By Myles Ma
Hopewell Tennis and Swim Center seems to do things bigger. It’s situated on a 12-acre property, has one of the biggest pro shops in the area and, in the summer, its 11-week camps can draw up to 100 children a day.
But at its heart, it’s a family business.
Husband and wife owners John and Kathleen Wunder, and their two daughters, Tara Peeples and Marnie DeVries, help run the Tennis and Swim Center together. The family members have a rough division of labor among themselves, but they each play multiple roles as employees of the center.
“With any family business, you all wear a lot of hats,” John Wunder said.
Wunder has taught tennis for more than 28 years, and he is in charge of the tennis program at the center. One of his students, Mike Miller of Hopewell, is head pro at the club. Wunder taught Miller from the age of 11.
The Center offers group and private lessons as well as open court time. The center has six indoor courts and six outdoor courts.
There is also plenty of competition. The center has several teams compete in the Bux-Mont, Central New Jersey and United States Tennis Association travel leagues.
The Club counts a number of highly rated players among its members, and has sent teams to national tournaments.
Peeples manages the pool during the summer. The Wunders had never managed a pool before purchasing the center in 2001.
They had operated a pro shop at the location, and Wunder had worked as an instructor at other clubs before the property became available. Afterwards, Peeples got her lifeguard certification, and the family renovated the building, adding new pool furniture in the process.
The pool membership has grown from 90 to 250 families since the Wunders took over. Bear Tavern Elementary School hosts its annual pool party at the Center, swelling the pool with 300 children.
The club has its own swim team, which has about 115 members, Peeples said. She said they try to make the team fun by organizing social events as well as practices.
“It’s not like one of those teams that are constantly being pushed,” Peeples said.
One amenity the center’s members have is the snack bar, which prepares meals for the children during the summer. The club is especially busy during the warm months, when it runs four different tennis camps. Wunder said the camps offer flexibility to parents, thanks to 10 and 20-day passes, which can be redeemed nonconsecutively at any point during the camps’ 11-week run.
The Hopewell Tennis and Swim Center is located at 11 Titus Mill Road, Pennington. For more information, call (609) 737-3600 or visit hopewelltennis.com.
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