Rich Neher of Conga Sports: For Recreational Players

0:00:18.1 Jack Broudy: Hi, and welcome to living at the 45. I'm your host, Jack Broudy, and today I'm with a good long-time friend rich Neher of conga sports, and he has a newsletter that goes out every month as well, and maybe more than one, if I'm not mistaken, and he is an incredible advocate for the game of tennis and helping the game grow, and I'm so happy we haven't lost him the pickle ball yet, Rich, say hi.

0:00:47.7 Rich Neher: Hi, one news, it is plenty for me, I don't need more than one for...

0:00:51.6 Jack Broudy: You're busy with that newsletter... Give us the name of that again, please.

0:00:55.0 Rich Neher: It's called tennis club business.

0:00:57.5 Jack Broudy: That's a tennis club business. Okay.

0:01:00.4 Rich Neher: So to about 10000 people, I read it every month, it in this country and the rest in other countries like England and Matra...

0:01:12.8 Jack Broudy: Oh yeah, you're definitely... You're known around the business, I know that 'cause I talk to a lot of people, and yours is a little different because you don't just hold the line on your newsletter, you can be confronted and almost combat it sometimes because you tell it... You're kind of like the old Howard close call. You tell it like it is, if you know what I mean.

0:01:38.1 Rich Neher: Yeah, when I worked on the USTA tennis link team for a bunch of years, I got to know the tennis company and the tenis organization pretty well, and the way they went a few like a decade ago, did not sit well with me, and I have to... There are so many areas where criticism is applicable and where they should be criticized, the thing is that most other or all of the other publication in publications in tennis are not criticized and they are not putting anything out there that is only remotely criticized in the USTA because they all make money from the USTA, for instance, from advertising, we do not... So as long as they do what they're doing, which is not growing tennis, they will have me on their backs for... Yeah.

0:02:41.2 Jack Broudy: It's funny, I forgot that you worked with you with inside the US. I did forget that I've never really been a part of the USTA, and even though I'm a US PTA member, I've never really been a part there except for the half a dozen, a dozen. I

0:02:56.2 Rich Neher: Was not... I was not directly employed by them, the US, and this link team was outsourced to a company in San Diego for the name of active... The active network, you may have heard of it.

0:03:09.7 Jack Broudy: I've heard of that. I didn't know what that did, but now I know

0:03:12.9 Rich Neher: They have the big contract, first for registration of tennis, leak players, tournament players and so forth, and they took over the entire suite of seven items or seven products in the tennis like team system. And was the team lead for USDA adult leagues and... And TRP ratings. And in this coastal...

0:03:40.0 Jack Broudy: That's too active. Yeah, I heard of them. I didn't know what they did to

0:03:43.9 Rich Neher: Karate country, visited all the 17 sections and trained the section coordinators and the local Le coordinators on ratings mainly. You know.

0:03:57.9 Jack Broudy: I can't even read one of those, I can't remember which one it is, but one of those newsletters, it's just like a good old boys club, all they do is clap each other on the back and say how terrific they are, and then say how everyone should learn how to teach pineal. It kind of not... I wish I would be, I wish I were being funny. But it kind of really discussed me how they've sort of just given in and not the pickle balls, Pickles, what it is, but it's not tennis and it's not a replacement of tennis, and I just... I certainly haven't made the jump. That's for sure. I still love tennis and think of tennis is the king of sports, so I just can't get behind giving in the way it seems like they are and giving up courts and saying, Oh, you should be not only a tennis pro, but a pickle ball pro as well, as if, I can't even imagine what the lessons are like, and I know what the first tennis lessons were like in 160, as I remember when I was a kid, they weren't very good, watch the ball be ones follow through type of thing.

0:05:00.9 Rich Neher: Well, I like pickle ball, it's a good sport, but I don't like the fact that they are taking tennis courts away from tennis... That's the main issue I have. But I remember when I started reporting about pickle ball, I think it was in 20, 15, 16, I asked the CEO of Community tenors of the USDA to give me a... And his comment was he supporting pop tennis and he puts everything into the pop tennis basket, but he didn't follow through, so pop tennis is as obscure, almost as obscure as it was.

0:05:42.5 Jack Broudy: I never... Ever heard a pop chains? What is it?

0:05:45.9 Rich Neher: It's a great sport. I like it too. It's a similar to pick at all, but I pay with the conclusion paddle and it is played with a low compression ball. Unfortunately, the size of a pop tennis court is, again, different than a bigger ball court, and different than a tennis court, it's a 60-foot sort of cord, and you have 60 foot courts, then you can play Popish species too. Is that the same... Is that a whole different thing spectators, a whole different thing, but more closely to pop tennis because it too plays with a low compression balls rather than with bleach, more conducive to the tennis aspect.

