I began playing racquetball in '92 while in college at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, which is still the best facility I have played in.

After being a member at a half dozen clubs in as many cities, I have some experience with the illness that ails racquetball. I was even part of a sales and marketing team that grand opened a Q-Sports (a division of Sports and Fitness Clubs of America) in Las Vegas, which raked in $1 Million in its grand opening month, but didn't offer any racquetball. So, I also have some experience with the club management side too.

Club Owners and the Manufacturers a both party to the downturn of the sport.

Club owners are in the business of selling memberships, but too often the sales staffs at these facilities couldn't sell ice cream in hell. Then, the clubs end up in a bad cash position and are forced to cut services; only treating the symptoms and not the illness.

I was on the board of a club in downtown San Jose. When I joined there were only 6 courts and several were slated to be torn out. I ran for a board position, was elected and persuade some of the other members to freeze this effort of removing the courts. In return, I started offering a free clinic on every Saturday from 9-11 with a play around session for one hour immediately afterward. I promoted this program to the sales team and trained them on how to probe their prospective members for interest. I also campaigned throughout the existing membership and drew many members to the Saturday sessions. Before too long (less than 90 days), I would have to reserve a court several days in advance just to get my recreational play in. The place went from minimal court usage to being crowded from 3-7PM, Monday through Friday. With such response, I lobbied management for a challenge court for Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5 to 7 PM and we had three intra-club singles tournament, with three skill levels in men's and women's divisions.

I moved out of the area shortly after our last tournament. I have since returned (16 months later) to see that the club is financially in trouble and there are only 3 courts left. One was turned into a Spinning Class area. The class only offers two sessions three days a week and the room sits empty otherwise.

The problem is that management lost site of its responsibility to train its sales people to sell memberships and not simply take orders. Contrary to Doug Ganim's position that it is, "not their job to create demand. They respond to it...," club owners can create demand through promotion and it is then their responsibility to effectively train their sales people to close deals when they show up at the door.

Unfortunately, most clubs get a base of members and then get lazy with generating new business, while current members churn out to join the "new" place to be. New members create new revenue and an opportunity to introduce them to racquetball, or some other service offered by the facility. Additionally, racquetball members are very loyal, because they are not only challenged by their opponents, but by the game itself and everyone needs a home court. This fact creates stability in the membership base.

The Manufacturers are also responsible.

My first racquet was a Pro Kennex. It was a lower end model that cost me about $35. It didn't even break, only bent. At my first tourney, hosted by the SIU-C racquetball club which I was also one of the first members, I bought a Richcraft Pirate XL from Rex Lawler. It was on!

What a difference a good racquet makes, but it comes at a price, sometimes a hefty price. To the avid player that price is practically negligible, but the challenge lies in generating a larger number of "avid players".

It has been said the TV is too costly and no one sees ESPN offering up primetime to carry a Pro Stop event once a month. Here is where a return to basics helps the game. My effort to cultivate participation in the game at the club in San Jose was divided between new members and current members.

Mike Martinez says in the Racquet Wars article, "The Sport has a great base and those people aren't going anywhere." That is a fact. My current facility is totally dilapidated and way below the standards of an executive club, but there is a solid group of advanced players that keeps us all there. Manufacturers should use this to their advantage to gain wider market awareness.

Here is where I would start. Rather than having ESPN show the Nationals at 10 AM on Monday, do a PAY PER VIEW. The media is available and can even be coordinated so that the viewer doesn't have to watch live, but can purchase the event when they have the time. Use the event to provide some instruction, hardware promotion and make heroes out of the players! Play it up! Make it exciting! Take the current group of players 1.37 Million and give them a reason to get excited about the game. Cultivate growth from within. Ultimate Fighting started out in some guys garage, but is now a large venue event. Pay Per View and some resourceful marketing by UFC vendors, like Tap Out, made that happen.

Terri Graham basically stated that racquetball was a fad and, "Fads come and go and they don't come back." Racquetball hasn't left. Its market may have changed, but it is still around. How many Jazzercise facilities have you seen open in your area lately?

In summary, club owners cannot chase every fad and hope to stay successful. Train your sales people effectively and you won't spend your days wondering which service you have to cut to make the rent. Business is tough. So, get tough. Also, promote the game internally, through your existing membership. If you do not want to pay for a "Pro", find a relatively good player in your membership that would be willing to do a lesson with new members or a clinic on the weekends twice a month. You might be surprised how many volunteers you get!

Manufacturers need to simply get more resourceful in their tactics. Head is doing a pretty good job these days. They are incorporating instruction into their racquet sales and they are stepping up to the talent by recruiting the top players. Make heroes out of your players. Mythical if necessary. The top players today are the BEST EVER. Football was a closet sport many decades ago, but the Galloping Ghost still rides in many realms of the game today. Try some focused marketing to promote the events, like the Pay Per View idea, or an internet site that has live action on it. Create some excitement! Get hungry.

It seems that the game of racquetball is like a football team trying to score in the red zone against a tough opponent with seconds left on the clock. You only need a field goal to tie, or as Doug Ganim puts it, "We don't have to have huge numbers to justify our existence", but if you score the touchdown-YOU WIN!