Karen Schott walked into The Broadmoor in 1994 as a teaching pro. She spent eleven years learning under Dennis Ralston — a five-time Grand Slam doubles champion and International Tennis Hall of Famer — before taking over the program in 2005.

She's been running it ever since. Thirty-two years at the same club. One of the most recognizable names in racquet sports at the same property.

In 2021, she stood at the USPTA World Conference and told a room full of tennis pros: if you don't learn to teach pickleball, you'll be out of a job in two to three years. The title on her office door changed from "Director of Tennis" to "Director of Racquet Sports" shortly after.

In this conversation, we get into:

• Walking into The Broadmoor at 24 and what she saw on day one
• Eleven years learning under Dennis Ralston and what he passed down
• The standard of a five-star property — what it demands and what it protects
• The USPTA conference moment and telling her peers the hard truth about pickleball
• How coexistence actually works when you have tennis diehards and pickleball beginners on the same staff
• The economics of running racquets at a resort vs. a private club
• Women in leadership — how many are in the room and what needs to change
• Working alongside her husband David on the same team for nearly a decade
• What she'd tell a young woman who wants to be a director someday

If you run a racquets program, manage a club, or want to understand what thirty-plus years in the industry actually teaches you, this one is worth your time.



ABOUT COURTSIDE
CourtSide is a podcast about the business side of racquet sports. Long-form conversations with the owners, directors, and head pros shaping tennis, pickleball, padel, and squash. Hosted by Evan Dechtman, founder of TopSpin Digital.

New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss one.

Want to be a guest? Book your spot: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/book Email Evan directly: mailto:evan@topspindigital.co

Full show notes: https://topspindigital.co/courtside TopSpin Digital: https://topspindigital.co HEARD Digital Marketing: https://heardmarketing.io

CONNECT WITH KAREN SCHOTT
The Broadmoor: https://www.broadmoor.com/sports/racquet-sports/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-schott-45409422/

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