0:06:36.2 Jack Broudy: My biggest... Great, but we'll move on because I don't wanna talk about icefall, honestly, or anything other than tennis, but my biggest gripe is the noise, I just can't stand when you're playing tennis and that beautiful sound of the ball hitting the strings, and then it's just overshadowed by that one

0:06:52.9 Rich Neher: That Joe Dini, in my friend of...

0:06:59.5 Jack Broudy: I know who he is.

0:07:00.6 Rich Neher: He has a video out there proving that pilates is louder than pickle ball as the unusual sound that is annoying, but it is definitely pickerel, he says, and he shows that he measured the decibels, it's lower invisible and antennas.

0:07:21.5 Jack Broudy: Well, I'm not surprised he wants to sell whatever he can sell, so I'm not surprised sellout me more about content because congas, your new project. I know you're really excited about it. I've gotten a few emails from you and one of your colleagues sent me an email, I can't remember his name, I think he's in the other area, he sent me an email as well, so I know there's rumblings that Congress happening, and I know it's another series of... Tennis competitions of some sort, and you're starting in Southern California, but that's about all I know

0:07:56.6 Rich Neher: Now. Kagawa born out of frustration, I talked to the pharmacy or of the USTA mid a few times, and I reminded him, and I did it in the newsletter as well, reminded them that when I think the USTA needs is excitement, they are not able to create any excitement about the sport of tennis, except for a few double players that are always excited about going to the Nationals, so I said to him, and I told them in my email, in my posts that I want... I want to see a situation where a kid says, Yes, I want to join that network, this USDA because they are cool, because this is exciting, I wanna pay tennis, I wanna do all these things. They are not able to do that, they don't even reply to that because excitement and fun is not in the genes at all, so I decided I'm gonna do it myself, and I'm creating a new concept of a network of tennis players, tennis pros and tennis clubs in the country, and then starting out in Southern California, of course, it's the low-hanging fruit for me, that's where I live, and I'm creating this network of tennis players who play against, teach against others and play within their group, and the strategy I have has three stakeholders, basically number one is the club as the biggest stakeholder because the club has the courts without courts, we are nowhere.

0:09:46.6 Rich Neher: Number two is the tennis player, and we are changing the tire, the tire entire business with the tennis player by putting the emphasis away from the player a little bit and more to the sponsor. The third stakeholder is response, we want sponsors to be able to pay for much of the tennis our members play, so tennis becomes more inexpensive for people. For instance, when I do a tournament and I charge 50 for registration in retail, have a sponsor who pays for the 50 with, for instance, a gift certificate to their store, to the tenant shop, and if I have a person who wants to become a member in Congress which is a 50 annual investment. I have a sponsor like hit in racket sports, they give that person a 50 gift certificate, their product.

0:10:52.4 Jack Broudy: And congratulations on that. I saw that a couple of weeks ago. You got 10 as a sponsor. That's really fantastic.

0:11:00.0 Rich Neher: So we're shifting this business model a little bit from players to sponsor sponsors, and we're creating this network this year is my proof of concept here, where I set up everything in California for Southern California, then Northern California and then next to hopefully be able to expand into other states.

0:11:22.9 Jack Broudy: What's your plan on that, and you play it on going from SoCal to Norco and then maybe Arizona, Utah that way, or do you wanna sort of blanket it right across the country.

0:11:35.2 Rich Neher: Now I can, it's a mate of finances, of course, I can do...

0:11:40.7 Jack Broudy: And connections, you have to know... I can give you a role that I work with in Utah that would probably love to do this in Arizona as well, I've got... I would imagine connections are a big deal too.

0:11:54.7 Rich Neher: I have no problems with connections they have for Eritrea over the country from tennis pros and tennis clubs to start working with Coda. But at the moment, Southern California, in Northern California, it's all self-funded, all these activities, I can do all this by myself, but when it comes to expanding into going eastward, that is a different story. So next year, I'll probably be looking for some investors for us before I do any expansions.

0:12:23.4 Jack Broudy: Were your investors that you're looking for primarily be in the industry are not necessarily... Would you take an angel investor, someone who just loves tennis.

0:12:32.4 Rich Neher: But I'm realistic angel investors are not interested in anything that is not... That has nothing to do with I-TECH and bio-met and all the the sexy little areas in our ecosystem, but investing into sports is a different story, so I'm looking mostly at companies that are already successful, and when investing another sports network...

0:13:01.1 Jack Broudy: When we met, I actually... When we met, it was shortly after I gave you two or three lessons, I do remember that over at one or Tencent per bank area within Holland, you were like a 350 or 440, something like that. How long have you been playing tennis? Number one... 'cause it's a loaded question.

