Padel World Press .- Last June, in 'This is Paddle', we spoke with Marcos del Pilar on the recent start-up of its activity in the project of Wynwood Padel Miami, which is about to open its doors and will become the largest paddle club in the United States.
Collaborator in the design of the first blades of HEAD, with a very active role in NOX and very involved in the training tasks, in recent dates we returned to maintain a long and interesting conversation on paddle, in which he told us about the analysis he would make of the current situation of this sport in North American lands: "My vision is that the US market will explode in the coming months. We will have very substantial changes before the next two years. At present the community of players is not too important but there are many factors that express an enormous activity that will take shape very soon. There are great actors very interested in developing the padel in the country, with very good structure and means. With the right people in management, we will have great changes that will make our beloved sport a great business opportunity in the USA. There are already other racquet sports triumphing here besides tennis (Pickelball, Platform, POP Tennis, ...) and in particular we have some differentiating elements that can offer us an important market share ".
After these first months of activity in the United States, in which faithful to his restless and proactive spirit he did not stop for a single second, the Madrilenian said: “The work to promote sports is being brutal. Those of us who are here at the moment have to work very hard to be able to open the way for others. From the hand of the appropriate technicians, everyone who tries, repeats. And he tells it to his friends, who in turn come and repeat. You already know how this works ... The directors of the institutions and the owners and managers of the facilities know the 'Pádel Phenomenon' and the potential and profitability of the model and are beginning to take positions regarding the construction of facilities and acquisition of know-how how to manage them. We are in the prescription phase of the service. There is a lot of interest in sports and related businesses. As soon as the business model is known and the paddle (in concept) reaches its Product Market Fit, I am sure that we are going to witness one of the most notorious cases of organic acquisition growth. We offer a value proposition with important competitive advantages, so I believe that paddle tennis (as a global business) will be able to grow a lot and in a short space of time ”.
Great connoisseur of this sport, with extensive experience in the sector, wanted to talk about the current level of fans and their degree of 'addiction' to paddle: "As in all the countries of the world where I have been linked with padel businesses, there are players of all levels. In Miami, in particular, there is a group of players who can perfectly play the WPT Circuit Previews; In fact, they play exhibitions with professional players (Top 10) and their link with the sport is amazing. We can be very grateful to have them pushing the sport in the American market. Proportionally, there are players with a very high level, others of medium level and others who start. The great 'blue ocean' is still to be discovered in all those millions of American athletes of all ages who will soon be playing paddle tennis in the 'New Continent'. As for the rotation, sample of that addiction per player, has an exponential growth. This is understandable by the very qualities of sport, which make it succeed in that country that develops it. those characteristics that make it unique and that we already know.
To have a more global perspective of the situation, Marcos del Pilar told us about the estimated number of clubs, courts and fans in the US: “There are currently 11 clubs registered. The next one will be ours in Miami, Wynwood Padel, which will offer an important quantitative leap. It will have 8 courts, 6 of them covered, and will be the largest club in the United States. We will have gym service, cafeteria, physiotherapy, Chill Out terrace in addition to the amenities of a club of these characteristics. In our estimates, we have about 30 tracks currently across the country. The initial number is small but with the potential of this country and how fast things are moving, I think we will have multiplied by ten very soon. The coefficient of virality of our product is greater than one… That means that as soon as we start creating facilities, the growth curve of the business model is clearly going to be exponential. The Net PromoterSscore of the paddle, as a global business model, is very high and, with this, the client's recommendations become our best sales tool ”.
How would you define your work in the USA?
With a smile on his face, he said: “Intense, dedicated and passionate in equal measure. I do not stop for a minute and with a profile as proactive as mine, the opportunities do not stop happening. I work on various fronts supporting the growth of paddle tennis as a global concept in the United States. At present I work as Manager of a club in Miami (Wynwood Padel) and I am the Director of Operations for RPP in the USA establishing the parameters of the Padel Coaches Training and Certification Program. In addition, I work as a Business Development Consultant in multiple paddle growth areas throughout the country and as an ambassador for sport. I also work very intensively with the media (newspapers, magazines and TV) promoting content that offers visibility to sport. There are great projects and countless things to do and I try to give my best to all those entities that make paddle a more known and global sport. I work very closely with North American racquet sports institutions in the globalization and development of sport, trying to expand the business model and visibility as a tool for creating business opportunities for all companies related to this industry. We are participating in conferences, organizing clinics, events, media, interviews, building clubs, formalizing agreements, managing facilities Management and guaranteeing a map of alliances for sport that allows us to validate growth channels and then be able to scale them ”.
With a marked teaching vocation, Marcos del Pilar spoke to us about what we can expect from training courses and certification of coaches in USA: "This is an initiative that is required to meet a need that will increase in the coming months. We offer training and certification courses for coaches who want to be certified in the United States with the RPP under the support of the USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association), the USPA (United States Padel Association) and the ICI (International Coaches Institute). The RPP has more than 4000 certified technicians in 30 countries in its more than 25 years of experience. It is a beautiful project that makes me very excited. Due to my training in Master Coaching and NLP, I have always liked teaching and I think we are doing a magnificent job ”.
To finish, if I had to talk of the future of this sport in the United States, he has it very clear: "ALL IN !! I have not the slightest doubt that a very promising future awaits us. For all that I have mentioned before and the target we are targeting (300 millions of people, of which 49 million are tennis players and 38 millions of other racquet sports), added to the high degree of scalability of our model of business, I am very clear that there will be a long and fruitful future for paddle tennis in this country. Everyone's work is important. Everyone must be in their place (institutions, sponsors, circuit, players, technicians, ...). There is a lot of work to be done but I am certain that very soon the global market will be impacted by the volume of players from a country like this. I promise that I will continue to offer the best version of myself so that the United States plays padel and that sport grows as a global business. In short, we speak with knowledge of what happens outside our borders and even more in a 'potential giant' such as the United States. Thank you Óscar and Padel World Press for following my work, for the recognition and for the support you give me. I will inform you periodically if you want progress. As always a pleasure and congratulate you for the magnificent work you do for the benefit of the sport. "
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