CourtSide with Evan Dechtman

CourtSide is the podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Tennis, pickleball, padel, squash. If you own a facility, run programs, coach players, or operate in this industry, this show is for you. Host Evan Dechtman sits down with facility owners, directors of racquets, head pros, club managers, and operators across the country for honest conversations about what it actually takes to run a racquet sports business. How to fill courts. How to keep members. How to build programs from scratch. How to hire good coaches and keep them. The stuff that happens off the court that determines whether the stuff on the court survives. No scripts. No highlight reels. Just two people talking about what they've built, what's working, what's not, and where they think this whole thing is going. New episodes every two weeks. Evan is the founder of TopSpin Digital, a marketing agency built from the ground up for racquet sports, and HEARD Digital Marketing, its parent company. 25+ years of digital marketing for local businesses. 350+ clients. TopSpin exists because racquet sports businesses had real momentum and almost no marketing infrastructure behind it. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email: evan@topspindigital.co Show notes: topspindigital.co/courtside

CourtSide with Evan Dechtman is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 11 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts CourtSide with Evan Dechtman, a business show with 11 episodes published.

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  Episode #10

  CourtSide Ep. 10: The Godfather of Padel Says Build the Business Before the Court

  Sep 21, 202635 min

  Marcos del Pilar came to the United States in 2017 to make a case for a sport few people here understood. He had built and run five tennis and padel venues in Spain. In America, he heard no from clubs, investors, and property owners who saw padel as a European trend or thought pickleball had already taken the second racquet-sport spot. People call Marcos the Godfather of Padel in the U.S. He helped bring the first Padel World Championship to the country, co-founded the Pro Padel League, and built coach education for a new generation of American padel professionals. In this conversation, we get into: Why the U.S. started using a different pronunciation, why Marcos calls that a temporary answer, and how he wants the sport said now Leaving a successful life in Spain to build a new category in America, with no family nearby and plenty of early rejection Why courts are only the physical asset, and why coaches, staff, programming, and human connection make players come back The questions a Denver tennis or pickleball club needs to answer before adding padel Why Marcos says to build the business model before building the courts What the Pro Padel League's franchise model taught him about player pathways, media, and sponsorship His projection of 20,000 U.S. courts and 15 million players by 2030, and why padel cannot stay a luxury product Why some of the best points of his career came from the bench, coaching someone else If you run a club, coach, build racquet programs, or are looking at the padel business, this one's for you. ABOUT COURTSIDE CourtSide is a podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Long-form conversations with the owners, directors, and head pros shaping tennis, pickleball, padel, and squash. Hosted by Evan Dechtman, founder of TopSpin Digital. New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io CONNECT WITH MARCOS DEL PILAR Website: https://www.padelandsuccess.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcos-del-pilar-padel/

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  Episode #9

  CourtSide Ep. 9: She Quit a Biology Lab to Run Tennis Programs at America's Most Exclusive Clubs

  Sep 8, 202621 min

  Jennifer Gelhaus was four years into a molecular biology career, headed for a PhD, when she quit to coach tennis full time. No backup plan, no fallback. Fifteen years later, she has built racquet programs at some of the most prestigious clubs in the country: Maidstone Club in the Hamptons, East Chop Tennis Club on Martha's Vineyard, Oyster Harbors Club on Cape Cod, and now The Club at Renaissance in Southwest Florida. She's also the host of the Vida Tennis Podcast, co-host of Power Players with the Directors Club of America, and the PTR's 2025 Young Professional of the Year. In this conversation, we get into: Leaving Venezuela alone at 16 to play college tennis in the US The moment she walked away from a career in science What seven years at an elite Hamptons club before 30 taught her The communication system she says generates ten lesson requests per newsletter Why she thinks most club tennis directors don't treat the job like a business What it's like walking into old-school, tradition-heavy rooms as a young woman The biggest mistake new directors make in their first 90 days If you run a racquet program or want to build a career in this industry instead of just a job, this one's for you. ABOUT COURTSIDE CourtSide is a podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Long-form conversations with the owners, directors, and head pros shaping tennis, pickleball, padel, and squash. Hosted by Evan Dechtman, founder of TopSpin Digital. New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co Full show notes: topspindigital.co/courtside TopSpin Digital: topspindigital.co HEARD Digital Marketing: heardmarketing.io CONNECT WITH JENNIFER GELHAUS LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jennifer-g-561715a4

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  Episode #8

  CourtSide Ep. 8: The Career Coach for the Racquet Sports Industry, with Kyle LaCroix

