$328,561 for a Director of Racquets.
At first glance, it feels outrageously excessive. But then you think about it a little and realize that the question isn’t whether it’s too high, but whether most clubs actually understand what they’re paying for.
A recent data point shared by Shaun J Boyce, CEO of the American Racket Sports Association, highlights that the Southwest US is now leading the market with median compensation at that level.
High salaries only make sense if they are supported by high value creation. That’s where, in my experience, the disconnect often begins.
Over the years, I’ve worked with clubs and resorts where the Director of Racquets was still viewed—implicitly or explicitly—as a “head coach with admin responsibilities.” In that model, $328k is absurd. Completely disconnected from reality.
But I’ve also seen the opposite.
I’ve seen Directors who drive membership growth, who build communities that keep courts full from 7am to 9pm, who design programming that increases dwell time, F&B spend, repeat visits, and ultimately revenue per square meter. In those environments, the racquets department isn’t a cost center—it’s a commercial engine.
And suddenly, $328k doesn’t look inflated. If anything, it starts to look conservative.
The reality is this: many facilities are trying to pay yesterday’s role with today’s expectations.
They want someone who can coach, manage staff, run events, grow revenue, build a community, understand data, collaborate with marketing, and enhance the overall guest experience… a kind of hotelier or hospitality professional who can hit a forehand – but they still benchmark the role against a traditional coaching salary.
That gap doesn’t and shouldn’t hold.
Because if a Director is truly responsible for generating, directly or indirectly, seven figures in annual revenue—which is increasingly the case in high-performing US facilities—then the salary is not the issue. The clarity around the value they create is.
That’s where I think the industry needs to be more honest with itself.
Are we overpaying? In some cases, yes—especially where the role hasn’t evolved but the salary has. But more often, we’re under-defining what the role should be, and then reacting with surprise when the compensation catches up.
The Southwest isn’t just paying more. It’s most probably operating differently by treating racquet sports as a business within a business, not as an add-on amenity.
If you can’t clearly articulate how your Director contributes to revenue, retention, and experience… then $328k will always feel too high.
And, if you can, it probably isn’t high enough.
(Originally published on LinkedIn)
