What’s your name?
Jo Schneeweiss-Keene
Where are you located?
Sugar Land, Texas
Where do you work and what’s your current title?
Sweetwater Country Club – Head Pro/Ladies Coordinator
What are your 3 favorite things about this course?
1. Kim and Doug, and the personal attention and support they give to each student.
2. The amount of industry experts that provided incredible content for the course that is truly priceless.
3. Yellow dig, and the opportunity to connect with so many current and former students, and also industry experts.
What has surprised you the most about this course?
How much I didn’t know about the industry as a whole!
Have you been able to apply anything you’ve learned so far? If so, what?
So much! Mostly regarding leadership and how to manage our team, communicate effectively and be a good leader. But many other things have been helpful so far too, including running events, managing issues and also evaluating my personal brand and what I bring to our team.
What was the reason you chose to take this course?
To improve my overall knowledge of the Director position and learn more about the many areas you need to be proficient in to be a successful leader. I hoped to gain more confidence in my current role and learn as much as possible from industry experts.
How would you describe the Director of Racquet Sports Certificate Course to someone who doesn’t know what it is?
It is a deep dive into the director of racquet sports position and the tools you need to be a great leader. It pushes you out of your comfort zone to learn more about yourself, about your strengths and weaknesses and what it takes to be successful in the director position.
What’s one thing we can’t guess about you from your resume?
I have 2 dogs that I adore (Bailey and Luna), and I enjoy scuba diving and hiking in my spare time!
How did you get into racquet sports? Did you always want to have a career in this industry? HAVE you always had a career in this industry?
I am originally from England, and played college tennis at the University of Houston. I coached High School for 2 years, and then was the assistant coach at Houston for 8 years. I made my way to the private sector, and Sweetwater is my first country club job.
What is one racquet sports or leadership related podcast/social account/book/publication/person you’d recommend others to follow and why?
Allistair McCaw – @bechampionminded
What do you see as the future of the racquet sports profession, and what needs to change in order for it to get there?
I think there is a bright future for the industry, but the younger generation needs to consider director positions and those of leadership to be valuable, and put the time in to learn more in order to be effective leaders.
If you could give one piece of advice to people just starting in this course, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone! Push yourself to keep learning. It’s an incredible industry, and there are so many opportunities if you put yourself out there!
Interested in our Director of Racquet Sports Certificate?
You, too, can develop the business and leadership competencies required to successfully manage a tennis and racquets operation. Visit our website for more information.
