Kentucky Tennis Family,
It’s been a long, wet, cold, dreary winter and if you’re like me at all, you are ready for a change! My friends and family will tell you I’ve never been a big fan of change, but when it comes to spring, I am all about it! I love the longer days and warmer weather and I think the Sunday when Daylight Savings time begins should be a national holiday!
Spring brings all sorts of changes: the weather gets warmer, days get longer, flowers bloom and trees bud. For me Spring is really all about change and for USTA there’s a lot of changes coming too.
We have a new President at USTA National. Katrina Adams, USTA President for an unprecedented 4 years, passed the torch to Patrick Galbraith in November and Gordon Smith, Chief Executive for USTA for the past 12 years, will be retiring at the end of 2019. Together Katrina and Gordon oversaw the transformation of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, the construction of the USTA National Campus in Florida and cast a vision for a new, more inclusive and innovative USTA. The changes under the leadership of these two visionaries has been motivating and inspiring as we seek to grow tennis in our own state. Their leadership cannot be overstated, and I am grateful that my first year as USTA Kentucky President was during their tenures.
Next week I’ll be heading to Austin, TX with USTA Kentucky Executive Director Jason Miller and other leaders in Kentucky Tennis for the USTA National Meeting. I am excited to hear about Patrick Galbraith’s vision for the next 2 years, to learn more about the digital transformation that is happening within USTA – especially in regards the change from Tennis Link to Tennis Management Tool (TMT) – and about the growth and impact that Net Generation and Adult Social Leagues are having on our game. I also plan to attend meetings regarding adult league and Junior Team Tennis. It should be a great weekend of all things tennis and I’m excited to share what I learn with you next month!
Spring is an exciting time to be a tennis player and tennis lover! Those of us who are providers are already in the throes of planning for spring and summer programming, high school and college tennis seasons are in full swing and the USTA Kentucky staff has literally been all over the state the past few weeks working to support our CTA’s and providers. The hope of spring has us all motivated and I hope it does you too! There’s never a better time to grab a friend and hit the courts than now!
Happy Spring!
Rainey Johns
“Find Your Serve”