October-November 2009 -- As our national staff and national board were preparing for the 2009 World Conference, I was excited to discover that this year's theme was "Tennis - It's what I do."

The reason the theme generated such an enthusiastic reaction in me was because at the Pacific Northwest Divisional Conference in June, I was part of a panel discussion of pros along with Peter Burwash, Frank Inn, Mark Bey and Jonathan Stark. An intriguing question was posed to us there, "Why do you volunteer, travel and commit so much of your time?"

"It's what I do," I replied when it was my turn to speak, not knowing that the sentiment echoed the theme of the upcoming World Conference.

You see, tennis is not only my chosen profession, but that of more than 15,000 USPTA and other nonmember teaching professionals throughout the United States. This is the profession that I love, and because I love it, I want to help in any way possible to make it a more prestigious and profitable profession for anyone who chooses it as a career path. Because the "P" in USPTA stands for "Professional," I believe that means our members should have an opportunity to become financially stable in this field.

Each individual USPTA member has a different reason why tennis has become such a huge part of his or her life. When I was 23 years old, I became the head professional at the Marina Yacht and Tennis Club in Stockton, Calif. While happy to be gainfully employed in any capacity at the time, I still often wondered whether I wanted tennis to be my chosen career for the long run. The events and story are deeply personal as to how I arrived at the conclusion that tennis was the only career for me, but let me just share that it was a life-changing event that made me understand what a great field teaching tennis is. I often wonder whether people who have a "regular" job ever feel as rewarded and gratified each day that they go to work. I hope so.

For me, it is all about my students. They make everything happen. There are those who are great to begin with, those that might need some refinement, those whose interesting personalities never make for a dull moment, and those who are passionate and involved members at the club where I teach now - the Modesto Fitness & Racket Club. All of them combine to make "What I Do" so exciting, and I truly feel that most of the time I am the student and they are the teachers in discovering what is important in life.

Private lessons, workouts, ladies interclub, cardio tennis, GetCourtside Leagues, tennis and management staff meetings, running USPTA and USTA tournaments, junior team tennis, watching students at tournaments, traveling to and speaking at USPTA educational conferences throughout the country, running socials, playdays, round robins and other numerous activities also make up What I Do. Then there is the greatest aspect of What I Really Love To Do - playing competitive tennis.

Now, I don't think everyone needs to commit all of his or her free time to volunteering for the game of tennis, but there are certainly effective ways to help this profession continue to evolve and flourish. Talk to your USPTA divisional president and see if you can help out on a committee or educational conference. If you have the time and passion, try to get elected to your divisional board or even become a state representative or regional director. Volunteer to be on a USTA divisional committee or help out at an ATP or WTA event. Other ideas are to get involved in your local community by helping out the university or college, high school or parks and recreation programs in your area.

The more involved you are in your division and community the more you just might help improve the perception and standing of the tennis profession as a whole.

Since this is the profession "that we do," it is also important for each of us to stay educated and up to date on what is going on in the industry. Continuing your education in the tennis world has probably never been as easy. There are numerous ways to keep current with what's going on in the teaching world. Visiting the USPTA Web sites on a regular basis is one way; I find TennisResources.com to be an outstanding educational source. Our Little Tennis Web site, tennis-health.com, the Coaches Resources center and USprotennisshop.com are all USPTA educational tools. Also, being a certified member allows you to use the TennisPlayer.net site for free for your enjoyment. In addition to these sites, there are plenty of other pertinent Web sites to visit.

Attending USPTA world and divisional conferences is also a great way to keep abreast of the industry as well as going to competitive player development conferences. If you can't make it to the conferences, USPTA has a DVD library of seminars held at these events that you can purchase to help educate you further. For me, networking and talking shop with fellow USPTA Professionals has always been one of the most valuable educational experiences. So going to conferences and meeting new professionals and discussing techniques has been a high priority for me. After all, "It's What I Do."

If you are fortunate enough to be a director of tennis or in charge of a tennis staff, ask yourself this question: "What do I do to make my staff enjoy working for me?" In these challenging economic times, this is a crucial question because a lot of certified associate professionals are probably pondering whether to change professions. These associate professionals are an important part of creating a great tennis staff. These staff members will work hard and long for a director of tennis if they believe that the director will, in the long run, help them find an opportunity to secure a financially stable and enjoyable position. I have been lucky to have my past associate pros go on to be directors of tennis at competing clubs, and my club competes against their club teams on a regular basis. Some past associates have become high school and college coaches or held other tennis positions throughout the country. Two of my current staff members help out at the sectional level. The first is a USPTA regional director for our division and the second is a USTA Junior Team Tennis coordinator for our area. The more you create a reputation that your staff will be rewarded in the long run, the easier the hiring process becomes. Follow the "It's What I Do" approach to tennis and your staff more than likely will take on the same motto and enjoy the same benefits you have to been rewarded with over the years.

So, in light of the recent World Conference theme, it would be great to hear why so many tennis professionals have chosen our association and the game of tennis for their work. I know it is difficult for a lot of our members to go to the World Conferences, but please at least try to make a divisional conference or a USPTA event near you to meet fellow professionals who have the same passion you do. The more communication and networking we can have as USPTA members, the better it will make our profession. Our board members, including public relations chairman Jack Groppel, are always working on getting the USPTA name out to the tennis industry. So let's get the word out to the tennis consumer that teaching tennis is What We Do, so that this great profession only gets better.

In closing, it was good to see a lot of you at Marco Island to see why, "Tennis - It's what I do" means so much to you.