0:13:29.0 Rich Neher: I started playing a little bit after I moved to the United States from Germany in 1985, a very friendly neighbor who was also German, in a very bad player, he gave me all those bad things he taught me, but I started a little bit more seriously when I moved to California in 1992-93. I became a member of the Bobby Ricks tennis club and played a little bit more seriously. Took some lessons on.

0:14:04.4 Jack Broudy: It's funny, I was the pro down there as well, but we never met there... When was that? I was the pro there in... Right around 2004.

0:14:15.1 Rich Neher: And then I was a member there, I think from 92 to 95 or something like that. The one learning cooler, he

0:14:26.8 Jack Broudy: Now linear, as you hired me.

0:14:30.2 Rich Neher: He gave me a free membership in return... I did The Club newsletter. Oh, okay. And I did a tenth evening tennis match play round robins for members. I remember that too, that's how I started becoming interested in managing more tennis activities, and I started my own network to San Diego tennis network, and we started to expand and play at different host clubs, like for instance, like the resort Morgan run research of an report.

0:15:10.2 Jack Broudy: I target... All three of those plans. Yeah, it's funny, I...

0:15:13.7 Rich Neher: Beebe were so busy. Had over 250 members. Remember, I called it drop-in tennis, our Friday night dropping tennis at Costa resource, they had like 24 words or so, but only seven were lighter... That's right, that's right. A Friday night, we had up to 60 players coming to play with us with me, I know seven cards, we does.

0:15:44.1 Jack Broudy: It takes that kind of energy. And the reason I asked you that question is because I've been around Jennifer, if you look at me, you figure about 100 years, but when... Back in the 60s and 70s, late 60s, early 70s, mid-70s, tennis was much more exciting, and so you weren't around during that time, but I can tell you I played the pro celebrity tournament two years in a row over at Acosta, and Mel Brooks was there. Carl Reiner, the guy from Blazing Saddles with the red hair, I can remember his name, or Gene Wilder, he was there and I got to hit balls with Mel Brooks and Arafat was their minivan patent as the areas Junior. It was very sexy and very exciting during the Bobby resell chiming era, like the late 70s, the mid-set, and so there was excitement and tennis, but I will say one thing about tennis, even though there was excitement, it was just happened to be the moment for terribly big time black player, so there was a lot going on in tennis during that time where I then Conners and macro with the big tempers and the big personalities, but it was always a conservative sport, which bothered even the clothes...

0:17:07.8 Jack Broudy: Even today, the clothes, I think for a lot of people... So I think this has got that stigma a little bit where golf kind of broke out of it, and golf ever since Tiger Woods, to be honest with you, has become the exciting sexy I wanna be their type sport, tennis used to be that though in the mid-seven.

0:17:28.4 Rich Neher: But you mentioned celebrities that Ostrava... You tell you a little story. And I think it was 2002 or 30. I had my girlfriend and I... She was a tennis pro, my girlfriend and I visited, over invited to a clinic with rotator Acosta resort. He lives in calpers in Carlsbad, I update all the time at Costco, he was feeding bolts from the other side of the neck and my grind the tennis pro se, the first four handset from Rod Laver, she hit way out of the court over the dam. She was very embarrassed, then he better another one, and she hit that one out of the Court as well, she was so nervous, so he said to her, Come met her at the next... And he said to her, he looked her in the eyes and said, where you normally play the quotes longer.

0:18:34.9 Jack Broudy: There was funny, I can't believe you see it, 'cause when I used to hit with him when he was about 46, 47 and I was 21 going to UC San. My dad's friend set us up, we played a half a dozen times. And I tell you what, I can't believe you said that, 'cause he never said Bowe would hit. He was playing a few seniors things, exhibitions, and he just wanted to someone keep them warm, and basically all I remember him telling me is, can we go across... Can give me a few more labs for over a Mitsubishi. It was like, Okay, thanks to... I'll see you next Tuesday, but I'm surprised he's that funny of a guy 'cause I never heard it myself...

0:19:16.7 Rich Neher: You know what he said to me, it was kind of embarrassing. I said to him, after the clinic, Hey, right, can you hit with me a little... I want... I'm not happy with my forehand, and he said, Sure, sure, let's sit. So we were heating for like, I wanna say 30 seconds. And you said to me, Come here, man, I was really bad at the time. He met at the net and he... Again, he looked me straight in the eyes and said, Do you have a practice in LA all the time? That's funny. Loud and

0:19:54.0 Jack Broudy: Practice, I got none of that personality, but I sure enjoyed hitting with him, it was an honor to be able to tell my friends back at school, Hey, I play with labor today, it was kind of fun. We'd always play for about an hour, but no, none of that personality that I get... It's funny 'cause the seas you have... I used to take lessons or go to the tennis camp, and Harry Hopman, who was Labor's coach, but he had that kind of super... Super dry. Dry wit. Super Dry. I'll be like, You play like a girl. You know what that really would say, what he would say, but it was always very dry. That's funny. No, that's good to hear. Tell me more, tell me more about Conan, why it's gonna be more exciting than just entering a UT or a USDA tournament, 'cause I've been to... Of course, both of those. And I know what they're like, Why does container ENT? Is it... First of all, how is the format... Is it a tournament for that or just play a match, you go home or has it or...

