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.

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

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/

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 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 KAREN SCHOTT
The Broadmoor: https://www.broadmoor.com/sports/racquet-sports/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-schott-45409422/

#CourtSidePodcast #RacquetSports #Tennis #Pickleball #TheBroadmoor #DirectorOfRacquetSports #KarenSchott #ClubIndustry #WomenInSports #TennisProfessional

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

Email Evan directly: evan@topspindigital.co

Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside

TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co

HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io

CONNECT WITH JARRETT CHIRICO

The Directors Club of America: https://www.thedirectorsclubofamerica.com

North Hills Club: https://www.northhillsclub.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrett-chirico-dca-b7712649

#CourtSidePodcast #RacquetSports #Tennis #Pickleball #Padel #DirectorsClubOfAmerica #NorthHillsClub #ClubIndustry #RacquetsDirector #JarrettChirico

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 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 SAM HITMAN
Gates Tennis Center: https://gatestenniscenter.info

#CourtSidePodcast #RacquetSports #Tennis #Pickleball #GatesTennisCenter #FacilityManagement #Denver