TOTAL TENNIS
Total Tennis was launched 40 years ago in 1978. Originally launched at the Williston Northampton School of Massachusetts, Total Tennis moved location in Saugerties, New York in 1997. This 73-acre camp, the Northeast’s only year round tennis camp is located 100 miles north of New York city, at the base of the Catskill Mountains in Saugerties, New York and about 20 minutes from Woodstock.
Total Tennis is a small business company, a tennis training and practice facility, located at 1811 Old Kings Highway in Saugerties in an unique landscape. The owner of Total Tennis is Ed Fondiller, graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, earned a BA in Political Science and Communication from Queens College. He began his career in local television news at WCBS and WPIX, before leaving journalism to teach tennis.
Ed Fondiller is not only the Director of Total Tennis, but also an environmentalist. Total Tennis company is also well-known due to its important and new trend sustainability projects and philanthropy ones.
The customers are mainly Americans, but some European nationalities like German, Swedish, English and others are also represented.
Total Tennis has 25 tennis courts: 11 red clay, 12 hard (5 of them indoors) and 2 artificial clay.
They recently resurfaced their courts to US Open blue. There are also 2 nice and new paddle courts.
Sustainability projects
Total Tennis is fully committed to reduce waste and consume less. How?
Recycling, composting, producing their own fruits and vegetables into an organic garden (Total Tennis kitchen serves guests beef, poultry and vegetables from on-site, organic garden and local suppliers) and using solar energy through the 468 solar panels producing 25% of the Total Tennis electricity.
Ed Fondiller stated: “Environmental projects accomplish a multitude of goals: they create jobs, stimulate the economy, clean up the environment and make the country energy independent.”
The global warming articles and television programs conducted Fondiller to find solutions and implement them. In 2010, Ed added a major objective to its business plan: reducing greenhouse gases. He installed 468 solar panels to provide renewable electricity. His Solar Panel Project cost $ 786.240, but his private financing represented 25% of the total investment at 7 year term, the rest was covered with New York State rebates through NYSERDA and Department of Treasury’s 1603 Program financing. Due to solar panels there is an estimated energy savings of 30 % of the Total Tennis annual electric bill.
Philanthropy project
In 2006 Total Tennis organized a fundraising of $ 3.000 together with its guests’ donations to diminish poverty and support education of students in Kenya, Africa. Starting with 7 students, the Total Tennis fundraising has substantially contributed to provide scholarship at present for more than 400 students in Likoni, Kenya through the Hatua Likoni organization (NGO), whose Co-founder & Director is Gabrielle Fondiller (Ed’s daughter).
Gabrielle oversees all strategic and operational functions of Hatua. In 2016, she earned her MD in Management at Stanford University.
The Hatua Scholarship Fund works to increase the number of Likoni students able to attend secondary school by providing scholarship to poor, dedicated students.
References:
www.tennisresortonline.com/trofiles/total-tennis.cfm
www.tennisindustrymag.com/news/2010/04/small_business_owner_challenge.html
https://tenniseventguide.com/total-tennis-new-york-review
https://www.hatualikoni.org/about/history/
Total Tennis is a small business company, a tennis training and practice facility, located at 1811 Old Kings Highway in Saugerties in an unique landscape. The owner of Total Tennis is Ed Fondiller, graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, earned a BA in Political Science and Communication from Queens College. He began his career in local television news at WCBS and WPIX, before leaving journalism to teach tennis.
Ed Fondiller is not only the Director of Total Tennis, but also an environmentalist. Total Tennis company is also well-known due to its important and new trend sustainability projects and philanthropy ones.
The customers are mainly Americans, but some European nationalities like German, Swedish, English and others are also represented.
Total Tennis has 25 tennis courts: 11 red clay, 12 hard (5 of them indoors) and 2 artificial clay.
They recently resurfaced their courts to US Open blue. There are also 2 nice and new paddle courts.
Sustainability projects
Total Tennis is fully committed to reduce waste and consume less. How?
Recycling, composting, producing their own fruits and vegetables into an organic garden (Total Tennis kitchen serves guests beef, poultry and vegetables from on-site, organic garden and local suppliers) and using solar energy through the 468 solar panels producing 25% of the Total Tennis electricity.
