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It’s been half a century to the year since the Fort Lee Racquet Club opened its doors to New Jersey residents, which just so happens to coincide with Volkl Tennis’ 50th anniversary as a leading innovator in the world of tennis. On Wednesday afternoon, dozens of local league players and New Jersey denizens partook in a so-called “demo-day” featuring Volkl's Northeast Regional Manager Cliff Berman at the helm, representative and teaching pro Saif Ali (and of course, yours truly). Of every racquet put to the test on-court in a head-to-head match-up with a former collegiate standout player (somewhat of a tall order), the consensus among players was that the the V-Cell 2 racquet mixed with power fiber string perfectly blended power and control with each hit directed at Coach Ali.
The Club itself has been managed since 1972 by the Mann family, and then current co-owner, Howie Mann. Toward the tail end of the session at the Fort Lee Racquet Club, Howie got his hands on a VCell-3 and couldn’t put it down (don’t tell anyone, but he was wearing Merrill shoes at the time of the hit, but he is the Club owner after all, so all is forgiven). It had been more than a decade since Mann had even hit a ball, yet he was beaming at the thought of getting back into the groove as soon as possible. "Everybody wants to be here, and it’s fun to be here because [of that very reason],” says co-owner Howie Mann, who’s recovering from an ankle injury and grew up playing tennis as well as skiing with Volkl. “But after today, I might start taking tennis up again.” What a way to kick off the spring tennis season! |
