CourtSide with Evan Dechtman

About 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

Publisher

Evan Dechtman - TopSpin Digital

Category

business · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 May 2026

Latest episode

3 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Nov 2026

   Courtside Ep. 14: Why Your Club Needs an "Only" Brand, Not a Better One

   Larry Gulko has spent about thirty years telling CEOs the one thing they do not want to hear: nobody is looking for your better brand, they are looking for the only brand. He also talked Greg Norman into fronting a fitness platform. Larry built Gulko & Company into a two-decade brand consultancy for Fortune 1000 companies, middle-market firms, startups and nonprofits. He ran marketing for Cybex, co-hosted Name Brands on CBS Boston and Inside The Brand on NBC Boston with Legal Sea Foods CEO Roger Berkowitz, founded the CEO Brand Leadership Roundtable at Harvard Business School, now in its fourteenth year, and runs BRAND: NEW DAY, a one-day retreat that makes a leadership team rebuild its brand in a single session. He is a regular presenter at Directors Club of America events and a close friend of DCA founder Jarrett Chirico. In this conversation, we get into the parts of the job nobody puts on a podcast: What an "only" brand looks like for one local facility instead of a Fortune 500 The first branding mistake he would expect to find in a brand new pickleball or padel club How the Greg Norman ambassador deal actually came together at Cybex Why he has walked away from prestigious clients, and how he knew What years of interviewing CEOs taught him about who is performing and who is telling the truth Where he thinks racquet sports lands in five years, and who wins it If you own a facility, run programs, or coach in racquet sports and your marketing sounds like everyone else's, this one is 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 do not miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH LARRY GULKO Website: https://larrygulko.com (https://larrygulko.com) BRAND NEW DAY: https://brandnewdayretreat.com (https://brandnewdayretreat.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-gulko-15b06a2/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-gulko-15b06a2/)

2. 

   28 Oct 2026

   CourtSide Ep. 13: How a New Racquet Sport Catches On, with Ian Golembeski

   Today Ian is TYPTI's community growth development coordinator in Colorado. He teaches club pros for free, runs exhibition nights, and is hosting the first TYPTI tournament in Colorado, the Denver Open, November 14 and 15 at The Picklr Thornton. In this conversation, we get into: - What TYPTI is, explained without calling it a mix of three other sports - Why a foam ball and net rebounds make the points feel like chaos, in the best way - Why tennis players pick it up fastest, and how a 35 year old Spikeball guy can still beat college players in doubles - Stakes Scoring: three straight points to win a game, and why one game can take 12 minutes - The 20 minute timer he is using to keep his Denver tournament from running 10 hours - What he runs when a club gives him one court, and the question that tells him a demo worked - How he works a crowd after hundreds of demos at trade shows - Staying at Steve Bellamy's place and playing the first doubles match at the new TYPTI headquarters - His advice for turning ten curious people into ten returning players If you run a club, coach, or want to bring a new game to your courts, this one is 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 do not miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH IAN GOLEMBESKI TYPTI: https://www.typti.com/ (https://www.typti.com/) Denver Open: https://register.typti.com/register/typti-denver-open (https://register.typti.com/register/typti-denver-open)

3. 

   20 Oct 2026

   CourtSide Ep. 12: What Pickleball Facilities Are Really Worth, with David Johnson

   In 2017 David opened Pickleball Station, four indoor courts inside the Pickleball Central warehouse, built for about $12,000 in netting. Today he runs the IAPPF, the trade association for pickleball and padel facility owners, with more than 500 facilities and about 60 sponsors. The IAPPF tracks facilities listed for sale, surveys operators every year, and hosts Smash 2026 in Orlando, November 17 to 19. In this conversation, we get into: What owning courts taught him that selling paddles never did The one thing he would change about selling his company: no earn out Why nine facilities listed for sale cut their asking price by a median of 39 percent Why 98 percent of pickleball facilities are leased, and what that does to resale value Location, lease, and people: the three things that decide whether a facility makes it Treating court time like airline seats, and why free events bring in members How one facility earns $20,000 a year per logo in the kitchen Pickleball or padel: why demographics decide it, and why $150 an hour padel rates may not last Why an absent owner can cost a club 20 to 25 percent of its odds of success (his gut number) Why the IAPPF runs Smash 2026 inside the Athletic Business Show, plus a new investment summit on day three His estimate of a $7 billion pickleball economy, with $3 billion of it in facilities Meeting Barney McCallum, one of the founders of the sport, at the Pickleball Station opening His closing advice before anyone signs a lease: $15 or less per square foot, triple net included If you own a facility, are thinking about building one, or are deciding between pickleball and padel, this one is for you. See you at Smash. 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 do not miss one. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH DAVID JOHNSON IAPPF: https://iappf.org (https://iappf.org) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-johnson-0685a/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-johnson-0685a/)

