Courtside With Joel Kassan and Warren Rand of Gotham Tennis Academy
For a city that is known as the “Concrete Jungle” and has limited recreational space, there are a surprisingly large number of new avenues available to play tennis in New York City at tennis clubs, tennis academies, parks, schoolyards, and gyms. One tennis innovator, Gotham Tennis Academy, is changing the tennis landscape in New York City by offering a year-round system of teaching tennis to growing numbers of enthusiastic players of all ages and levels at convenient locations dotted throughout the city. We sat down with Joel Kassan and Warren Rand, the owners of Gotham Tennis Academy, to learn about their vision for Gotham Tennis Academy and see what strides they are making in the sport of tennis in New York City. For more information about Gotham Tennis Academy, please visit www.gothamtennis.com.
Tell us a little about your tennis background and personal life.
Warren Rand: I grew up in North Carolina, and I began playing at the age of eight. Once I started to improve, I attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and lived there for a year and a half. I then received a Division I scholarship to play for Appalachian State where I played number one singles my junior and senior years. After college, I decided to put the racquets down and traveled for a few years. I ended up in Sweden where I went to graduate school and got a master’s degree in finance. With that degree, I came to New York and got a job on Wall Street. I soon realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea, so I picked the racquets back up, and what was supposed to only be a short gig teaching for a summer in the Hamptons soon became my career. In the end, it was what I knew best and was my life-long passion.
Joel Kassan: I started playing tennis in New Jersey around the age of nine with my father, who taught me the game. I loved hitting the ball against a wall and serving buckets of balls for hours and hours at the local tennis courts. In high school, I was MVP of my tennis team for two years and captain of the tennis team in my senior year. I played tennis at Wesleyan University, followed by earning an MBA from the Wharton Business School. I am an avid tennis enthusiast, but have also enjoyed coaching youth basketball, soccer and baseball programs on the Upper Westside of Manhattan.
What does Gotham Tennis Academy provide to the New York City tennis community?
Kassan: Gotham Tennis Academy offers its players, especially young athletes, a proven system for learning fundamental tennis skills in a positive and supportive environment. In a city where children are “over-programmed” with activities, we try to make it as easy as possible for kids and their parents to get out on the court, develop their skills and have fun. That’s why we offer nine convenient locations. We strive to hire the most talented, engaging and personable tennis pros who are passionate about teaching tennis. At all of our locations, we also seek to teach tennis in top-notch facilities. In selecting facilities for our programs, we look for convenience, ample space, good lighting, and well-maintained playing surfaces. We are big proponents of the USTA’s 10 & Under programs, which means we use age-appropriate equipment that allows younger players to learn tennis more quickly and develop a stronger foundation for lifelong enjoyment of the sport.
Rand: With our many locations, we attempt to make tennis as easy on the family as possible. By having several convenient locations, the parents and players spend less time traveling to and from tennis. We want our kids to have fun and learn the fundamentals of the sport. By using the USTA’s QuickStart method, we can take tennis to a school or gym or other surface which is a major benefit of this new teaching format. You do not necessarily need a full-sized tennis court to begin teaching tennis. The important thing is to provide the same teaching curriculum at each location. We also like to expose our players to different surfaces, such as the French Open style red clay in Riverside Park, the U.S. Open style deco hard courts at Stadium, and the artificial grass and Har-Tru surfaces at our Napeague Tennis Club in the Hamptons.
Please comment on the teaching method and teachers at Gotham Tennis Academy.
Rand: We hire PTR-certified tennis instructors and we have a standard curriculum which each instructor is required to follow. Our core teaching curriculum is the same at each of our locations. Every semester, we do player and pro evaluations to review performance and stay on top of player development. We are also using technology now with Dartfish video analysis, even at a young age because kids can learn a lot from watching video footage of themselves. We teach our instructors that teaching tennis is about the student, not the pro. Not one single pro on our staff is “bigger” than our system and our team approach. For example, Alex Bogomolov Jr., a professional tennis player who recently reached number 31 in the world, was a Gotham program director. Just like everyone else on our professional staff, Alex left his ego at the door when he joined our company and put the needs of our players above all else.
Please tell us about Stadium Tennis Center.
Kassan: Stadium Tennis Center is a new, state-of-the-art 16 court indoor/outdoor tennis center near Yankee Stadium, which operates under a concession agreement with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Twelve of Stadium’s courts are open for indoor play from October through April under one of the largest tennis bubbles or domes of this type in the world. The bubble at Stadium Tennis Center covers an area of over four million cubic feet and a footprint of more than 75,000-sq. ft. The Center’s high 60-ft. ceilings, tournament play lighting, spacious backcourts and an adjacent clubhouse are attracting tennis players throughout NYC, northern New Jersey, Westchester and Connecticut. Because Stadium Tennis Center is conveniently located near Yankee Stadium, it is also very accessible by public transportation. There is convenient parking right across the street at the Gateway Shopping Center.
Rand: Stadium Tennis Center offers a full complement of tennis programs for juniors and adults of all skill levels. Through its partnership with Gotham Tennis Academy, the new tennis center has established a team of top-notch, experienced tennis professionals and programs with a growing and loyal following. Stadium also offers indoor seasonal court rentals, private lessons, game arranging, leagues and tournaments. It’s a special place for all types of tennis players: Young, old, beginners, tournament players … you name it. Everyone is welcome at Stadium.
Can you generalize about the goals for players at Gotham Tennis Academy?
Kassan: One cornerstone goal of our company is to provide a training ground where our players can become prepared to play tennis at the Division I college level. We strive to train champions who can reach their maximum potential both on and off-the-court. Through tennis, one can learn many life skills, so we not only want our students to become better tennis players, but we want them to also be become better people who display good sportsmanship, act responsibly and ethically, and are able to set and achieve goals on and off the court. We want our players to realize that even if they don’t become college or professional tennis players, they can still develop solid fundamental tennis skills to enjoy with family and friends for a lifetime.
Rand: We encourage our kids to play tennis with us throughout the entire year, and just to be the very best that they can be. Starting from when they pick up a racquet with us, we want them to realize their affiliation with Gotham Tennis Academy means something. This is hopefully a 10- to 15-year relationship with us, all the way through college and beyond. Right now, we are only in our fifth year, so we are eager to see where our players will be in another five to 10 years. The future for our young crop of players is incredibly bright. It’s very exciting and humbling to know that Gotham Tennis Academy will play a key role in our players’ tournament results, scholarships, college and more. But overall, our end game is that we want our kids to have fun, develop their skills, get better and enjoy their time with us.