0:20:53.4 Rich Neher: It's always our tournaments, short tournaments, so they are no longer than three hours, maybe four, and never are an entire day or a pointer weekend, it's always on the weekend, afternoon at the afternoon or Sunday afternoon, because we want... Our approach to the clubs is that we rent the courts at the non-prime or... Sure.

0:21:19.9 Jack Broudy: Weekend, afternoon.

0:21:22.0 Rich Neher: Tea, and then the Germans are fun. They are more earshot are like It, game process and round robins, and we have nice music going, we have nice tropes, just more fun.

0:21:40.6 Jack Broudy: Let's say have music going now, do you do regular schooling or is it really depending on how many people show up that week.

0:21:46.2 Rich Neher: It depends, Etta. But I'm trying out new formats right now, like for instance, triples, I think is a very promising format, People, I showed you to like it, and I can see you as a lot with triple... Like a triple sleek tries tournaments and so forth.

0:22:11.3 Jack Broudy: I've seen triples, I've seen it played. I don't think I've ever played it, but I know about it just very... Enough to be dangerous. What do you have two people at net and one on the baseline, or can you play In eventuate baseline on in that to at the base line and it's more fun because what... It's more social.

0:22:30.1 Rich Neher: It's more socially, you play music, you have a good time, and it's very fast, like life, but for instance, is very fast. That's another area I'm investigating right now. If you should do more with life bar.

0:22:43.1 Jack Broudy: I can tell you life baits really a big deal with a lot of places, my friend, I coached a little John Cale, played for UCLA, and then he heard his shoulder, so he didn't go pro, but he tells me now, that he said he's in his late 50s, and he plays live ball once on the weekends, and he absolutely loves it. Heels about it all the time. He says, Have you done it? And I said, No, I haven't done it, I'm kinda out of it now, and he goes, Oh, it's... My ball is great. You've got a lot of action, but you don't have to serve, I think you said it. You know, Sir, right? Sorry, you don't serve and love, he mentioned that to me, and that's his big issue, we had to have a couple of surgeries on his shoulder, so he doesn't really like serving much, so he says he is great. How's that played? Exactly.

0:23:32.5 Rich Neher: It's basically a clinic more than anything else, and the pro or whoever is running it is serving from the net, actually serving to the side, but I need to tell you that my... While I'm creating these little networks of players at different levels in different areas, I am putting a lot of emphasis on beginner players and families. For instance, June 4, I'll have my first Family Fund, which is basically a short family afternoon where all families are invited, we have hid in bring rackets and bots, we have sponsors, and I provide ice cream for everyone and they will be balloons, the courts are donated by a match tough Tennis Academy that it'll all be at the Baltistan.

0:24:34.0 Jack Broudy: Oh, you're playing at Balboa, Vernon at an ER Tennis Center, but over at Balboa

0:24:39.7 Rich Neher: And by entertainer. And the parking is better. So I temporarily be a fund, we went to most of the schools in the area and dropped up a lot of postcards and invited all the families... I can see a future where I have a family lead in family tournaments, where families play other families, and it really it...

0:25:13.7 Jack Broudy: It's like the family fed of tennis, I love it.

0:25:17.5 Rich Neher: And after when this event is over and everyone had a good time, especially the ones that have never seen a plate tennis, they will get a road map for me from me outlining what they can do down the road with tennis, for instance, we'll send them to certain pros like match of Tennis Academy and other pros. Sure, and we show them what they can do with Conga if they wanna become a member and what kind of events we have puppies in conga.

0:25:56.4 Jack Broudy: One of the things, it hits me right away with starting any new league or all this stuff actually, is the Al issue with tennis, how do you deal with players of different abilities or how you get players of the same ability to play together? That's always been a big thing, that's why UCR all of a sudden became very popular in the last 10 years, maybe not even 10, and because when I take my juniors over to play you to our matches, they'll play adults that play kids, he'll play girls, boys, but the matches are generally pretty darn close, I have to say, and I think that is something... It's nice when you can count on that because tennis, let's face it, there's always a big issue between the haves and the have-nots, the really good players and the ones that have some trouble, and it's not good for either party... If you know what I mean.