4. 

   6 Oct 2026

   CourtSide Ep. 11: Bringing BOAST Back to the Court, with Matt Feuer

   Matt Feuer spent 30 years supplying leather to brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Timberland, always wondering what he would do differently if he owned one. In 2024 he got his chance and bought BOAST, the maple leaf tennis brand he wore as a high school player in the 1980s. Matt is the owner and CEO of BOAST, the racquet sports apparel brand founded in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1973. His family ran leather tanneries in upstate New York, and he spent decades building sourcing and supply chains in Asia before moving to the brand side. Since he took over, BOAST has shown up on Tennis Channel, put pros on tour in the brand, landed in Nordstrom, and is heading into Saks. In this conversation, we get into: - The story behind the leaf, including a letter a woman wrote in the early 80s so a student could keep wearing BOAST to school - Why he bought a heritage brand instead of starting one from scratch - Where BOAST lost its way, and why he added wholesale to what had been a direct-to-consumer business - Why club directors, most of them 40 to 60 years old, greeted the brand with "welcome back" - Why he sees padel as a closer fit for tennis players than pickleball - A QR code merchandise program that lets clubs sell BOAST without stocking every size, with a cut of each sale going back to the club - Hiring Adam Black as Head of Padel, and why BOAST is picky about international partners - His advice for any supplier thinking about buying a heritage brand: awareness costs more than you think, and never trade quality for price If you run a club, manage a pro shop, or want to know what it takes to bring an old brand back, 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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH MATT FEUER Website: https://boastusa.com (https://boastusa.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/feuer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/feuer)

5. 

   21 Sept 2026

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

   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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH MARCOS DEL PILAR Website: https://www.padelandsuccess.com/ (https://www.padelandsuccess.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcos-del-pilar-padel/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcos-del-pilar-padel/)

6. 

   8 Sept 2026

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

   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 (http://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: topspindigital.co/courtside (http://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: topspindigital.co (http://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: heardmarketing.io (http://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH JENNIFER GELHAUS LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jennifer-g-561715a4 (http://linkedin.com/in/jennifer-g-561715a4)

7. 

   25 Aug 2026

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

   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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH KYLE LACROIX Website: setsconsult.org (http://setsconsult.org) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kyle-lacroix-8b512b1b (http://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.

8. 

   11 Aug 2026

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

   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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) CONNECT WITH CRAIG BELL Instagram (Bell Boy Sports): https://instagram.com/bellboysports (https://instagram.com/bellboysports) Instagram (At The Net Podcast): https://instagram.com/at.the.net.podcast (https://instagram.com/at.the.net.podcast) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-bell-30287911 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-bell-30287911)

9. 

   28 Jul 2026

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

   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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) CONNECT WITH BRANDON DAY North Hills Club: https://www.northhillsclub.com (https://www.northhillsclub.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-day-dca-crse-918271183/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-day-dca-crse-918271183/)

10. 

