Paid to Learn to Lead: Dr. Jason Allen on the USTA's Director Apprenticeship

Season 26, Episode 27 - Shaun Boyce, Bobby Schindler

Summary Dr. Jason Allen runs the USTA Racquet Sports Management Apprenticeship, a two year program that pays experienced coaches to learn how to run a racket club. He explains why our industry keeps promoting the best coach on court to director without the training to run a business, how the apprenticeship closes that gap, and why every apprentice from the first cohort already has a job. Jason also makes the case for live ball, athlete centered coaching and, as our king of tennis, for putting almost everyone on a green dot ball.

Key Topics

• Dr. Jason Allen's path through the USTA, from wheelchair tennis and court testing to the Racquet Sports Management Apprenticeship
• How tennis courts get a pace rating, and how the US Open courts are tested
• Why the best coach on court doesn't automatically make the best director
• How the apprenticeship works: eligibility, pay, on court hours, and the business classroom
• Where the first cohort landed, every apprentice now has a job
• Dead ball feeding versus live ball, and coach centered versus athlete centered instruction
• Multi sport athletes and the risks of early specialization
• Jason's answer to our signature question, king of tennis: the green dot ball

Keywords Dr. Jason Allen, USTA, Racquet Sports Management Apprenticeship, RSMA, USTA National Campus, director of racket sports, tennis club management, USTA Coaching, American Development Model, green dot ball, live ball coaching, athlete centered coaching, court pace rating, GoTennis podcast, ARA, American Racket Sports Association

Sound Bites "This is not rocket science, gentlemen." "Let's be honest, there is no mentorship in our industry." "If I were king of tennis, I think we should all be using green dot unless we're pros."

Full YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/DKHGJ4Yr72U?si=scPZzY--uuvjhQNu

King of Tennis Answer: https://youtube.com/shorts/rusLGzjFbAE?feature=share

Learn more about the USTA Racquet Sports Management Apprenticeship: https://www.usta.com/rsma

Contact Our Hosts

• Shaun Boyce, RSPA: [email protected] | https://americanracketsportsassociation.com/
• Bobby Schindler, RSPA: [email protected] | https://letsgotennis.com/windermere
• Geovanna Boyce: [email protected] | https://regeovinate.com/
• GoTennis Website: https://letsgotennis.com/

Learn more about the Marc Kaplan Media Excellence Award we (the GoTennis! Podcast) won from USTA Georgia: https://letsgotennis.com/captivate-podcast/gotennis-podcast-wins-the-marc-kaplan-media-excellence-award/

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