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Florida's Gilbert Juggles Ginn Hammock, USPTA Roles
Posted on May 2, 2008
By Richard Vach
One of the tennis industry's not-so-undercover movers and shakers, Harry Gilbert is wearing two large hats nowadays. In Florida, as director of tennis for the new complex at Ginn Hammock in Palm Coast, he is overseeing one of the premier tennis destinations as they embark on the construction of a new 2,100 sq. ft. tennis clubhouse. On the national front, as director of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), he is overseeing the rollout of one of their largest public relations efforts to date, "Tennis for the Health of It."
Developed by renowned industry physical and mental health activists Dr. Jack Groppel and Dr. Jim Loehr, the "Tennis for the Health of It" campaign stresses the physical and mental advantages of playing tennis while combating the highest-ever obesity rates in the U.S. -- and capitalizing on tennis' popularity surge.
"We're excited to be part of the industry's revitalization," Gilbert says. "We'd like to think we've had a part in that, introducing the game in a positive way, along with the USTA and the Quickstart program and getting kids playing. This public relations campaign is a way to show people who we are, getting to the consumer, showing the training, education, and services provided to USPTR members, while putting the most-qualified [teaching] pros out there to grow the game."
The campaign espouses the benefits of tennis such as players cutting in half their risk of death from any cause; higher self-esteem and lower levels of depression; and outperforming golf and most other sports in developing positive personality characteristics. Competitive tennis also burns more calories than aerobics or cycling.
"All these benefits make tennis the ideal sport for kids to learn early in life," Groppel said. "What parent wouldn't want their children to have these advantages through their growing years? And, it's never too late for adults of all ages to take up the game. The human system can be trained and improved at any stage of life."
Gilbert says the focus at Ginn Harbor is also getting kids playing, and attracting new adult players to the sport.
"All the things that the USTA is doing with QuickStart for kids, for the entry-level programs no matter what we label them -- we call it 'New to Tennis' here at Hammock Beach. We try to get players playing," Gilbert says. "We don't make it only instruction based, we do hit-arounds and live-ball play and get them playing the game. That's the most important thing for sure. CardioTennis, for example, has gotten people to come to the courts to try the workout portion, and maybe we can convert them into regular players."
The tennis complex at Ginn Hammock, approximately a year old, lies between the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway at the Yacht Club Village. Eight lighted Hydro-Grid claycourts will be joined at the end of 2008 or in early 2009 by a multi-story pro shop and clubhouse.
Gilbert, with Head Tennis Professional Gene Paul Lascano and Teaching Professional Paul Christensen, works with a cadre of junior talent in the Palm Coast area that hope to play top-level college tennis or the pro tour. As a former USTA Area Training Center coach, he sees the USTA High Performance program in Boca Raton as a move in the right direction, along with reaching out to other facilities and pros with high-performance prospects.
"Some would say that it's an idea that's about time," Gilbert says of the USTA High Performance program in Boca Raton. "A lot of us who have been around the game for a long time have seen players develop in a lot of different ways, and we've also seen the success of the existing academies. You could make a point that the USTA should also look to the people that are already developing players and they could provide some assistance. I would like to see the ability for a player to stay with their own coach or the academy that they are at and still receive USTA assistance."
The USPTA does its own high performance development, with Floridians such as former tour player Emilio Sanchez from his Naples academy and Nick Bollettieri serving on their High Performance Committee. The other teaching pro certification body, the United States Professional Tennis Registry (USPTR) also does high performance certification. There have been rumors over the years of the two bodies merging, but Gilbert says the rumors are just that. Nonetheless, he says he remains open to working with all organizations.
"Some people might think it would be better to have one [pro's] association, but at this time we're continuing to focus on our goals -- we're moving forward as an association and I'm assuming they're doing the same," Gilbert says of the USPTR. "We have respect for them and we work together on certain projects. We're like Coke and Pepsi -- we're still trying to grow our own brand, and grow tennis."
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