When I was a kid I always wanted to play tennis, but was too intimidated to try it. I thought it was a sport for those popular rich kids I went to high school with. When I worked at a Club Med in my 20s (an all inclusive resort) the tennis pro gave me a free lesson and I was hooked. When you play tennis everything else escapes your mind. You are focused on one thing only – hitting that damn ball. Not to mention it’s an amazing workout!
Marco, CEO of ProsToYou Tennis, reached out to me recently to let me know he is joining forces with St. Peter’s University to hold year round tennis programs. He invited me to check out the massive indoor tennis courts and to play a few points. Even though I was not appropriately dressed, once I started playing I didn’t want to stop. ProsToYou Tennis really makes tennis accessible and affordable to all ages and skill levels. Marco totally motivated me to take up tennis again! So fun!
What’s your name?
Marco.
What do you do?
I am the CEO and the Director of Tennis for ProsToYou Tennis.
What does your company do?
We are a full tennis service company, we provide tennis instruction to all ages and skill levels. We hold adult programs year round. We hold year round adult and junior programs. We also have summer camps, mixers and special events. We serve the Maryland, New Jersey and the New York areas. We currently established a partnership with St. Peter’s University in Jersey City as well as a partnership with the Jersey City Department of Recreation.
That’s awesome!
Yeah, we are really excited about it! We are offering free after school year-round tennis programs at local schools and public parks.
Where is your company originally from?
We started out in Maryland. We wanted to expand and find an indoor facility to hold year round programming. Build that consistency, built the training developmental pathway for adults and juniors. St. Peter’s University was the perfect location to do it.
Can you tell me about the program?
We are starting our spring session on Sunday, March 29th. It’s a 6 week session for adults and juniors where we have programming for beginners to advanced players. After that we are going to have another spring session leading up to our summer camps that is starting mid-June.
And you have some sort of event coming up?
We have the free kick-off launch on Saturday, March 28th from 9am-12pm, here at St. Peter’s University. It’s open to all ages, all skill levels. We are going to have fun games and prizes. We will have Gamma Tennis – one of our sponsors here. It’s going to be really fun to meet the local players that want to play tennis and take their game to the next level.
Can you tell me more about your approach to teaching tennis? Lets say I want to try tennis and I am a little intimidated?
Well we created our signature program called “Play Tennis!” that is a free group lesson for all adults and juniors. It’s a one time offer that is just to get players in the door. No strings attached, it’s completely free. Once we bring them in, our goal is to promote the game of tennis, and get people excited about it so they want to come back and play year round. It’s for all ages and skill levels. In this program, we use all different modified USTA balls based on skill levels.
When did you start playing tennis?
When I was 12. My older brother, he started and was really good, so my parents got me to start and then my younger brother so it was kind of in the family. My parents always played. I’ve stuck with it ever since. I played tennis in high school and played a year in college. I’ve been involved in tennis from playing and coaching…I worked at a training academy for four years where I learned the business side of tennis…from marketing, to grassroots teaching to really exposing the game of tennis to people of all ages. It propelled me to start my own organization.
Do you offer private lessons?
We offer group lessons, private lessons, seminars, evaluations and you can get all that information off our website: prostoyou.com!
What are the prices like?
I think people see tennis as an expensive sport. My focus with all my facilities is grassroots tennis. Getting people who’ve never played tennis before, into the sport. With that comes the financial aspect and our prices are very reasonable. I’ve worked with all the facilities that know their communities to really customize a price structure that would appeal to everyone in the community. You can get a 6 week session for around $150, so it’s very affordable pricing. We also work with the individual client and make sure that the prices are suitable for them and the coaches.
We also have a growing partnership with the USTA eastern section. We’ve been working closely with them to promote our programs.
What’s your favorite Jersey City hangout spot?
The Brightside Tavern!
Anything else you want people to know about your program?
My whole thing is grassroots tennis. People that never played tennis but might be interested…tennis is a very relaxing sport which you can play all your life! In our programs for adults especially, we are more than happy to go through the developmental pathway with those modified balls to make our players feel comfortable.
Even for adults, if you are a beginner we will make sure you go through our training pathway so you can feel comfortable. Your confidence builds, and your technique builds. That’s what I find rewarding. Getting a beginner and getting them excited and have them come every week to get better every week…and build their passion for this sport.
Gotta get you out on the court!
Let’s do it.
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