Racquet Pros
Rally Together
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Mike Manzella is an experienced racquet club teaching professional and has been a certified p-1 Performance, Adult, and 10 & under member of the United States Professional Tennis Registry since 2005. Mike’s international experience, coaching in Austria, England, the Virgin Islands, and the U.S. has helped shaped his vision for the racquet sport industry. He founded Racquet-Pros.com in 2020 after finding just how difficult it was to match racquet club instructors with available racquet club jobs. By making racquet professionals and their skill sets discoverable on demand, Manzella and his team at Racquet-Pros.com help find the best match for both parties’ unique needs. He has experience as both an employer and a coach, and currently serves as Executive Director of Racquets of South Towns Tennis Club, in Orchard Park, New York.
Why Tennis and Pickleball Instructors and Clubs Need Racquet-Pros.com
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By Mike Manzella
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When racquet clubs need racquet sports professionals—and when qualified instructors or directors need teaching jobs—how can these two parties meet? Today’s hyper-fast environment and competitive marketplace make it challenging to find the right person or position, at the right time, in the right location. It can be extremely challenging and time-consuming for managers and owners to find the right fit.
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Relax. We have the solution at Racquet-Pros.com where we do the hard work for you. We bring qualified instructors and employers together in a high-tech online environment where discovering, meeting, and hiring is made simple. Racquet-Pros.com is geared toward all racquet sports, including pickleball, POP Tennis, padel, squash, and of course, tennis, and more.
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Professionals sign up for free and develop their own personal brand and skill portal through Racquet Pros set of unique tools. Becoming discoverable to thousands of potential employers gives teaching professionals a path to employment that was unknown just a few years ago. It also allows Racquet Pros to stand out from the rest of the competition.
For example, most of today’s hiring sites are simply job boards where a position is posted, and then applicants find the job and apply. Now, by using Racquet-Pros.com’s huge database of qualified teaching professionals located around the world, employers can do their research on potential coaches based on the specific criteria they are looking for an individual. (i.e. certifications, sport, skills, location, experience, pay, etc.) For just $40 per month, racquet clubs have access to Racquet-Pros.com proprietary database of teaching professionals.
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As more and more teaching pros are becoming increasingly mobile, it is not uncommon for a West Coast-based professional to make the transition to a teaching position at a club as far away as the East Coast or in the Southern United States. Having the ability to research and apply for a job in advance makes the entire process much smoother, resulting in a better experience for employers, coaches, and students.
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Our geo-search function allows employers to find pros with a custom radius—from 10 miles out to worldwide. Coaches looking for positions can do the same, ultimately leading to more career opportunities and options for all.
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Racquet-Pros.com was built out of my own personal experience. In early 2020, I was running a club in Buffalo, N.Y., and charged with finding a top-notch pickleball teaching professional. I quickly discovered how difficult it was to find available talent, but I was soon faced with a greater challenge.
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Due to the pandemic, I was let go from my club position in Buffalo. I felt hopeless, forced to find new employment, I sought out job boards, trying to find an open position. There were no jobs in Buffalo being a small market, and I was faced with the reality of possibly having to uproot my young family, put my house on the market and move to Florida where I previously worked if I could only find a job.
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Right then I realized there was a need for both employers and employees. I also realized racquet sports besides tennis were gaining popularity at clubs, especially pickleball in the U.S. Finding certified quality pickleball teaching professionals or tennis professionals who are experienced in coaching pickleball was a challenge.
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Improving the ability to find talented dedicated Pickleball pros will grow even more important as the sport gains in popularity. We are also seeing growth in other racquet sports such as Padel, Squash, and Platform Tennis, and of course Tennis. The need for these positions and people skilled in these sports also are in high demand and these positions and high-quality coaches and managers deserve a place to come together. Therefore, Racquet-Pros.com was founded to help serve the needs of both clubs and professionals.
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You can reach Mike at info@racquet-pros.com.
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See also Mike's post "5 Keys to Hiring a Great Teaching Pro."
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