been a USPTA P-1 for more than two decades. He is a big believer in
Tennis - for the health of it! as a call to action and an umbrella initiative that can bring tennis to the forefront of the American public. This is what Brett had to say: "Presently my marketing campaign is as much about the health and wellness benefits of a tennis lesson/workout as game improvement. People need reasons to participate in tennis competition; matches and team play are not always enough motivation. With all the data available about the wellness benefits of playing tennis, it is now much easier to explain exactly what happens to the body and mind when playing. The customized tennis wellness charts have added a real marketing advantage over my competitors. I use tennis as a main component for customized wellness programs for residential communities, corporations, and individuals. I even have a 100 percent success rate with an executive weight loss program focused around Cardio Tennis.
Brett is a big believer, as we all are, that Cardio Tennis can and should play a huge role in the call to action for
Tennis - for the health of it! In our important partnership with TIA, we want to openly promote a great aerobic workout with Cardio Tennis as an important element of
Tennis - for the health of it! Brett feels that "anyone who loves, wants, needs or is prescribed to work out will enjoy a cardio tennis class that combines Pilates, yoga, and calisthenics for a complete whole-body training session. Using Cardio Tennis and marketing to this 'workout' group, I have built up Rudgear Park from zero programs/activities into a top 50 Tennis Welcome Center in the United States (2006 and 2007). This fall I have 29 players in a singles flex league; not bad for the first year. As it turns out, people who work out enjoy Cardio Tennis and people who enjoy Cardio Tennis enjoy singles." Brett's advice to all of us is, "Become or assign a professional who is an 'expert' on the health and wellness benefits of playing tennis. Use these benefits as your marketing lingo when speaking with students. Speak with students/members who are small-business owners and offer corporate wellness tennis outings. It's a simple way to start but, in the corporate world, getting the first client can be the most difficult."
And, just as Gary Trost admonished us in my last column to pick up the phone and start networking, Brett says, "We USPTA professionals need to be role models of health. Gone are the days of the overweight coach who smokes between lessons. We should all be on a lifetime path of learning about nutrition, personal training, fitness, and mental health. As a junior then on to an aspiring ATP professional, I started learning about these subjects 35 years ago. I used health to improve my tennis. Now I use tennis to improve people's health."
In my next column, I will continue this discussion of leadership but specific to the concept of networking in your community.!"
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