  Aug 25, 202630 min

  Kyle LaCroix has certified and mentored over 1,700 tennis coaches worldwide, and he did it after spending part of his early career living out of his car in South Florida waiting for his break. He's the founder and CEO of SETS Consulting and one of roughly 150 active RSPA Master Professionals in the world, the highest designation a racquet sports professional can hold. In this conversation, we get into the parts of the job nobody puts on a podcast: Living out of his car early in his career, waiting for a break What a Tuesday looks like inside a high-performance tennis academy Teaching a player who competed at Wimbledon how to coach a 10-year-old 17 years testing and certifying coaches, and what he saw was broken Why racquet sports professionals maximize their ability but not their potential If you coach, run a program, or lead a racquet sports facility and want a real career instead of just a job, this one's for you. ABOUT COURTSIDE CourtSide is a podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Long-form conversations with the owners, directors, and head pros shaping tennis, pickleball, padel, and squash. Hosted by Evan Dechtman, founder of TopSpin Digital. New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io CONNECT WITH KYLE LACROIX Website: setsconsult.org LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kyle-lacroix-8b512b1b Still waiting on your OK for the YouTube title/description and clip captions from my last message, and Kyle's email for the guest package, before I schedule the launch crons.

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  Episode #7

  CourtSide Ep. 7: 27 Years at One Club, Then He Started Over, with Craig Bell

  Aug 11, 202625 min

  Craig Bell spent 27 and a half years running the tennis program at one club in Dallas. Then in 2024, he retired, moved back to Utah, and started over, selling padel and pickleball gear across the Intermountain region. Craig is an RSPA Master Professional, co-host of the At The Net Podcast (closing in on 700 episodes), and owner of Bell Boy Sports. Over 50 years in the industry he's been a player, coach, director, recruiter, equipment rep, live streamer, and podcaster. He's a 6th generation member of the Chickasaw Nation, and his 5th great grandfather was Chief of the tribe in the 1820s. In this conversation, we get into: Starting in racquet sports in 1974 at age 10, and clocking a 131 mph serve at the Jansen Fast Serve Contest in the mid-80s 27.5 years running the program at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas, and what actually kept it interesting that long Taking play at University Club Dallas from almost nothing to a 300% increase Coaching his son Chris to a 4-time Texas state championship, and watching him become Director of Athletics at Willow Fork Country Club in Houston Closing in on 700 episodes of the At The Net Podcast with co-host AJ Chabria What "Mr. Conviviality" means to him, and why he thinks it matters in this business Retiring from Bent Tree in 2024, moving back to Utah, and starting Bell Boy Sports from scratch Being a 6th generation member of the Chickasaw Nation, whose 5th great grandfather was Chief of the tribe If you're thinking about what comes after decades in one job, or you just want to hear from someone who has done nearly every job in this industry, this one is for you. ABOUT COURTSIDE CourtSide is the podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Tennis, pickleball, padel, squash. If you own a facility, run programs, coach players, or operate in this industry, this show is for you. Host Evan Dechtman sits down with facility owners, directors of racquets, head pros, club managers, and operators across the country for honest conversations about what it actually takes to run a racquet sports business. No scripts. No highlight reels. Just two people talking about what they've built, what's working, what's not, and where they think this whole thing is going. New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co CONNECT WITH CRAIG BELL Instagram (Bell Boy Sports): https://instagram.com/bellboysports Instagram (At The Net Podcast): https://instagram.com/at.the.net.podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-bell-30287911

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  Episode #6

  CourtSide Ep. 6: From Cold Call to Assistant Director in 4 Years, with Brandon Day

  Jul 28, 202632 min

  Brandon Day graduated from Ferris State's Professional Tennis Management program in 2022. Four years later, he's the assistant director at a 31-court tri-racquet club, and he's not even 30. He's at North Hills Club in Raleigh, North Carolina, running programming across 22 tennis courts, 6 pickleball courts, and 3 padel courts. He got there by cold-calling Jarrett Chirico for an internship, starting at the bottom at Royal Oaks Country Club, and working his way from teaching pro to director of programming in under three years. In this conversation, we get into: Growing up playing summer tennis to avoid the angry babysitter, and how that turned into a career Cold-calling Jarrett Chirico for an internship and getting an offer letter on the spot Starting at Royal Oaks making zero dollars and building a lesson book from scratch The member who taught him what service actually means (hint: it had nothing to do with tennis instruction) Programming across tennis, pickleball, and padel without the three sports eating into each other What certifications actually do for your career vs. what's just letters after your name The real math of what young pros make, from $30K to $150K depending on region and contract Why burnout in racquet sports is a leadership problem, not a work ethic problem His goal to be a director by 28 in an industry where the average director is 55+ If you're early in your racquet sports career, thinking about getting into the private club world, or trying to figure out how people actually move up in this industry, this one's for you. ABOUT COURTSIDE CourtSide is the podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Tennis, pickleball, padel, squash. If you own a facility, run programs, coach players, or operate in this industry, this show is for you. Host Evan Dechtman sits down with facility owners, directors of racquets, head pros, club managers, and operators across the country for honest conversations about what it actually takes to run a racquet sports business. No scripts. No highlight reels. Just two people talking about what they've built, what's working, what's not, and where they think this whole thing is going. New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co CONNECT WITH BRANDON DAY North Hills Club: https://www.northhillsclub.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-day-dca-crse-918271183/

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