    14 Jul 2026

    CourtSide Ep. 5: From Teaching Pro to Director: 32 Years at The Broadmoor with Karen Schott

    Karen Schott walked into The Broadmoor in 1994 as a teaching pro. She spent eleven years learning under Dennis Ralston — a five-time Grand Slam doubles champion and International Tennis Hall of Famer — before taking over the program in 2005. She's been running it ever since. Thirty-two years at the same club. One of the most recognizable names in racquet sports at the same property. In 2021, she stood at the USPTA World Conference and told a room full of tennis pros: if you don't learn to teach pickleball, you'll be out of a job in two to three years. The title on her office door changed from "Director of Tennis" to "Director of Racquet Sports" shortly after. In this conversation, we get into: Walking into The Broadmoor at 24 and what she saw on day one Eleven years learning under Dennis Ralston and what he passed down The standard of a five-star property — what it demands and what it protects The USPTA conference moment and telling her peers the hard truth about pickleball How coexistence actually works when you have tennis diehards and pickleball beginners on the same staff The economics of running racquets at a resort vs. a private club Women in leadership — how many are in the room and what needs to change Working alongside her husband David on the same team for nearly a decade What she'd tell a young woman who wants to be a director someday If you run a racquets program, manage a club, or want to understand what thirty-plus years in the industry actually teaches you, this one is worth your time. 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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH KAREN SCHOTT The Broadmoor: https://www.broadmoor.com/sports/racquet-sports/ (https://www.broadmoor.com/sports/racquet-sports/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-schott-45409422/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-schott-45409422/) #CourtSidePodcast #RacquetSports #Tennis #Pickleball #TheBroadmoor #DirectorOfRacquetSports #KarenSchott #ClubIndustry #WomenInSports #TennisProfessional

11. 

    30 Jun 2026

    CourtSide Ep. 4: Building a $2.5 Million Racquets Program, with Jarrett Chirico

    Jarrett Chirico had a racket in his hand at three years old. By 11, he was at the Bollettieri Academy on a full scholarship. By 16, he was the top-ranked junior in America, playing all four Junior Grand Slams. Today he builds racquets programs at private clubs and turns them into the highest-revenue departments in the building. He took Baltimore Country Club from $7,000 a month to nearly $100,000. He grew Royal Oaks Country Club from $1 million to over $2.5 million a year in racquets revenue, without raising prices. In 2022, he founded the Directors Club of America, a network of over 1,300 leaders across 400+ clubs. In January 2026, Jarrett moved to North Hills Club in Raleigh to take on his next challenge: 22 tennis courts, 6 pickleball courts, and 3 padel courts. In this conversation, we get into: Growing up at Bollettieri, playing Grand Slams, and the decision not to go pro Playing World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms, coached by Billie Jean King The $7K-to-$100K turnaround at Baltimore Country Club and the $1M-to-$2.5M run at Royal Oaks Building the largest pickleball program in the Northeast (1,000 players a week) and pioneering clay court pickleball Why his crossover rates hit 80%+ when the industry average is 30% Founding the Directors Club of America and building a network of 1,300 directors The move to North Hills and what padel looks like from a director's chair If you run programs at a club, manage a racquets facility, or want to understand what separates the best directors in the country from everyone else, 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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email Evan directly: evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH JARRETT CHIRICO The Directors Club of America: https://www.thedirectorsclubofamerica.com (https://www.thedirectorsclubofamerica.com) North Hills Club: https://www.northhillsclub.com (https://www.northhillsclub.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrett-chirico-dca-b7712649 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrett-chirico-dca-b7712649) #CourtSidePodcast #RacquetSports #Tennis #Pickleball #Padel #DirectorsClubOfAmerica #NorthHillsClub #ClubIndustry #RacquetsDirector #JarrettChirico

12. 

