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Rich Collins spent two years walking past tennis courts he never thought he'd use. When his family joined West Side Tennis Club in 2015, they wanted a neighborhood pool for their kids, ages three and five.
"I had never played tennis really in my life before," Rich recalls. "We joined as social members because neither one of us were really playing members."
Like many families joining private clubs, the Collins had concerns about fitting in. Everything changed when Rich realized his kids were getting interested in tennis.
The catalyst was simple; he wanted to play with them.
When Parents Become Players
"Within about two years of walking past these beautiful courts, I finally just said, what the hell?” Rich recalls. “I want to play with my kids, but it's going to be hard to play with my kids if I don't play myself."
At 40, Rich learned he wasn't alone. Other parents were having the same realization.
"I had a couple friends who were taking up tennis at the same time and they were social members also, who had never played tennis. We were all kind of in the same boat and we all picked it up together."
This group of parent-beginners changed how Rich saw the club.
"I was surprised that if you're with the right level of players, how quickly you can get games going. They may not have been very pretty at first – they still may not be very pretty – but we were able to start getting some games together relatively quickly."
Building Community Through Tennis
Eight years later, Rich plays three times a week. His wife plays four. Both sons are in programs, with one taking a break from tournaments. Their home has "more tennis rackets than I ever thought we would."
"There's always one of us kind of coming and going from the club,” Rich notes. “My kids love to eat here, they love the pool. They're at the age now where they come here on their own and I'll just see them at the pool," Rich says.
But their membership became something much bigger than sports.
Rich found himself on the membership committee, then the board, eventually becoming vice president.
His mission: helping other hesitant families see what's possible.
Advocating for Every Beginner
Today, Rich uses his experience to reassure families considering membership at West Side.
"We have almost 900 members. Over 500 of them are playing members. There is somebody for everybody here to play with," he tells prospective members. "We have everything from people beginning, picking up the sport for the first time to people who played Division One tennis in college."
He's passionate about supporting parent-beginners because he knows their hesitations firsthand.
"I still to this day watch beginners joining all the time and I can't believe how good they get sometimes. “The level of play really doesn't matter."
Rich's involvement stems from wanting others to find what his family found.
"I've met some of my closest friends at this club. So I really wanted other new people to have that same experience."
The Real Value of Membership
"It's a social club as much as a tennis club," he explains. "People come just to hang out, just to see their friends. It's a very close-knit culture."
His advice to families mirrors his own journey.
"It's worth it to join as a non-playing member, but just remember in the back of your head, you'll get more out of it, honestly, if you do play tennis."
The Collins story shows that the best family decisions sometimes surprise you. What started as pool access became tennis lessons. What began as watching from the sidelines became playing three times a week. And a parent who thought tennis wasn't for him became one of the club's strongest advocates for beginners.
"Every year at the turn of the calendar I'm excited for the next year," Rich reflects. "My kids are getting a little older, going into high school, but I'm excited for the next few years here with them. It's all positive."
