I spent the day at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Annual Conference in Minneapolis. The day started with a roundtable discussion on grassroots tennis via City Parks and Recreation. I had the opportunity to share about Tenicity Tennis Program that I lead and the programs that we are delivering via collaborations with Minnesota cities and schools that have achieved high participation growth in youth tennis over the past several years. Through the course of the day, key questions (mentioned below with my thoughts) relevant to the tennis industry were discussed.
How do we grow participation in tennis? A recurring theme was the importance of community based programs such as through Parks and Recreation and Schools to create greater access and opportunity to participate in the game. I will add that we need to deliver these programs with quality experiences that inspire participation, learning, and development in the game. This has been our consistent focus.
What is the career path in tennis? How do we attract more coaches? The challenges with building a career in tennis were acknowledged. My suggestion for those interested in coaching roles is to seek opportunities with programs that are striving for excellence, committed to the training and development of their team, and providing impactful work experiences with career progression. With these elements in place, I believe we will attract individuals with passion and desire to grow the game to support in coaching roles.
How can we get more women coaches involved? Dr. Nicole LaVoi with the University of Minnesota provided many data points on systemic factors impacting the involvement of women in tennis coaching roles. Through educational resources on the subject, greater outreach, and best practices in creating equitable opportunities, we can play a role in getting more women involved in coaching roles and elevating the standard of coaching and overall efforts to grow the game.
In summary, a focus on community-based grassroots programs delivered with quality and developing more coaches in the system will help to achieve significant participation growth in the game.
Best,
Harsh Mankad
Founder and President of Tenicity