0:26:53.5 Rich Neher: Yeah, I can see those juniors who are serious about their ratings because of many reasons, one of them may be that they wanna go into any high performance programs, wanna continue going to college, college is the roseate resonating is important. For the adults I am dealing with, and especially the senior, all UT, they don't care at all about UT. Even if I run a UT tournament, the his NDP, they wanna hear NTP. They are not interested at all in any utricularia situation we have. Now is that the tip is still used in widely, of course, all over the country, especially in the US League program. Sure. The previous leadership of USDA have decided not to work with Dr. Although the UTA bus went there and try to talk to them about cooperation, they decided, of course not to work with him and decided to do their own UG rating, call it a different thing, make it LA slightly different, but having basically another UT... So we have now NTP, we have out, and we have the new writing that's coming out or 10 is number

0:28:22.8 Jack Broudy: Tatami, haven't heard about that, but I don't know why they always have to conflict like that, that's a big problem with all those organizations, they don't seem to know to work together.

0:28:33.0 Rich Neher: And of course, they have put like, I wanna say three, four million into this money, because money is growing on trees or used to be growing on race for the US, they didn't care, and they just put instead of improving for a fraction of that money and leave it at the entire tennis link active, the Active Network, they took everything away from them, and now they're dealing with a company based in Great Britain, and with the new rating system, other people are now coming out with their own rating systems... Oh God, and it is just a testing...

0:29:15.1 Jack Broudy: No, I don't know why they did that. They could have just improved, like you say on the TRP, they could have just... Instead of 404, they could've had 425 435. I mean, why not just improve on what you've got.

0:29:29.5 Rich Neher: Because I tell you why this is the mindset of... This was the mindset of the previous leadership of the USP, the mindset is ripped River and reproduce, like rip off and revenues, they see something that is not growing from within the USDA, they immediately hated it and immediately wanted to copy it, but whatever they copy, normally it doesn't work out well, you...

0:30:03.9 Jack Broudy: Siesta has always been had trouble with the exception of one thing the US, the US Opens where they make all of their money for the most part

0:30:15.0 Rich Neher: Are with you check. Okay, go ahead. The US Open, yes. Makes a lot of money, but the US doesn't even know how to run the US Open. Well, because if I have a sporting event with a 485 million revenue, don't you think it would be prudent to expect at least a 50 million return from that, a profit of at least 50 million, you can't even do that in... In some years, they don't even make a profit with the USDA or maybe 9 million or something like this, it is... They can't even run the US Open. Well, they spend too much money on it and have too many people involved, like always... With too many people have to be paid in the USTA.

0:31:12.9 Jack Broudy: Yeah. My only experience with them was when I was working with Steve Forman and Sam period v. Johnson and an Eric Riley and all those kids. I would deal with Elliot, he was the head of junior development, and then a... I know us, he didn't really give us the time of day, even though between all those kids, they had won several gold balls and they were all top five in the nation, once they decided that Donald Young was the only thing we're talking about... I'll never forget they put an article out in the magazine, I don't think they even have that, it's called that, I think it was advantage, but I think it was called advantage, but they put an article out and I couldn't... My kids were devastated. They said, Oh, Steve foreman doesn't have a back-end... You'll never make it. Stevie Johnson, same thing, same query, same thing, but Donald Young, he's the next age. Who's the next task the next day? Because I rented, why would you do that to you? So why would you ever say anything negative to top us juniors, and it was a terribly negative article of

0:32:24.6 Rich Neher: The taounate you why? Because you are juniors, didn't go through that program. No, they did not. Oh, that's my period.

0:32:33.2 Jack Broudy: Oh, that's why period, I never even thought of that. I just... My kids were crushed. They were all really... Took him by the knees. They were like, Hey, we're creepers. We won, and I said, Don't even pay attention. They go, help we not pay attention in some black and white, everyone's reading it, everyone's reading Steve Forman has no back-end, and Sam queries all serve and forehand. And same with Stevia. And they were not happy. This was back around 2001.

0:33:03.7 Rich Neher: But I think the application you're repairing to an advantage isn't that best public and

0:33:09.4 Jack Broudy: It is not advantaged, it wasn't... It was a St... It wasn't PTA, I just got them confused. I don't even know if this magazine is even existence anymore, but like I said, we all read it and the parents were furious, Mike, all these parents were curious, and they just couldn't believe that the USDA would write something so negative about top American 16 and under 14 and Under, why would you do that to your own croom

0:33:42.2 Rich Neher: Ally? They don't write negative about other people, they trust to get on them. Yeah.

