IART Advanced Racquet Stringing 201 Course Review

I have the privilege of being one of only two people to attend all 10 GSS/IART Symposiums and, while I’m proud of that and appreciative of all that I learned and the friends I made there, I must say that the Advanced Stringing 201 course does as good a job as possible of encapsulating that experience into one online course.

As you must all know by now, our business is about a lot more than putting strings in racquets: our customers rely on us to not only be knowledgeable, but to keep up with current technologies and trends to help them play better. Without continuing education, this is not possible. Keeping up with all of this on your own is too difficult and time consuming — even for a “nerd” like me — so we need help.

Being an IART member is a great step in continuing ed, and testing your knowledge in courses like this will expose any “holes” in your knowledge base, as well as reinforcing your confidence in what you already know.

As you go through the modules, you will quickly find out if you meet all the criteria of an advanced stringer (Tim points them out in the Introduction), and every section lets you find out what you do — and don’t — know about your profession:

• Do you have all the necessary tools to properly do your job? What are these tools and where can you get them?
• How do you set up your work area for maximum efficiency and safety? Many stringers don’t think about this until it’s too late;
• What things affect the outcome of the string job? Hint: a LOT of things, and you may miss some;
• Proper racquet (and string) preparation;
• More things about knots than you’ve ever wanted to know;
• How to properly install and tie-off various types of string (you REALLY need to know this);
• The business (and profit) of stringing;
• String and machine specifics that could save you personal and financial discomfort;
• Dealing with customers. They’re not always right, you know, and they rely on you to tell them that;
• A great tutorial on grips, which are a well-kept secret;
• Customizing basics, along with reasons you may not want to do some of them;
• Helping injured customers get back on the court; and
• Being a businessman, not just a racquet technician.

This is far from an exhaustive list of the course, and the quizzes at the end will let you immediately isolate your weaknesses that need improvement and/or updating. With the ability to re-take a quiz at the end of any module, you not only get a real bonus on your fee, but you can study these parts before re-taking the test, either through online research or by studying the IART site and finding posts by other members and Ambassadors like me and many others.

The price you pay to take this course is a bargain compared to the confidence you will glean from completing it. Display your certificate of completion with pride, because you’ve taken a step most will not to become a better source for your customers.