10 Years of SportsProsConnect: From Legacy to Global Platform
SportsProsConnect has grown into a leading sports coaching jobs platform, connecting coaches, clubs and academies across the world. Last week, I shared on our social channels that it has now been 10 years since I stepped away from my office-based job to step into the unknown.
The response from our community was overwhelming. The messages, the support, the shared memories. It felt only right to reflect properly and share the journey in a more permanent way.
So, here goes…!
Where It All Began
Back in May 2015, I received the devastating news that my father had just six months to live.
During his retirement, he had set up a small business called Social Tennis. It was inspired by his book Revolutionise Your Social Tennis Tournament and focused on building a simple global directory of tennis coaches, along with basic website templates for clubs. It was never intended to be anything more than a small project to supplement his pension.
When he shared his diagnosis with me, he also handed me something far bigger. He told me he wanted me to take over the business. Whether I chose to continue it, grow it, or sell it, that decision would be mine.
Sadly, my father passed away in September 2015.
Taking the Leap
It was a conversation in a pub with one of his closest friends that changed everything. He suggested I take the business on full time.
At the time, I wasn’t enjoying my job. I had a business degree, I was a qualified tennis coach, and I knew I wanted to work in sport. Deep down, the decision made sense. So in March 2016, I took the leap!
Looking back, it remains the best professional decision I have ever made.
The Evolution to SportsProsConnect
In the early years, I worked tirelessly to grow the Social Tennis brand. But by 2018, it became clear that the name no longer reflected where the business was heading.
We rebranded to SportsProsConnect.
The vision was simple. Create a platform that could connect people across multiple sports, not just tennis. I remember being 14 years old and telling my father I wanted to work in sport. That ambition has shaped the last decade of my life.
SportsProsConnect was officially launched in May 2018, with early promotion taking place in Barcelona visiting academies and coaches, and in Paris at a WTCA conference during Roland Garros.
We expanded the platform to include clubs, academies, and players, not just coaches.
And then something interesting happened.
Connecting the Dots
Coaches started asking us about job opportunities. Clubs and academies began asking if we could help them find coaches. Players were looking for the right environments to train.
Everything we had built started to connect.
SportsProsConnect naturally evolved into a true one-stop platform for the tennis industry.
Today, there is nothing more rewarding than hearing:
“I’ve accepted a job through SportsProsConnect”
or
“We’ve successfully hired through the platform”
That is what drives us.
Raising Standards in the Industry
One of the biggest lessons over the past decade is that opportunity alone is not enough. Professionalism matters.
Our platform operates on a membership model, and with that comes a level of commitment. Too often, individuals and organisations try to cut corners. That is something we actively work to challenge.
We have written extensively about professionalism in the industry, from how coaches apply for roles to how employers treat candidates. Click here to read a recent blog article I wrote on professionalism.
Raising standards across both sides of the industry remains one of our core missions.
Growth, Innovation, and Community
Since November 2019, we have placed over 600 coaches into roles and facilitated more than 800 placements worldwide.
Many of our members have been with us since 2018, returning time and time again. That loyalty speaks volumes about the strength of the community we have built.
We have always believed in evolving. Standing still is not an option.
From international conferences to new platform features, and now launching our first senior tournament in Italy this May, we continue to invest in what comes next.
Expanding Beyond Tennis
One of the reasons behind the SportsProsConnect name was the ability to grow beyond tennis.
Today, we have expanded into padel and pickleball, and in 2025 we launched SPC Football.
We are actively looking to collaborate with entrepreneurs in other sports who see the value in what we are building. Cricket, rugby, golf and more are all areas we are exploring.
If you see an opportunity to work together, I would welcome that conversation.
A Personal Reflection
While the business has grown and evolved, my passion always comes back to where it started, tennis.
There have been challenges along the way, as there always are, but I am incredibly proud to have taken my father’s idea and built something meaningful from it.
I am grateful to Robert Talbot for encouraging me to take that first step, and to my family for their continued support. My wife Michelle, my sons Joshua and Nathan, my mum Lin, and my sister Sophie.
I would also like to thank all those I have worked with on developing ideas and all my clients within the tennis world. Emma has been my social media marketing manager for 4 years now, and Chaz my web designer for 10 years. Thanks to them and also more recently Craig and Tim from the Brighton Video Production Team and Jared and Owen who have supported us mainly with admin… Your support is very much appreciated so here is to another 10 exciting years!
Looking Ahead
This has never just been about business.
It is about passion, people, and building something that makes a difference in the sports industry.
And as I look ahead, I am just as excited about the next 10 years as I was when I started.
Final Thoughts
I want to end by remembering my father and the values both he and my mother instilled in me from a young age.
I hope he would be proud of what SportsProsConnect has become.
If this story resonates with you, or if you would like to connect, I would be very happy to speak.
All the best,