0:33:50.1 Jack Broudy: Yeah, I guess. But I never had anything to... And they never reached out to me, which I was always surprised. Teller once came to my club where I was teaching that, park it down and calls Brad, he came there once. He liked some of my devices, like the board and all that, but he thought he was sort of an old school guy, and I just don't think he could pick them. Well, let's put it this way, When I saw Roger lose in the first round of the US open when he was 17, I think it was the Army and he lost, I think it was in four cents, I looked at my buddy and I said, That guy is gonna be the greatest player that ever lived, I did 'cause I love to stroke, but I just... I don't know if everyone picks them so well, I don't think the USTA picks them so well, they picked any rock that was pretty good, but other than that, they usually don't back the winning horses, I don't know if they have a good eye for it, if they're just looking for results, and I can tell you results is at 12 and us and 14 us don't need SWAT too young.

0:34:57.6 Rich Neher: You know. I'm looking at the money train, and from my perspective, if they left the education of tennis juniors, two guys like you, in the last 20 years, they could have saved something like 500 million, that's how much they spend.

0:35:19.0 Jack Broudy: That's how much they say, I...

0:35:21.2 Rich Neher: Eat million dollars a year now. Unbelievable. And the teaching pros that I had coaches at the USDA, they make... They all make three, four, 500 million, 000 a year.

0:35:39.4 Jack Broudy: Is that right? Like a salad. No kid. Now, I have no idea. Well's.

0:35:46.6 Rich Neher: The holy cow. It's the thing, you can't talk to them about eliminating player development, you cannot... They will not listen to that idea.

0:35:57.5 Jack Broudy: 'cause they have not put out a lot of people, like I said, in erotic s the only one that comes to my mind that they really put their money on that day off... That's the only one I could think of.

0:36:07.2 Rich Neher: I always laugh, every week they send out a newsletter, the USTA Senate newsletter about the achievements of US tennis players all over the world in various tournaments, from the big tournaments to the IDF, the smaller IDF gunmen, and they just list on those names, whether they... One of the last... And makes it look like they're all coming out of player development, and in reality, and non-Athan ever comes out of

0:36:41.5 Jack Broudy: A... Sure, sure. I know the kids in San Diego, I know Coco Vanda, she took from guy friends, I know who I coached. I just don't... Like I said, I can't recall anyone except for... Except for Andy and ironic. Well, I sure like the idea of making 10 is fun again and sexy, I think that was a word that was used back in the Sabah, tennis was sexy. All the celebrities were playing tennis, now it was... You saw it on TV shows, sitcoms, and you'd see it all over the place, and that part of tennis has really been gone for quite a while now.

0:37:21.9 Rich Neher: Well, it was... One of my favorite pros of all the time was the part of this co-Cochran it... Probably

0:37:30.5 Jack Broudy: Rishi knew Bobby as well. Yeah. He really started it all. He was brilliant. Really.

0:37:38.7 Rich Neher: I never met the man, but of all of the stories... I spend a lot of time with Vic. Right. And Vic Braden had all those Bobby rig stories.

0:37:48.6 Jack Broudy: Oh yeah, Bobby, I was friendly with him, but more friendly with Monteiro would give us Bobby rate stories and learning cookware, and Bobby were pretty close friends, his way this... I think I was his sidekick. That's right, that's right.

0:38:02.9 Rich Neher: Now, I hung around the cost hours after playing or coaching, and I would watch Bobby Riggs play back in, he would play back in and all the time until he was... Toit saw him three weeks before he passed away, it was sad, he didn't look very good. Emigrated, he told a story at a luncheon, and the story was that he be played Bobby Ricks at a smaller tournament, I think somewhere in Ohio or somewhere, and he took the first set... Vibrated took the first set and he was so excited, he said, I'm gonna beat Bobby Ricks for the first time ever. And during the change over for the second set, Bobby, Rick stopped him and told him, don't arrive your surf really come back again one day, and he said, I never won another third... Yeah.

0:39:07.3 Jack Broudy: Bobby was amazing. He could get under your skin, plus, he was kinda like Muhammad Ali, and he said he was gonna do something, he did it like he had that 500... That famous 500 bet that he could win Wimbledon with a lead court ball, which he did, and I had incredible field, but I just loved that and were listening... Those were the good old days back in the early mid-70s, all the tennis players mingled with the actors and the singers, and they all went to Vegas and they all gamble together, drink together. Tell, I remember seeing in the Bobby Riggs Museum, a member at the Bobby Riggs cub. They had that museum, you remember that poster they had of all the dead is played all the athletes with cigarettes in their hand says We Thermo Lucky Strikes.

0:39:55.5 Rich Neher: And the oversized post as in there of the contemporary... Yeah, I made those.

0:40:02.4 Jack Broudy: Did you really... I love the mansion, I love those. I used to really like that little museum, it never got any airplay, not even in San Diego, but I love that little sand, it was having it there.

