Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shaun Boyce. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Shaun thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Coming up with the right idea at the right time is not an easy task. Bobby Schindler knew that previous projects had the right idea but quickly realized it wasn’t the right time. The tech wasn’t ready and the team wasn’t right. But Bobby knew that eventually the tech would catch up and right people would present themselves.In 2020, Bobby was discussing the new potential partnership with TennisForChildren so his tennis club Windermere, could outsource its 10 & Under beginner programming to a specialist. In conversation about starting a podcast (which eventually became the Atlanta Tennis Podcast) Bobby and Shaun realized they had similar ideas for what was to become GoTennis! Bobby was able to help Shaun understand what not to do in such an ambitious project and Shaun was able to convince Bobby that the technology was absolutely ready for what they had in mind.
Once funding for an initial webapp and media launch was secured, Bobby and Shaun knew that the idea had everything that is required for a successful venture. The partnership with Corey Advertising came quickly and the project hit the ground running. Focusing on learning our members desires in a social tennis membership, GoTennis! will produce what larger organizations have yet to accomplish: we make tennis more accessible, more affordable, and more fun. Our plans incorporate ideas that are native to the Atlanta tennis and racquet sports culture.
The platform is built to connect players, coaches, vendors, and sponsors to create a network of better information, better pricing, and improved customer service. Understanding the social nature of Atlanta tennis, we facilitate a welcoming atmosphere for new players of all ages and backgrounds as well as support the current social atmosphere within the Atlanta tennis culture. With corporate partners, a GoTennis! membership for the Atlanta tennis player lowers costs and improves the experience for everyone involved.
As a lifestyle brand for the uniqueness of the Atlanta youth and adult social tennis community, GoTennis! is robust digital infrastructure built to connect players, coaches, vendors, and sponsors. As Atlanta’s largest tennis community, GoTennis! will share a fresh message through tennis influencers, organizations, and events that celebrates the history, informs on the current, and plans for the future.
Our Vision is to become the single source of access to aggregated content, products, and services targeted to the Atlanta tennis market. GoTennis! is the rising tide for the Atlanta tennis lifestyle.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We live in Atlanta, GA along with more than 6 million individuals residing in the counties comprising the metro area. Professional sport franchises, Fortune 500 companies, museums, the Fabulous Fox Theater, one of the world’s busiest airports, the entertainment industry, we have plenty for which to be thankful.We are all wonderfully different arriving here from various places throughout America and the world. This cultural diversity affords us exposure to unique experiences on a daily basis yet it is commonality that serves to introduce us to those not known. Atlanta has tennis.
ALTA, the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, is the largest grassroots tennis league in the world boasting more than 60,000 members. T2 Tennis is the largest flex play league in the country. Atlanta is the USTA’s top league-playing city in the nation. As Lamar Scott current ALTA President so eloquently observed, “As the city has continued to grow we’ve experienced a more diverse tennis population. Our league play has served as a sort of bridge to bring people together from different communities and do it in a social environment.”
We created GoTennis! Atlanta because we get it. We know the fall ALTA season begins annually the Thursday after Labor Day. We sympathize with the captain managing to keep a line-up legal while navigating around Spring Break. We understand at a ladies’ match you can enjoy fine dining while the men will offer beer and donuts. We feel the pain when introducing the Continental grip and wonder what became of tennis etiquette.  We travel to the beaches of Hilton Head and 30-A with our rackets packed. We joyfully acknowledge subdivisions are built with at least two lighted tennis courts and access to bathrooms to be league certified. We see that Pickleball is not only coming but here to stay.
We also know that tennis is your passion not your occupation so we ask to let us help. We are creating GoTennis! Atlanta to assist you in your tennis and life’s journey.
Need to find a certified teaching professional who can be a positive role model for you and your children? Let us help. Courts in your neighborhood need resurfacing? Let us help. Have questions regarding rackets and sneakers? Let us help. Interested where you can meet new folks while hanging with old friends some where other than the tennis court? Let us help.
We are proud to call the ATL home. With more than fifty years experience in the tennis industry we wonder where the time has gone looking forward to continuing our journey with you, meeting new people and learning more of what life has to offer.
We hope some of what we have said resonates and ask you to become a part of the GoTennis! Atlanta community of enthusiasts today. We will work diligently to make your decision rewarding. Together let’s make tennis cool again!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Twice now we have been sold the website of our dreams which turned out to be a fabrication. Hoping to launch in June 2022, our marketing and technical partner sucked us dry off funds and asked for more, after setting the schedule for a fully paid system. Now down to only 50% of our original operating capital we were in search of another way to build the platform that the Atlanta Tennis world deserves. The next development partner appeared technically sound and the price was right. However, 90 days in to the 30 day initial wire framing, we were not yet ready to start the build. Something had to give.
So we now know that the “third time is the charm.” Having learned quite a bit from the hustlers and con artists already placed in our rear view mirror, we now have a trusted technical partner. Building slowly and surely, we are able to stay focused on what we do best: offering the Atlanta Tennis ecosystem better pricing, better service, and a place to go to find anything you need.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Through the pandemic, our Ankle Biters ExtraCurriculars business was shuttered like many other businesses yet we still wanted to be there for the families and children we cared about. Setting up the Education Support Network for families wanting to homeschool but not having a facility or the educational experience to make it happen, we helped families find groups in their own neighborhoods to support each other during the worst of it. We also offered Online Talk Support for children who weren’t able to see family or friends on a daily basis. We helped these families continue to feel connected and supported by the trusted people who run the small businesses in their communities.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://letsgotennis.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotennisatlanta/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gotennisatlanta
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gotennis-atl/?viewAsMember=true
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoTennisAtl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atlantatennispodcast/
• Other: https://tennisforchildren.com https://www.youtube.com/@tennisforchildren/ https://regeovinate.com https://www.youtube.com/@pilatesbygeovanna/