Ed Fondiller stated: “Environmental projects accomplish a multitude of goals: they create jobs, stimulate the economy, clean up the environment and make the country energy independent.”
The global warming articles and television programs conducted Fondiller to find solutions and implement them. In 2010, Ed added a major objective to its business plan: reducing greenhouse gases. He installed 468 solar panels to provide renewable electricity. His Solar Panel Project cost $ 786.240, but his private financing represented 25% of the total investment at 7 year term, the rest was covered with New York State rebates through NYSERDA and Department of Treasury’s 1603 Program financing. Due to solar panels there is an estimated energy savings of 30 % of the Total Tennis annual electric bill.
Philanthropy project
In 2006 Total Tennis organized a fundraising of $ 3.000 together with its guests’ donations to diminish poverty and support education of students in Kenya, Africa. Starting with 7 students, the Total Tennis fundraising has substantially contributed to provide scholarship at present for more than 400 students in Likoni, Kenya through the Hatua Likoni organization (NGO), whose Co-founder & Director is Gabrielle Fondiller (Ed’s daughter).
Gabrielle oversees all strategic and operational functions of Hatua. In 2016, she earned her MD in Management at Stanford University.
The Hatua Scholarship Fund works to increase the number of Likoni students able to attend secondary school by providing scholarship to poor, dedicated students.
References:
www.tennisresortonline.com/trofiles/total-tennis.cfm
www.tennisindustrymag.com/news/2010/04/small_business_owner_challenge.html
https://tenniseventguide.com/total-tennis-new-york-review
https://www.hatualikoni.org/about/history/
Mentor's Profile
My mentor, Saif Syed, 37 years old, was born in India and he has played tennis for 29 years. Being PTR certified and a tennis performance trainer by ITPA (International Tennis Performance Association), he has 15 years tennis teaching and tennis program management experience at all levels: beginners, intermediate and advanced.
He spent his childhood among famous tennis coaches in India. He was trained by his father and his uncle, Akhtar Ali, the Davis Cup coach for India for 25 years and later, by his cousin Zeeshan Ali, the current Indian Davis Cup coach. Ranked top 5 tennis players in his country, first he represented India in Junior Davis Cup and in various international junior world ranking (ITF) tournaments. Then Saif played Futures Circuits.
Afterwards, he trained in Florida with Leander Paes, Indian nationality, a multiple doubles Grand Slam winner.
Later he decided to go back to college and he played number 2 singles and doubles for the University of New Orleans (NCAA Division I level). He graduated there with a MBA degree in Finance. Once he finished college, Saif spent some more years on the professional tennis circuit before moving to coaching. He enriched his experience by moving to Dubai, where he trained top juniors in the Middle East, then as a Director of Tennis at the Anantara Resort and Spa.
At present he is Head Coach at Total Tennis and Director of the junior program.
During my Summer mentorship, I was really delighted to learn from my mentor’s experience and from his world class tennis family’s philosophy.
He spent his childhood among famous tennis coaches in India. He was trained by his father and his uncle, Akhtar Ali, the Davis Cup coach for India for 25 years and later, by his cousin Zeeshan Ali, the current Indian Davis Cup coach. Ranked top 5 tennis players in his country, first he represented India in Junior Davis Cup and in various international junior world ranking (ITF) tournaments. Then Saif played Futures Circuits.
Afterwards, he trained in Florida with Leander Paes, Indian nationality, a multiple doubles Grand Slam winner.
Later he decided to go back to college and he played number 2 singles and doubles for the University of New Orleans (NCAA Division I level). He graduated there with a MBA degree in Finance. Once he finished college, Saif spent some more years on the professional tennis circuit before moving to coaching. He enriched his experience by moving to Dubai, where he trained top juniors in the Middle East, then as a Director of Tennis at the Anantara Resort and Spa.
At present he is Head Coach at Total Tennis and Director of the junior program.
During my Summer mentorship, I was really delighted to learn from my mentor’s experience and from his world class tennis family’s philosophy.