0:40:16.1 Rich Neher: Only wanted it in place, but people who can come and read and just revenue and stuff. Yeah, that was... I remember another story, big Braven told me, he said, Bobby Riggs told him, Hey, how about a little mixed doubles one set? Let's play for like 500 or 100, whatever. He always... Yeah, and bring your best woman tomorrow morning. So Vic Braden got a pro to this problem, and they came in the morning and

0:40:48.4 Jack Broudy: Go a bobbing for her, so

0:40:51.2 Rich Neher: He brought a female elephant and he changed himself to the elephant, and it was a team elephant, of course, from some circus or whatever, and he said And big brains as we still lost...

0:41:09.6 Jack Broudy: Oh my God, really? That I've never heard anything like that.

0:41:13.6 Rich Neher: Why did they lose? Because Bobby bricks, I think he always insisted that he served first or something, and he was able to place the ball so well, that's why even on when he was playing binger money, he was betting against other people, and he had put chairs on his side of the court, and he's still on those bets because no one could touch his placement and...

0:41:43.0 Jack Broudy: Yeah, no, you're right, he talk about... Yeah, well, he was back in the day of really with the all-court game, he had the SLICE and he had the bodies, and not so big on Topspin, but he had some top spin, but he really... He used the whole court, you know what I mean? Unlike so many players today that just try to... With a big Western grip, they just try to blast through you and stay in the baseline, Bobby could really use the whole court.

0:42:10.4 Rich Neher: So I think his thing was, whenever his opponents was on the court, that's where he was not hating tool, he always hit far away from the opponent, he made those shots, he...

0:42:24.6 Jack Broudy: Yeah, oh yeah, I can hit a time... Let me ask you, have you got any big names involved in Kanga right now, like local guys like The Bryan brothers or like Coco... San Diego or LA people, have you talked to any of them? Now, if you need any introductions to some of my... I probably could. To those three people in particular.

0:42:51.2 Rich Neher: I think the biggest name is you.

0:42:54.9 Jack Broudy: But I'm really worried for you, I'm greatly worried for you is before we go, would I'd like to give the people out there a lot of tennis pros and some players, but a lot of pros will be watching. Is there anything in particular you'd like to say, and I can add links, of course, to this podcast as well, so they could get in touch with you directly, please give us anything on both congenial business magazine.

0:43:25.5 Rich Neher: So the only fund raiser have right now is Posen, my book for 1290 treasures. Okay, and the secrets, it's available on Amazon, but otherwise, Tennis Professionals, anywhere in the country you wanna get involved with conga... Just look at our side, I have a lot of information and to be How to get involved as a tennis pro, that information is on the side too.

0:43:58.5 Jack Broudy: Even the name of the same, so I'll put it on top of us as well.

0:44:02.5 Rich Neher: Sports dot com. Dot com, coasts dot com.

0:44:10.3 Jack Broudy: Well, you know... On the record, I'd like to get involved a little... Maybe we could promote your book on my site, it

0:44:19.2 Rich Neher: Would be great.

0:44:20.0 Jack Broudy: 'cause I have partners right now, and very good partners, I'm partnering with Sports TV, the tennis tribe, you will be check and then the system nine out of London. I partner with Andy Dobson of London as well, and so I think I'm a very good company, and I'd be honored if you want to promote your book through us as well, and maybe even consorts itself.

0:44:44.8 Rich Neher: And he bought the book, I think is his readiness... This book not only shows you how to run a drop in tennis effectively, all I've been doing drop in tennis and the forever, 25 years last month. It was in April, it was 25 years. And I have some secrets how to run it so well that people stick with you. We have at Wellington in Studio City, we had before covid up to 50 players at night on a Friday night, but it shows also why I think dropping tennis the way I do it is a great recruitment tool for tennis clubs. Over the last 25 years, I can't tell you how many people, how many new members I provided for the host clubs, we were playing it... I wanna put a number to it, like 40 or 500 at least. Wow, that's amazing that a idolator resort where they paid 170 or 8000 initiation at...

0:45:55.3 Jack Broudy: That's right, I was gonna say, I was on the CoStar a while they need help, they need help because they're too high priced and they don't get enough... I go to those courts and it's sad and you see it's like 15 ports and only two are being used in their junior program, I would have like six kids. And I was like, Are you kidding me? In the greatest club I'm in the 70s, the whole world knew about the cost...

0:46:16.7 Rich Neher: Are they not run by Cliff Drysdale people right now? I think I heard that.

0:46:21.5 Jack Broudy: Yes, it's run by Cliff Drysdale, and I don't know much about it right now, but I know that... I was there a year ago, and in the afternoon... And when you think... You have all these courts, you think I'd be packed with noisy kids, I think there was a half a dozen that was it, and it was so sad because I was back there in the day... Like I said, back in the old days, in the 70s, when that club, you couldn't get a court, you could... It was just so packed, and so everyone wanted to be in a constant Arafat and all those people, they were all there.

