Governing body, Sections
taking full advantage of franchise model and infrastructure
At the 2018 Annual
Meeting, Katrina Adams and Gordon Smith of the United States
Tennis Association (USTA) said they wanted programs that are,
"accessible, bold, innovative, think outside the box, that
collaborate with schools and parks and recreation locations,
that pump new blood into the tennis ecosystem and that are self
sustaining."
Perhaps they
were referring to TGA's youth sports franchise model and their
1,300 school and camp programs scheduled to take place around
the country from now until the end of summer.
In 2012, TGA
Premier Sports first launched its youth sports franchise model
for tennis. That same year, the USTA recognized the potential
impact a self-sustaining grassroots program could have on the
future of tennis and quickly developed a national partnership
with TGA.
Since then, TGA
(Teach, Grow, Achieve) has become one of the leading programs
driving participation through introductory and recreational programs
in the tennis industry. Entrepreneur Magazine has also recognized
TGA among its elite Franchise 500® and a Top 10 Franchise
Value.
"Katrina
and Gordon are spot on with where tennis programs need to head
to attract kids to the sport over all the other activities they
can participate in. By making tennis available to the masses
and bringing it to them through a self-sustaining, scalable and
replicable model, it breaks down the traditional barriers to
entry," Joshua Jacobs, TGA's CEO, said.
The model has
impacted more than 100,000 youth and families in more than 45
markets nationwide since 2012 with no signs of slowing down.
TGA (Teach, Grow, Achieve) now accounts for over 25 percent of
all tennis school programs nationwide.
In addition,
TGA creates full and part-time jobs along with career opportunities
in the tennis industry. Tennis professionals, club managers,
entrepreneurs and USTA Sections have joined in on the success
by investing in the model and controlling the delivery system
in their areas to grow the sport. |
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One of the largest
sections, USTA Mid-Atlantic (USTA-MAS), acquired the first ever
TGA Premier Tennis "Master Franchise" rights and is
building out TGA programs across the District of Columbia, Maryland,
Virginia and part of West Virginia utilizing their Tennis Service
Representatives (TSRs) network to run TGA programs.
"The growth
we've seen with TGA has been very encouraging, both within individual
programs as well as into new schools," Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro,
CEO of USTA Mid-Atlantic, said.
"We are
seeing that through TGA that once a child picks up that racquet
for the first time in a fun environment, all they want to do
is keep playing and having fun with their friends and coaches.
Many of our participants repeat in additional sessions at school,
in our camps and in USTA programs, and that's a testament to
the value of the program and our partnership."
The Section is
planning to expand to 20 franchises within five years and operate
or sell as many as 35 franchises in total. Each franchise chapter
could reach 75-100 schools and 5-10 tennis facilities, developing
a pipeline of future tennis players and funneling them and their
families to USTA-MAS programs and events.
One of those
new franchises, TGA of Howard County, is a good example of this
success story.
Alex Chan has
been with the USTA since 2010, and last year became the Director
of the Howard County TGA chapter. He said the benefit of the
TGA model was implementing an infrastructure that was already
proven.
"With the
TGA franchise model, and how they quickly guide you through the
necessary steps to develop programs, it allowed us to hit the
ground running. Our current tennis growth proves it was a worthy
investment," he said.
In Howard County
they are currently running 21 TGA programs and anticipate increasing
growth and estimate at least 3,000 additional registrations over
the next 3-5 years.
"The TGA
franchise model has given me the opportunity to operate and grow
a business from top to bottom, all while growing the sport I
love, which is very rewarding," Chan said.
Other sections
that have invested in the TGA franchise model include the USTA
Southwest and the USTA Southern California (SCTA), which was
the first section to run in-school and after-school programs
and transition the students to tennis facilities and JTT.
Nancy Abrams
has been a USTA Junior Team Tennis Coordinator for 16-years and
was named the Director of the TGA Tennis in San Fernando Valley
(SFV) four years ago.
"As the
reach of the TGA program has expanded in the SFV, so has our
staff and opportunities across the USTA Southern California section,"
explained Abrams. "My role has also grown from managing
a few part time coaches, to over 20 along with two full time
coordinators."
"The career
opportunity and experience of managing a franchise, from marketing,
budgeting, sales development, community engagement to staff management
has led me to truly embrace my entrepreneurial drive."
TGA's model and
infrastructure is proving to be a game-changer for the future
of tennis. By creating local stakeholders vested in growing tennis
in their community while providing a high value proposition for
parents, TGA puts tennis in a position to grow participation
exponentially and identify future talent.
For more information
on TGA and bringing a TGA tennis franchise to your community,
visit www.playtga.com/franchise. |