John Gudzinowicz, manager of the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center
By: Andrew Cangiano
Residence: Princeton
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from North Adams State College
First job: Clerk at a hardware store
Thumbnail sketch: Played four years of tennis in college. Started coaching and giving tennis lessons in Hawaii. Certified by the U.S. Professional Tennis Registry as a teaching pro. Hired in 1976 as the pro for the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center and the Princeton tennis program. In the mid-’80s, he became the manager of the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center. Today, he continues to manage the facility and also runs the Nike Tennis Camp at The Peddie School, which is one of the oldest and best-known tennis camps in the country.
Why did you decide to get into the sports market? I did go to a school for business, and I always loved sports, so I figured if I could get a job within sports and combine business with it, it would be a great combination.
How did you become involved with the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center? I was hired down here in 1976 as the pro for the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center as well as the Princeton Tennis Program (A not-for-profit community tennis association serving the greater-Princeton area.) I was a pro here for probably about 15 years.
When is the indoor tennis facility open? From the middle of September to the beginning of May, we’re open, which is about 33 weeks a year.
How do you maintain a top-rated tennis facility? We’re primarily a service business. We’re not selling anything but court time and a good recreational time, and a fun-time and exercise. To that end, we first of all need really good staff. People who are very personable and get along with people and handle issues that come up. I think that’s a primary thing in a business like this, to have good staff and good pros. Secondly, obviously just as important, we need a good facility, meaning the courts have to be in good shape, have to have good lighting and generally just create an atmosphere that’s conducive for people to come in here and play.
Are you doing any work on the facility in the near future? We’re going to be upgrading the ceiling and the lights and the roof on the outside, resurface the courts, put in new rugs, paint it. So we’re doing a major renovation this year. And I continue to look for top-notch staff as well as top-notch pros, which I think we have right now.
How many patrons do you have at the club? I’d say 1,700. We’re open from 7 in the morning until 11 at night.
How did you get involved with running summer tennis camps? I met a friend of a friend who got me a job at a camp up at Williams College, a junior tennis camp. That was a nine-week job in the summer, overnight camp for kids. That was the first camp in our system, we started a small camp business with that camp. Basically, over the years, we’ve developed into a pretty large operation with the help of Nike sponsorship. We have camps throughout the country in 15 different sports.