Kamperman said this coming year, USTA will launch the consumer program for Net GenerationUSTA
Name: Kurt Kamperman
Position: USTA National Campus CEO
Where I’m from: Ohio
Where I call home: Orlando
Focusing on right now: We just finished our first year of operations at the USTA National Campus. We had a phenomenal first year, but our goal is to be a hub of innovation. So we’re sitting down now, and we’re looking at the new opportunities ahead of us on how we use the campus to be transformational for the sport of tennis.
Beefing up college tennis: We believe college tennis is a phenomenal spectator product. We’ve been shining a light on these key matchups now for three years with College MatchDay. This year, it’s at our National Campus, and on Saturday, we have Florida vs. Florida State. Last year we had that same match and we had over 1,700 people show up to watch a really exciting match. This year we’re expecting over 2,000. That match will be televised live on Tennis Channel.
Get 'em while they're young: Net Generation is the USTA’s youth tennis initiative. It’s really about attracting and retaining and engaging with youth tennis players. It’s a program we launched last year. We’ve had over 16,000 tennis providers say they want to be a part of Net Generation. Last year was our provider launch to offer programs for young kids, and we provided a whole bunch of value propositions for those providers. This coming year, we’ll be launching the consumer program for Net Gen. So we’ll be making parents and children aware.
Best advice: Take the time to learn the trade and not try to just learn the tricks of the trade. There’s a lot of people who are passionate about a field and they sometimes think they can get a cliff notes version of it. But you really can’t. If you try learning the tricks of the trade as opposed to the trade, you’re short changing yourself and the people you work with.
A must for a new hire: Three things: 1) Are they passionate about what they do? 2) Can they manage themselves? 3) Are they a good fit for the team and will they fit into the culture that we’re developing here?
First thing in the morning: For the last year, I’ve been trying to meditate in the mornings, and I use an incredible app called Headspace. I will say that I start to make coffee first, but then I meditate.
Must-have music: Jazz and female vocalists. I also like music from the '60s a lot, so I’m a big SHIRLEY BASSEY and DIANA KRALL.
Talking tech: The live streaming that we have here at the National Campus is incredible. That’s the technology I’m using the most during the day. We have 84 courts that have live streaming.
Food for thought: Working in New York for a long time, I miss the variety of ethnic foods there. I became a big fan of Greek tavern and Thai food.
How I unwind: I exercise a lot. I wore out my right hip so I can’t run anymore, but I love to play to tennis. I love to go to the gym. I love to bike ride.
Day in the life: I park in the back of the lot so customers can park close. Then as you walk from the parking lot into our welcome center, you’re walking alongside all these different players coming in. You have this day where you’re focused on getting more people to play tennis. Let’s face it -- we built all this technology at the campus because we know that you can’t connect with a nine-year-old kid today the same way you could 20 years ago. Every day, we’re thinking, “how can we use technology and how can we innovate to get more engagement from all different types of players.” And then, as I walk out to my car, whether it’s 5 o’clock or 7 o’clock, I’m watching more players come in to play at night like families and young kids after school. So it’s a pretty awesome way to start and end your day, and it reminds you why you got in the business that you did.
