There I was, the world´s biggest couch potato, out on the platform tennis court for the first time playing mixed doubles on a Friday night. Paddle in one hand, cigar in my mouth, a beer in the other hand. I was the poster child for sports enthusiasm.  Who would have thought that thirteen years later I would own a company producing platform tennis equipment?

I must admit those Friday night platform outings got my interest piqued. I started playing platform every Saturday in our club´s Saturday morning round robins and soon started playing in a league. Through it all, I was using up balls as if they were free.  Unfortunately, I was paying about $15 per sleeve. I knew there had to be a better way!

Being that I was already in my own business, hunting for better pricing was an everyday occurrence for me. So I called Hedstrom Corporation, the manufacturer of the Vittert ball, and asked if I could purchase balls by the case. Sure enough, they shipped me an order. When my platform partner heard about my purchase, he asked if I would mind getting him a case; and my wife asked me to get her balls for a tournament she was running. When I phoned Hedstrom to order more balls, they informed me that I was now eligible for discount pricing because of the total quantity I had ordered; I was in business.

Shortly thereafter, I was asked if I could get a paddle for a player at my club. Thankfully for me (not for their dealers), Marcraft Recreation without hesitation, supplied me dealer pricing and my requested inventory. Now, I was in the platform tennis business.