USPTA member of the year: Jorge Capestany
With 33 years of experience as a tennis teaching professional, along with worldwide recognition for what he is doing to grow the sport, create more players, and help players improve and enjoy the game, it’s easy to see why Jorge Capestany of Holland, Mich., was honored in September with the USPTA’s 2015 Alex Gordon Award for the Professional of the Year.
Now, we’d like to add to the accolades he’s received throughout his career by recognizing Capestany as Tennis Industry’s 2015 USPTA Member of the Year.
“Jorge truly embodies what the word ‘professional’ means,” says USPTA CEO John Embree. “He is one of the hardest working members of our association, not only because of his responsibilities at his home facility in Michigan, but because of his industry involvement and speaking obligations, which are vast.”
Capestany is one of only 10 people worldwide to hold Master Professional distinction with both the USPTA and PTR. He has been a speaker at more than 70 conferences, attended 27 consecutive USPTA World Conferences, and held multiple leadership positions within the USPTA nationally and in the Midwest Division.
While his day job is managing the DeWitt Tennis Center at Hope College in Holland, Mich., he may be best known now for the drills and instruction available at tennisdrills.tv and jorgecapestany.com.
“I think I have kind of diversified over the years,” Capestany says. “I totaled up all the hours I’ve spent on court and it’s more than 60,000, plus about 17,000 hours watching my students at tournaments. As a speaker, I’ve been able to go all over the world. I’m really blessed to get to do what I do.” — Peter Francesconi
Tips for Success
- Be a lifelong learner. “I can’t imagine not going to the USPTA World Conference,” Capestany says.
- Recognize how this industry can affect the family of those in it and have a plan for that. “I have young pros that work for me, and I’m constantly helping to make sure they have family time for themselves.”
- Make sure you work for a company or boss that has your back, especially when it comes to dealing with members.
See all articles by Peter Francesconi
About the Author
Peter Francesconi 
is editorial director of Tennis Industry magazine.
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