    16 Jun 2026

    CourtSide Ep. 3: 30 Years Running Gates Tennis Center, with Sam Hitman

    Sam Hitman has been managing Gates Tennis Center since 1993. In 30+ years he's turned a public facility into the host of the country's largest sanctioned tennis tournament, launched two more facilities across Colorado, and built a scholarship program for kids who can't afford lessons. Sam is the General Manager of Gates Tennis Center in Denver, Director of Tennis at Pueblo Tennis & Pickleball Center, and founder of The School of Tennis Management. He and Evan go back to before either of them got into racquet sports, they played on a championship basketball team together at their local community center. In this conversation, we get into the parts of the job nobody puts on a podcast: How the public-private partnership with The Park People actually works, and what a $4.7M reconstruction looks like when the city owns the land Running three facilities at the same time across different markets The real economics of public vs. private tennis facility pricing How Gates added quiet pickleball courts, the paddles he tested, the investment, and a league that sold out in three days The School of Tennis Management, why he started teaching facility operators, not just players If you run a facility, manage programs, or want to understand how public tennis centers actually operate, 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 (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book) Email (https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email) Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co (mailto:evan@topspindigital.co) Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside (https://topspindigital.co/courtside) TopSpin (https://topspindigital.co/courtside TopSpin) Digital: https://topspindigital.co (https://topspindigital.co) HEARD (https://topspindigital.co HEARD) Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io (https://heardmarketing.io) CONNECT WITH SAM HITMAN Gates Tennis Center: https://gatestenniscenter.info (https://gatestenniscenter.info) #CourtSidePodcast #RacquetSports #Tennis #Pickleball #GatesTennisCenter #FacilityManagement #Denver

13. 

    22 May 2026

    Courtside Ep. 2: The 40-Hour Tennis Revolution: How Julius Gavin Is Changing the Game

    Julius Gavin (@tennis.god) has almost 90,000 followers on Instagram, charges $1,000 for six hours of coaching, and claims he can build a complete tennis game in 40 hours. Some call him the most honest coach in tennis. Others call him a fraud. The truth is more interesting than either take. Julius grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. Navy dad, Filipino mom, started hitting tennis balls at seven years old because a boss fight in The Legend of Zelda looked like a rally. He walked on at Norfolk State, lasted one semester against a roster full of guys from Argentina, Romania, and Brazil, and eventually built a coaching business entirely through Instagram with zero ad spend and no agency behind it. In this conversation, we get into the parts that the comment section argues about: • What "mastered in one to three months" actually means and where the 40-hour number comes from • Why he treats coaching like a math curriculum instead of a basket of tips • The real economics of driving thousands of miles to clients with a trunk full of balls • How short-form content converts a viewer into a $1,000 booking • The fraud accusations from other coaches and how he handles it • Why certifications exist to reduce liability, not prove competence • His plan to scale beyond one-on-one through books, courses, and online coaching • What he tells a young coach who wants to go independent If you coach tennis, run programs, or think about going out on your own, this one's for you. Want to be a guest? Book your spot: topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email: evan@topspindigital.co Show notes: topspindigital.co/courtside

14. 

    15 May 2026

    CourtSide Ep. 1: The Business of Running Racquets at a Private Club, with Andy Zodin

    Most people in racquet sports know Andy Zodin's voice from the radio. Fewer know what he actually does for a living. For the last 15 years, Andy has been Director of Racquet Sports at Columbine Country Club in Denver, one of the top private clubs in the Intermountain region. He's been a teaching pro since 1984, an RSPA Elite Pro, and served five years as USPTA Intermountain President. He also hosts KickServeRadio.com on the Tennis Channel Podcast Network with Mats Wilander and Jonny Levine. In this conversation, we get into the parts of the job nobody puts on a podcast: how a director of racquets actually spends a Tuesday, the conversations with ownership that happen on repeat, staffing teaching pros in 2026, how private clubs are handling the pickleball question, and what he'd do differently building a program from zero today. If you run a facility, lead a program, or coach for a living, this one's for you. Guest: Andy Zodin, Director of Racquet Sports, Columbine Country Club. Host of KickServeRadio.com. CourtSide is hosted by Evan Dechtman, founder of TopSpin Digital. New episodes every 2-3 weeks. Show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside Be a guest: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book

15. 

    13 May 2026

    CourtSide Ep. 0: What This Show Is, Who It's For, and Why I'm Making It

    Evan Dechtman, the founder of Top Spin Digital, shares his journey from musician to marketer and the insights that led him to create a show focused on racquet sports. The show aims to capture real conversations about the business side of racquet sports and is targeted at industry professionals. It features one guest per episode and is distributed on various platforms. Guests with real experience and insights are encouraged to become part of the show. Takeaways Racquet sports marketing Industry insights Chapters 00:00 From Musician to Marketer 05:26 Becoming a Guest

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact CourtSide with Evan Dechtman

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.