The Professional Tennis U (PTU) Program was launched in January 2019 to develop well-rounded tennis professionals who were equipped to run their own facility upon graduation from the program. The "Where are they now?" series looks at how these employees have grown and developed inside -- and outside -- of the company.
Thomas "Teg" Lozano, originally from West Texas, began playing tennis in his hometown before moving on to play collegiately at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. Teg completed the PTU program at John Newcombe Country Club in New Braunfels, Texas, during which he also completed intermediate stints at Southampton Racquet Club as well as a variety of CDT events across the country, before he was promoted to Director at The Club at Castlewood in Pleasanton, California.
What (or who) inspired you to join the PTU program?
Michael Holder, CDT Director of Tennis at The Standard Club in Georgia. He’s a close friend and teammate from the college days. I was already involved with coaching some high/middle school tennis and had been keeping up with Michael because around the same time he had started with CDT and was involved with a lot of tennis too. We regularly exchanged experiences being in the same field of work. He would tell me about how he was traveling parts of the country for work, having the opportunities to see new places, meet new people, and experience new things. I told myself that I needed some of that experience in my life, applied for the PTU program, interviewed with CDT COO Scott Colebourne, and the rest is history.
What would you say has been your biggest growth area since starting as a PTU pro to now?
Learning the business side of racquet sports. The PTU program gave this dude with a degree in exercise science (with minimal business experience) an introduction to how to monetize tennis and eventually an opportunity to learn/do it for myself. I have made plenty of mistakes and hit a few bumps in the road, but I have learned enough from them to help me continue on the journey.
And, being more open to experience sharing and collaborating with others is something else I’ve found myself more open to. I used to never want to share any failures I had but never really shared successes either. This was selfish on my part because I now see that knowledge is spread through sharing any experience. You never know what you can learn or what someone else can learn through shared experiences, positive or negative.
How did the PTU program prepare you for a leadership position at CDT? Any challenges along the way?
The most beneficial part of the PTU program for me was the realization that mistakes don’t have to be a negative. The work and learning environment that was created in this program helped me to not be afraid to do/try something because it might not work out. We were constantly challenged to figure out why mistakes/failures occur and how to adjust, correct, learn from it and try not to make the same mistake again. Of course, this is easier said than done. Making mistakes or having failures sucks. It took a while to build the confidence to let go of the indecisiveness, and just pull the trigger on a project or idea. I feel like this is a quality trait for leadership positions and is something I really had to work on to improve.
What are you currently working on from a career development standpoint?
Ever heard of Pickleball? I’ve been trying to work on learning the most efficient ways to get it involved with the club I am at: Learning how to teach, finding out what people want from pickleball at the club, beginner classes, how to set up classes/clinics/social play. It is something that was new for CDT and we have been collaborating with other directors across our facilities.
I have also been goofing around with some video editing. I’ve been filming a lot of CDT events that I have been involved in and have tons of footage that I have been looking back at. I have a few videos that I’m jumping back into when I have some free time. It’s fun for me to make and the few that are done have been enjoyed by those who were involved with the event. I have been called the Martin Scorsese of filming CDT events… Self-proclaimed of course…