Racquet Fuel

Tracy Almeda-Singian, a former professional tennis player, is now the Senior Director of Sports Marketing at St Jude Children's Research Hospital . She shares her pivotal story about transitioning from a Head Professional and Director of Events at a tennis club to jumping into the corporate world of marketing. While in various roles she has learned many lessons about personal branding, social medi...

Scott McCullough, the accomplished CEO of Cliff Drysdale and Peter Burwash International, joins hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale to explore the complexities of leadership within the racquets industry. With a global portfolio of over 70 clubs and resort facilities, Scott goes into the importance of understanding the unique needs of each club and embracing technology for operational efficiency. The...

There is high demand for teaching professionals in the industry, but is the current tennis and racquets teaching profession appealing for the next generation of workers??  It doesn’t appear to be. From research, we know that the current 6 OR 7 DAY WORK WEEK that is industry norm is the number 1 reason that the industry has trouble retaining and attracting talent. For this reason, we are revisiting...

Emma Wells, a successful coach, leader, business owner, and educator from the UK, shares her journey and experiences in the tennis industry. She discusses her early experiences in coaching and how she fell in love with tennis at a young age. On this podcast episode, she shares how she built her own successful business by focusing on branding and creating a unique customer experience wile also crea...

In this episode, Three and Jackie Carpenter discuss their book 'People First' and the importance of prioritizing employees and creating a positive work culture. They emphasize the need for leaders to define the mission, vision, and purpose of their organizations and to invest in their employees' growth and development. The conversation also touches on the challenges of hiring and retention, the sh...

Omar Trevino and Alejandra Suarez share their journey of opening a new club, built from the ground up: North Texas Racquet Club. They discuss the facility's overview, challenges faced during the building process, and Omar and Alejandra’s transition from the corporate and education worlds, respectively, to club ownership.   Emphasizing the importance of taking risks, surrounding yourself with the r...

In this episode, Simon Gale and Kim Bastable recap highlights from the first two seasons of the Racquet Fuel podcast. They discuss the challenges of attracting young people to the racquets industry and the evolving  and quite complicated landscape of racquet sports. They also explore the importance of mentoring and growing others, as well as the need to delegate and empower team members. The conve...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale have a conversation with respected USTA Head Pro, Rita Gladstone, who shares about the challenges and joys of working in the racquets industry as a female AND a mom. Since only 20% of the professionals in racquet sports are female, the questions are WHY and WHAT can be done about it? Rita helps us highlight how females can balance...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale have a conversation about the energy behind padel with expert Marcos del Pilar. They discuss how this new racquet sport differs in the United States and Europe and his path for bringing it from Spain to the USTA National Campus where it's become immensely popular.  If you're wanting to know how your racquets facility can build and...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale have a conversation with Dr. Jack Groppel, a researcher, professor, and authority on the science of human performance. They address a number of topics around how we all need to manage our energy for top performance at work within the demanding industry of racquet sports. Jack is an expert on this challenge. Jack, Kim, and Simon wil...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale continue their conversation with Len Simard, Search and Consulting Executive with Kopplin, Kuebler, & Wallace. Len annually manages the searches for hundreds of leadership positions and clubs around the US, specializing in Directors of Racquet Sports searches, so he knows what it takes to succeed in the role.  Len, Kim, and Sim...

In this 2 part episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with Len Simard, Search and Consulting Executive with Kopplin, Kuebler, and Wallace. Len annually manages the searches for hundreds of leadership positions and clubs around the US, specializing in Directors of Racquet Sports searches, so he knows what it takes to succeed in the role.  He shares information about the ev...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with respected industry consultant and UF-DORS adjunct professor Doug Cash about compensation. This is a vital topic for employees and employers, as Compensation packages dictate employee behavior, and payroll is the largest cost on most club budgets. This includes discussion around Pro pay, pricing strategies, health insuran...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with Ajay Pant, Vice President of Racquet Sports for Life Time. Using data to support the decision to make a major move into pickleball, Ajay speaks about the strategy behind how they became the industries largest indoor provider of tennis AND pickleball by a factor of 10 and it and it’s worked out of them. He also discusses...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with Joe Curto, the owner of Yonkers Tennis Center in Westchester County, New York. Curto speaks about the highs and lows of of the last 37 years of Club ownership, providing insights into the past and present journey into the role, transitioning from the day-to-day to delegation, what it takes to be a good leader, the people...

In the final episode of Racquet Fuel Season 1, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale continue the conversation with Chris Gale for the second part of the Gale brothers story. They discuss various broad topics such Prince Woodie, Ash Barty's cricket game and first jobs. They delve into the definition of leadership and the responsibilities that come with it, highlighting the importance of work-life bala...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable speaks with brothers Simon and Chris Gale. Originally from Perth, Australia they both have a unique pathway to becoming a Director of Racquet Sports: Chris at the River Oaks Country Club and Simon at the USTA National Campus. They share their “sliding door moment” that introduced them to having a career in tennis, the changes they’ve seen in the...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale continue their conversation with Dr. Tim Elmore; a thought leader, author, and researcher, founder of the non-profit Growing Leaders. Elmore shares about the social media battle between generations that brought him to write his newest book, “A New Kind of Diversity.” Simon and Kim provide Tim with some racquets-industry challenges...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with Dr. Tim Elmore: a thought leader, author, and founder of the non-profit, Growing Leaders. Elmore shares about the social media battle between generations that brought him to write his newest book, “A New Kind of Diversity." He discusses the generational gap of “kids these days” and where it really started, and how we nee...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, Kim Bastable and Simon Gale welcome back Allistair McCaw, a renowned author and consultant in leadership and sports performance. They delve into the importance of experience, variety, and learning from different positions in one's journey to becoming a high performer. McCaw emphasizes the significance of defining and creating a culture of excellence, and shares ins...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with leadership and mindset coach, Allistair McCaw. McCaw shares his experiences working with Olympic Gold Medalists, Fortune 500 companies, and Formula One teams. Further, he discusses the importance of vision, purpose, trust, and culture in leadership. McCaw recounts his extensive experiences as a youth tennis player and hi...

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with Craig Morris, the USTA's Chief Executive for Community Tennis. Morris provides updates and insights into the USTA's plans and initiatives for addressing challenges in the recruitment and hiring of leaders in the racquets industry. He also shares his personal journey from tennis player to coach and leadership development...

In its inaugural episode, Kim Bastable and Simon Gale launch Racquet Fuel, which examines powerful topics relevant to leadership in the racquets industry. In this episode, Simon and Kim talk about the shift to healthier lifestyles for professionals in the racquet industry. Simon further shares his passion for developing coaches and details his journey to becoming Director of Racquet Sports at USTA...