La Jolla Tennis Club hires ‘equipment geek’ as new manager.

Despite his playing years, new La Jolla Tennis Club manager Jon Ross is looking forward to getting off the court and into the clubhouse.

The self-proclaimed gadget geek started his new job on March 6. He is the club’s fourth manager in the last two years.

I compare my love of gear to those who love cars, Ross said. There are different brands, models, trims. The same goes for rackets. They each have their own lines within the brand; some help more in turning, others increase speed. I can tell the weight of the racket depending on the brand.

Knowing the equipment is important, so when they have something wrong with the racket, someone is here to look at it. I also know that the members here are customers of the shop and like to talk shit, so its info can be helpful or build relationships with members.

During the first week on the job, Ross brought the spring machine to the clubhouse for the members to use. Members have said they want one on site and are excited about it, he said.

Ross, who worked at the Racket Stringing Workshop down the street and other tennis-related businesses in San Diego, has been a member of the La Jolla Tennis Club for years. When the opportunity arose to use his expertise there, he welcomed it.

The club is a great place. You can’t play cheaper anywhere else, Ross said. I’m excited to be here. I’ve been really happy since I started. I’m not tired when I get home. This is a breath of fresh air. Since I have been a member and competed, I know what it’s like to be on their side and I can help members.

The first thing he wants to do is organize the clubhouse and its inventory, he said.

“I want to look at what’s available in the store versus what we need so we can order products seamlessly,” he said. I like to step in and take care of things. I came in and saw some things that need to be cleaned up, so I’ll take care of that.

The La Jolla Tennis Club, a public facility, is located at 7632 Draper Ave.

(Elisabeth Frausto)

Ross was hired as the club’s manager after former manager Mike Van Zutphen resigned so he could teach elsewhere, according to board chairman Alex Brown.

Van Zutphen was hired in May of last year after the board, which operates the club as a nonprofit service to the city of San Diego at the city-owned courts at 7632 Draper Ave., spent $20,000 to hire South Carolina-based McMahon. Career nationwide looking for a new manager. While collecting member feedback, it was discussed whether supervisors should also offer coaching services.

In addition to the sticker shock of the cost, some members said the director’s teaching would unfairly compete with teachers who rent courts to offer private lessons. With the board having terminated the contracts of some coaches in May 2021, some said hiring someone to teach in addition to running the club would raise questions.

Others said local coaches who already know the pitches would be ideal managerial candidates.

Unlike previous leaders who were also coaches, Ross said he is not interested in teaching. But like former executives, he enjoys the trial when he can get it after work.

I started playing tennis when I was 7 years old, when I moved to a neighborhood where there was a tennis club, he said. After playing for a few months, a neighbor saw that I had potential, so I trained and played tennis at Rancho Bernardo High School. I was part of the team when it was the eighth best in the country. … Because high school was tennis, tennis, tennis, when I got to college I decided I had given my life to the sport, so I stopped playing tennis for a while so I could be a regular student.

When the pandemic hit, I picked up a racket again because it was a socially distant sport and got back into it right away.

La Jolla Tennis Club’s recent managerial flurry began when Scott Farr refused a pay cut and left in April 2021 after 15 years. Shortly thereafter, the board hired Vic Kramitz to run the club. However, Kramitz’s contract was terminated at the end of 2021 when the board found out that he was paying himself overtime and, according to Brown, also taking almost a full day off a week.

At the time, Kramitz refused to comment on the reasons for his departure.

For more information about La Jolla Tennis Club, visit ljtc.org.