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2006 USPTA member of the year: Brett Hobden

By Cynthia Cantrell

During his 30-year teaching career, USPTA member Brett Hobden of Naples, Fla., has worked with Andre Agassi, Tommy Haas, Iva Majoli, Meredith McGrath, and Anne Miller. Now as director of tennis for the Greater Naples YMCA and CEO of Modern Tennis LLC, he is helping juniors and adults of all levels play more like the pros.

A USPTA member since 1985, Hobden has long been respected as a coach, program developer, author, and speaker. Because of these accomplishments, he is also RSI’s 2006 USPTA Member of the Year.

“Brett is one of the most knowledgeable teachers of the modern game of tennis,” says USPTA CEO Tim Heckler. Hobden is the founder and developer of System 5, a system for developing tactical awareness in tennis that became the first teaching system to be sanctioned and adopted by the USPTA.

He says he founded Modern Tennis (moderntennis.com) about two years ago in order to get the message out that players will be more excited to learn and stay with the game if they are taught the modern hitting techniques of their favorite players rather than traditional textbook-style strokes.

Hobden travels nationwide on behalf of the USPTA and Wilson Sporting Goods. He is also working with the USPTA to write more articles and produce more DVDs in his Modern Tennis series.

“The game has changed,” Hobden says, “and it’s time the way we’re teaching it does, too.”

Brett Hobden’s tips for success

• Keep an open mind. Tennis is a sport of tradition, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t remain open to new technology and teaching technique.
• Build it and they will come. Shortly after taking his post at the Greater Naples YMCA, Hobden helped establish the Academy of Modern Tennis On the Rise for junior instruction, leagues, and camps. In just seven weeks, the number of participants had swelled to 40.
• Promote the game by promoting yourself. If you have a new tennis product or service, don’t keep it a secret. Create a website. Give lectures and write articles. Get your ideas out there.

See all articles by Cynthia Cantrell

About the Author

Cynthia Cantrell is a contributing editor of RSI magazine.

From the November 2006 issue
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