Doylestown Tennis Club

The club of champions.
By Brenda Lange

The Doylestown Tennis Club isn’t just like any other club. In fact, it’s unique in many ways.

The club’s teaching program is one way it stands out from the crowd. Jim Klein, Director of Tennis, brought the program with him 15 years ago. It is based on the principles of Vic Braden, a household name in the tennis world, a coach who went on to found tennis training camps for professional coaches around the country.

Braden developed his method over years of observation, research and teaching—training the pros according to the laws of physics. Klein had been a guest instructor with Braden, and taught this method for ten years.

“The reason the program is so effective, is because it’s based on these laws, which are irrefutable,” says Ed Mullaney, the club’s owner and founder. “And we’re one of only a few clubs on the east coast to use the Braden Method.”

Jim Klein elaborates: “Braden’s method is unique in that it takes the opinion out of teaching, and bases it on scientific fact instead. Through observing different pros, Vic Braden realized they all did certain things the same way, and those things all fell within the law of physics.”

The four full-time pros at the Doylestown Tennis Club have been working together for nine years, unusual among tennis coaches and in other clubs. Mullaney credits their longevity to the teamwork promoted by Klein and assistant head pro Ryan Reidy.

“We work together to make the program successful, to help it grow,” says Reidy. “Whether it’s leagues, camps, or juniors, we have the same focus.”

That focus includes consistent teaching. Students might work with one pro one week and another the following week, but they get exactly the same training as far as strokes, mechanics of the game, and technique, regardless of which trainer they choose. The ability to “try out” different coaches keeps the students motivated and playing well.

Judging by the rankings of some of their junior players, the program works. In business since 1973, the club has trained thousands of players. Last year six of their young female players advanced to play number one singles on their high school tennis teams—an unprecedented achievement.

In addition to Klein and Reidy, who joined in 1997, the pros are MaryLou Cardie who’s been with the club since 1999, and Cory Smith, who has been with the club for 17 years as a student and joined the staff in 2000.

The sense of teamwork starts at the top, with Mullaney crediting his pros and the rest of his staff of 25. The pros in turn believe they could not be as successful as they have been without the support of Mullaney and his wife Karen.

“No one person is more important or bigger than the program,” adds Klein. “And we all work together to get it done, which wouldn’t be possible without the backing and support of the owners.”

The team philosophy means that the pros don’t claim individuals as their private students, because they teach according to the same philosophy, by the same methods. “The basics are the basics, and we all aim to be brilliant with those basics,” says Klein.

This overriding emphasis on teamwork extends to the individual players in the club’s tournaments, including the Main Court League. Main Court is a junior competitive league where club youth travel to other clubs on Saturdays, gradually working their way up to nationals with enough wins. This league is a national program, operated under the auspices of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

“It’s set up as a round-robin; the players try to win as many games as possible,” explains Klein. “The person who wins only one game may be the person who puts the team over the top.”

“Tennis is thought of as an individual sport, but these kids play as a team, where every single game counts,” says Reidy. “They root for each other and they know they’re not just winning for themselves; they’re out there for the team.”

New last year is the parent/child doubles league. Starting at age ten, youth partner with a parent or other adult of similar ability and play competitively with other doubles teams in the club. The league runs for ten weeks and in its first season included 52 participants.

Another popular program is the four-week Learn Tennis ASAP Program, which brought in 48 adult players who were brand new to the game.

Membership at the Doylestown Tennis Club is $145 per year, plus costs for individual programs. A good way to get started in the game is to join the club’s Learning League, which is non-competitive and social, where people who’ve taken tennis clinics can get comfortable playing with others and learn more through actual experience.

The club offers extensive junior and adult programs, beginning with their Early Childhood Development classes for ages four through nine, and three levels of junior programs for ages 10 through 18. The club also runs the Central Bucks School District Community School Tennis Program, offering two seven-week starter programs each year.

The Summer Camp programs have been a big success, traditionally bringing in 300 kids a week, offering customized programs in daily or two-week long camps.

The Doylestown Tennis Club is located at the intersection of Route 313 and Pine Run Road, on Welden Drive in Doylestown Township. For more information, visit www.doylestowntennis.com or call (215) 345-7897.

Brenda Lange is a Doylestown-based writer (www.brendalange.com).