Evan Zeder on ParentingAces

Summary

Evan Zeder of New Balance describes the second annual New Balance High School Tennis Championships, held at Harvard University in July in Boston. The event is open to players who have competed in high school team matches during the 2014-15 school year, verified through the USTA. The episode is primarily event-promotional but reveals how major equipment brands are beginning to invest in high school tennis as a distinct market segment below the college and professional level.

Guest Background

Evan Zeder is a representative at New Balance working on its tennis division’s event marketing. New Balance entered the tennis equipment market as an alternative to the dominant incumbents (Nike, Adidas, Wilson) and has been using event sponsorship as a brand-building strategy in the tennis space, with the High School Tennis Championships as its flagship junior activation.

Key Findings

1. New Balance High School Tennis Championships Is in Its Second Year at Harvard

The event is a national high school championship specifically for players who competed on high school teams — not purely individual ranking-based. It is held at Harvard University’s facilities in Boston in July. Being in its second year at the time of this recording signals New Balance’s commitment to sustaining and growing the event rather than treating it as a one-off activation.

2. USTA Verification Requires Documented High School Team Competition

Eligibility is not self-reported — New Balance works through the USTA’s verification process to confirm that participants played on an actual high school team during the 2014-15 academic year. This specifically ties the event to the school sport ecosystem rather than the private tennis academy/tournament ecosystem, distinguishing it from standard junior ranking events.

3. Major Equipment Brands Are Investing in the High School Tennis Tier

New Balance’s investment in a national high school championship signals a broader strategic recognition that the high school tennis player is an underserved consumer and marketing target. The high school athlete is at peak brand impressionability and is making equipment purchase decisions that may last years. Sponsoring a national championship creates brand association with aspiration at exactly that moment.

4. Harvard’s Facilities Provide a Prestige Hosting Context

The choice of Harvard — specifically its Cambridge campus and tennis facilities — is not accidental. For high school players, training and competing at an Ivy League campus is aspirational in both academic and athletic terms. The setting adds a prestige dimension to the competitive experience that standard tournament venues cannot provide and strengthens the event’s brand equity.

5. The High School-to-College Pipeline Is an Underinvested Transition Point

The event implicitly addresses a gap: the transition from high school team tennis to college recruitment is where many talented players fall through the cracks, either because they lack individual ranking points from the private tournament circuit or because college coaches do not have visibility into high school team performance. A national championship for high school team players creates a visibility mechanism that the standard USTA junior ranking system does not.

Actionable Advice for Families

• If your child plays high school team tennis alongside the private tournament circuit, the New Balance Championships are a separate, complementary competition pathway worth targeting
• USTA verification means players need to have documented high school team matches — confirm eligibility well before the application deadline
• Harvard’s academic prestige makes this event valuable beyond the tennis result — the campus experience is a college visit and cultural exposure bundled with competition
• Monitor how New Balance’s investment in this space evolves — early sponsorship relationships with athletes competing in events like this can lead to equipment support as players advance

INTENNSE Relevance

• Team tennis as brand asset: New Balance’s investment in team-based high school tennis demonstrates that the team tennis format has brand equity for equipment companies — this is a sponsorship model directly applicable to INTENNSE
• Equipment partnership structure: New Balance’s championship model — title sponsorship, USTA verification, prestigious venue — is a blueprint for INTENNSE equipment partnership proposals
• High school-to-college-to-pro pipeline: The high school team tennis ecosystem that New Balance is investing in feeds directly into the college tennis pipeline that feeds INTENNSE — relationship-building at this tier is long-term player development strategy
• Venue selection as brand signal: Harvard as a championship venue demonstrates that venue prestige amplifies event brand value — relevant for INTENNSE’s market selection and venue design decisions

Notable Quotes

“We wanted to celebrate the high school team player specifically — someone who maybe isn’t playing the full private tournament circuit but who has been competing for their school all season.”

“Harvard gives the whole event a different feel. These are high school kids walking around an Ivy League campus and competing there. That means something to them.”

“The USTA verification process is important to us. We want to make sure we’re actually reaching the high school team tennis player, not just any junior who wants to come.”