0:46:55.2 Rich Neher: And this big tournament to the women's tournament.

0:46:58.0 Jack Broudy: It was a great Avon... It was a great tournament that a Virginia Slims and then it turned into the accurate... No, it was a great... It was a great place, but unfortunately, like we started with today, we're watching tennis courts be taken up and made into parking lots, turn into pickle ball, I mean, heck, you weren't around back then, but back in the day, Coronado hotel, Dell, they had like 16 courts today, they have two... They had 16 courts there back in the Enid sees, it is kind of a shame and I love what you're doing, and I will do my best to promote... I'll get your book, and you know, I'm definitely... I've tried to be a part of whatever you've done in the past, so I'm a big believer in what you do, I have a lot of respect for you, and I guess I love the way that you love the game, and I

0:47:53.6 Rich Neher: Appreciate that. Check and wanna bring up to... Li love what you do with the 45. No, thank you. Then I tell you with your eight board every morning, what

0:48:04.7 Jack Broudy: We call it, the Brody board now, but I'm glad to hear you, man, I'm glad to hear that the new ones we really speak to, but they cost more, but they're much... I'm glad you're still working, 'cause a lot of people that had him 10, 15, 20 years ago and still working.

0:48:20.5 Rich Neher: I believe it or not, since I have had back problems all my life, since I use the paper every morning, I haven't had any incident and just keeping you lose and keeping our flexible her... That's great.

0:48:38.1 Jack Broudy: Well, hopefully it helps your tennis game a little bit.

0:48:40.5 Rich Neher: I call it realigning the spine. That's great.

0:48:45.5 Jack Broudy: Well, you know what I'd like to do. I just thought of it now. And we'll end it here. I don't think we have you on our list of pros 'cause you're not a certified pro, but I think we should get you up there on that list so people can contact you as well, so we'll do that. I'll get your picture, your bio, if you like, we'll get it up on our coach's page, so anyone who is interested in reaching rich and forgets how to do it, just go to the site and go to the coach's page and you'll see them right there.

0:49:15.9 Rich Neher: Thank you, I'm safe place 30 now. What's that? I just got safe place.

0:49:21.5 Jack Broudy: Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I checked that about a year ago, so I was gonna do something at the Carson center with Susan Nardi, and so... Oh, you gotta be a part of that. Said, Okay, so I did, it took me three hours, to be honest with you, I understand, I guess with so many people in the world today, they have to protect themselves, but it was a little insulting doing that thing for a guy like me in his 60s and I never had trouble with girls or women or boys or anybody, I was always just a hard work and tennis pro that wanted to make better players, I never had trouble with that stuff, but I guess they have incidents where, you know, I guess they really do... I know of a couple that I'm not gonna mention here, big time people that have had gotten in trouble, and even in a test problem now at the Lake Nona, at the Orlando facility, there is the right

0:50:14.4 Rich Neher: To have... A tennis pro was sexually assaulting one of the players up and coming players. And he had a history of doing that. Oh

0:50:25.7 Jack Broudy: Yeah, and there was a couple... And there was a couple in San Diego recently, in the last five years. And we know who they are, we're not gonna say it. And yeah, they ended up six months in jail as well, but like I said, I guess it's a good thing, the safe play. But for me, I was insulted. I was like, Come on, are you kidding me? And ask me a question, How dare you ask me that kind of a question, but I guess

0:50:50.5 Rich Neher: Not being a pro as you... Not having anything to do with coaching, I found many of those questions quite interesting, actual.

0:51:00.3 Jack Broudy: Yeah, I guess you're right now, like I said, over the years, I have seen inappropriate behavior I have, I have not just the male-female thing and not just that, but even... I remember seeing a coach push a 14-year-old boy up against the fence, start screaming at, I'm yelling in of why he's losing, and this kid was in tears, and this was a big guy, and I actually fired him that day, I fired him that day. I was working at a club in San Diego and he was gone. I was the head pro, and the director looked at me and he goes, We can't have that. I said, No, we can't. And he says, You know what to do. I said, I just said, Hey, you're out. But yeah, so I guess some people have to deal with their own demons, and I guess safe play is probably probably all in all a good thing. Okay, alright, well, Rich, thank you very much for spending time with me today, and I really appreciate it. And we talk regularly anyway, and like I said, after this, please get me your picture, your bio, I'll get it up on the site and get me your book, give you a nice picture of your book, so I can offer the book on the site as well, and appreciate that.

0:52:09.0 Jack Broudy: I make you out there, if you wanna grow your tennis program, I would follow this fellow on all the social media, rich, a hair, and I would also... Whatever he has to offer, I would take him up on it 'cause he knows how to grow the game, I've watched him do it myself, so... Thank you as rich, you have a fantastic day.

0:52:27.9 Rich Neher: And the same to you.

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