The past week, we lost a great pal of mine, the great Reno Manne, to cancer.
We’ve lost not only a great coach, but a great Scotsman who would spend time on the phone chatting about tennis, life and the losses (and wins) of Liverpool football.
Tennis professionals from all over the world have been paying tributes to Reno Manne, including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova, Pat Cash and Bjorn Borg.
Reno coached, developed and travelled with six world number 1 players and was highly respected in the tennis world, in fact, he was regarded as one of the best coaches of all time, nicknamed “The Hard Man Of Tennis” by his peers.
Ex Wimbledon champion Pat Cash described Reno Manne as “the best tennis coach he has worked with” and described his attitude towards his fight against cancer as “motivational and an inspiration for all of us”.
From a personal perspective, Reno was a great guy who gave me an insight into high level tennis. Many times talked about of setting up an academy in the UK to train players. At one point we were a whisker away from a working with a production company to set up a TV programme to find the next best player alongside Nick Bollettieri. We had the idea, the producers, the location, but it fell at the final hurdle with negotiations.
A trip around America in an RV and vlogging our adventures pushing SYSTEM-9 was also on the cards until he found out of his cancer.
RIP Reno
Mentoring
This week I had a visitor from Jersey who came to learn about the S9 programme and take our methods back to his club in Jersey to his 10 court club.
Ian Thomas played on the professional circuit and was ATP Singles ranked in the top 30 in Great Britain before returning to his club in Jersey. He represented Hertfordshire and the Channel Islands at No.1 Singles and Senior County level and also played club tennis in France and Germany.
I first met Ian back in 2001 when we attended the Academy Pro Course. We spent two days working through every S9 book from red ball and working with beginners, through to yellow and advanced players (including lesson planning). Doubles tactics and information from best-selling singles tactics book.
Ian “I have played tennis at a high level and coached for over 30 years but I have walked away with so much practical information and tools which I’m looking forward to implementing at my club!”.
I offer bespoke training packages for clubs and coaching teams, and also tutor coaches and head coaches on a 121 basis. If you are interested in seeing if bespoke training would work for you or your club then please email me.
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