The 20% are your headline. The 80% are your story.

Every club celebrates its best players. The club championships, the county team, the junior who just made the county squad – these are great moments in club life. They're the photos that go on the noticeboard and the names that get mentioned at the AGM.

But after more than 25 years coaching in tennis clubs of all shapes and sizes, James Godber has become just as interested in everybody else.

“The best players are going to look after themselves anyway,” he says. “They'll find a way to play. They'll find the level they need. What we wanted to do was look after everybody else.”

At Woburn Sands, everybody else meant a lot of different people. Older members who'd been coming for years and just wanted somewhere comfortable to spend a Tuesday morning. Beginners who'd never walked into a social session before and weren't quite sure what to expect. Working parents who had forty minutes free on a Thursday and no idea how to turn that into a game. People who loved tennis but hadn't quite found their place at the club yet.

Kevin Rand puts it simply:

“The 20% of your best players are your headline. The 80% are your story.”

For clubs, the challenge is creating something that works for all of them. Competitive players may want strong teams and regular matches. Others might want a social game, a coaching session, somebody of a similar level to hit with, or simply an easier way to fit tennis around a busy week.

James had seen throughout his coaching career how easy it was for some members to find their place while others could take longer. New members in particular might join with every intention of playing regularly, but without the right connections, getting that first game isn't always easy.

There's one group he's particularly interested in: the 30- to 50-year-olds.

“They're your future 60- and 70-year-olds,” he says. “If you're not getting them now, you're going to feel it in ten years.”

They're often time-poor. They may have work and family commitments and can't always commit to a particular evening every week. Sometimes they simply need different ways to fit tennis into their lives.

At Woburn Sands, different ideas developed as the club grew. Power Hour sessions – structured, short and with no commitment beyond the hour. Beginner groups where everyone was starting from the same place, so nobody felt exposed. And a welcoming culture where existing members would help new faces find their feet.

That last one wasn't a policy. It emerged.

“We used to have two ambassadors,” Kevin says. “That grew to ten, then fifty.”

Members started doing it naturally because they were proud of where they played. And that sense of belonging matters. When people feel part of their club, they're more likely to play, participate and help other people feel part of it too.

None of this means choosing between competitive tennis and inclusive club tennis. The strongest clubs have room for both – and for everything in between.

Because a tennis club isn't only the people lifting the trophies.

It's everyone who picks up a racket there.