The 40th Annual PTR International Conference

The PTR was founded in 1976 by Dennis Van der Meer, from educational and instructional necessity.

The PTR would grow into the largest international teaching pro organization. Known for its excellent member service, educational pathway, and creativity, it has always been a leader in coach education.

1984 the first PTR Conference was held at the Holiday Inn on Hilton Head Island. Hilton Head is acknowledged worldwide as the home of the PTR and Van der Meer tennis. The term, PTR Conference, was replaced by International Symposium, as termed by Dennis Van der Meer, as a more professional acknowledgement that what happened each year was more than just a conference. The PTR and most recently the PPR has grown tremendously under the leadership of the current staff and team.  That growth creates its own challenges for staff office space and annual symposium requirements.  A decision was made to move to Saddlebrook in Tampa, Fla by the PTR Board.

This year in 2024, the International Symposium was indeed moved to a venue that once was the leader in top-level tennis development, Saddlebrook Resort. The once-hallowed tennis grounds have become a little outdated, but new ownership has promised to make changes in the near future that will benefit the PTR and PPR in many ways.

Moving to Saddlebrook this year, before all the renovations, did not create a positive image for the almost 700-plus attendees. First impressions are lasting impressions. The resort did not have time to update important features to impress the PTR attendees.

Looking at the glass half full, there are accommodations, 25 clay courts, red clay courts, grass courts, and Padel courts including plans to create a stadium court for future events.

There was an amazing group of speakers for both tennis and pickleball. Each day there were a trifecta of presentations to attend both on court and off court. James Blake, Mike Barrell, Doug Cash, Emma Wells, AJ Pant, Butch Staples, Tom Ruth, Carl Maes, Nick Saviano, Dean Hollingsworth, Len Simard, Leo Alonso, Mark McMahon and Ivo Karlovic to name of few. In addition to the Conference presenters, there were several PTR Master Classes that focused on specific courses of interest for the PTR attendees. 

The International Conference Opening Ceremony is a PTR tradition to honor the international roots of the PTR and those who annually attend. The Parade of Nations features a country's flag followed by that country's representatives, a PTR tradition. The PTR Trade Show is an important feature of the PTR week event.  It was a sell-out with a waiting list in a spacious conference room. There were vendors from most tennis, pickleball, tennis services, PTM programs, and IT services from the industry.

Monday night's opening act featured an International Master Pro meeting, a VIP reception, and the Head Welcome Party that allowed long-time PTR friends to reconnect and meet new attendees to the 40th PTR International Conference.  It was announced, somewhat surprisingly, during the PTR update that Saddlebrook would become the new PTR International Headquarters.  This news came as a bit of a shock to most of the attendees who had such a deep love for the history and glory of Hilton Head Island and the PTR for 38 of the 40 symposium-year history.

​On Tuesday evening, a very efficient but effective Awards Dinner was held followed by DJ-driven music and dancing.  Simon Gale, from the USTA National Campus, was honored as the PTR Pro of the Year.

The 8 original Master Professionals were recognized as well as all the current International Master Professionals. Patricia Markova from Slovakia and the late John Palace were introduced as a new PTR International Master Professional that evening. Tennis greats, Mary Pierce and James Blake were highlighted for their contribution to the PTR and the Tennis Industry.

Added features included a $25,000 PTRW Tournament on the clay courts of Saddlebrook.  The morning was a USTA/PTR sponsored Awards Breakfast, a duo of speakers each hour, Cardio Triples with Michele Krause, and a DJ'd party with dancing to close the tennis part of the 2024 PTR International Conference.  Thursday's schedule included PTR Level 1 Certification, semi-finals of the PTRW  $25,000 women's tournament, Padel lectures, and the KK&W Business Program. Friday through Sunday included level 1 certification for PTR, PPR, PCR as well as the completion of the WTA Pro Circuit event.

The week in review:

• Presenters were high level

• Saddlebrook was excited to host the PTR Conference and become the host site for the PTR going forward.

• Getting to and from the presentations indoors and outdoors required quite a walk.  To accommodate, presentations were only 40 minutes to allow moving to the next presentations.

• Accommodations were spotty, and a bit antiquated in some situations.

• Hotel staff were not adequately prepared to register guests efficiently with only 1 person at the desk in most situations.

• Parking was not an easy experience for PTR attendees who drove to the event or rented a car.

• Transportation from the Tampa Airport featured a shuttle for $55 or Uber for about $60 plus dollars and required quite a travel time commitment.

• Having only 1 small restaurant to service lunchtime or evening patronizing by PTR attendees was challenging at best because of limited space and staff.

• Directions to accommodations and routes to presentations required lots of getting familiar with - a lot due to just the new environment I am sure.

• The PTR Trade Show required leaving the main building and walking to another building but that building was spacious enough to accommodate a record number of the sold-out venue.

• The PTR Staff are always the best, servicing registration, questions, and directions with a friendly smile.

• Name badges were effective and the lanyards indicated a participant's level of achievement in some situations, ie, IMP, presenter, etc.

• As expected, many PTR members missed the Hilton Head experience as part of the PTR International Conference.

• There were several USTA staff and officials at the event including USPTA representatives.

• The PTR is currently the only USTA-accredited teaching pro organization.

• There were many PTR banners placed around the Saddlebrook grounds.

• There are plans to add padel courts to the resort.

• Who from the experienced PTR Staff will make the transition from Hilton Head to Tampa and continue to preserve the PTR experience?

2024 overall evaluation

1. Quality-related topics and presenters were a plus.

2. The new owners have plans calling for major renovation and expansion.

3. The Hilton Head experience will be sorely missed, including the ghost of Dennis Van der Meer shadowing his dream - the PTR on the Island.

4. Final results will be confirmed from the Conference Evaluations by the attendees and we will wait and see on promises made.

Your opinion is appreciated and thanks to all my friends, 

Ken DeHart