October 5, 2025 • 38 mins
Truly amazing to hear how Manny prepared his team to win championships. Relationships! Manny and UGA won 4 national championships and 29 SEC titles. Want to know how to actually cross the finish the finish line and win the big trophy in May? Tune in! He is also a huge UTR fan too ;)
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here today with Manny Diaz, a true
legend of college tennis. Manny, I appreciate your time.
Thanks for coming on. Good to be with you, James.
Tell us, first of all, Manny, you stepped away from college
tennis I believe a year ago. How is life on the other side?
(00:25):
It is great. I'll tell you.
I think the timing was right forfor me, you know, like I put 42
years at the University of Georgia, that's an eternity in
today's coaching standards kind of thing.
And I enjoyed, enjoyed every minute.
I, you know, I had a lot of great moments, a lot of
(00:51):
tremendous players that played for our institution and it was,
you know, it was an honor to, toreally just cultivate some
incredible relationships with our guys.
Well, for those that don't know,and there will be people that
listen to this that don't, I just want to give you an idea of
(01:14):
just how long. First of all, Manny coached and
and also the success that he had.
It truly is quite amazing. First of all, his overall
record, which I cannot believe how many double S points he had
to go through here, was 781 to 206 losses.
Incredible. He won four national
(01:37):
championships, he won two national indoor championships
and he won 29 SEC titles. He is the all time SEC winning
this coach ever and he's also 6th in in NCAA men's tennis
history. I guess my first question to you
(02:00):
Maddie, do you do you miss it? Do you miss?
If you miss anything of college,tennis or coaching, what do you
miss? Well, no doubt, without a doubt,
working with the guys on the court was my favorite part of,
you know, my job. You know, just it, it, it, it
was specialist where you forge, you know, relationships is where
(02:24):
you learn to, you know, push them to their limits and, and
try to actually expand their, their, their belief and what
they're capable of, of achieving.
So I, I felt like my job when I recruited kids was to try to
steep past where they were and what they could become.
(02:45):
And then once you get them on campus and when you once you
have them on a daily basis is to, you know, create stepping
stones for them where they, you know, like they stretched or
reached a certain level. And then that creates A belief
for something bigger. And and you do that with them on
the court, right? You do them.
(03:06):
You do that in the moments, you know, in between the grills
where you have those special moments to create special bonds.
You do that after practice, whenthey've had a terrible practice
in their eyes and you try to find ways to opening their, you
know, their, their thought process as to, you know, Hey,
(03:30):
you got to suffer. You, you've, you've got to
struggle. If, if you're going to
breakthrough, you know, you, youwant to create, you get in the
gym to create, you know, more strength, you're going to be
sore, you're, you're going to break, you know, some fibers and
you've got to recover. And then you, you got to build
on that every day. And, and just creating a mindset
(03:54):
for our guys where they, you know, we always talked about,
you know, getting to the point where you, you, you earn the
right to expect to win when things are not going well, when
you're down a break, when you'redown a set, when you're down a
set and a break, you know how tostay, you know, positive.
(04:16):
And you know, you're not going to win every match either way,
right? But you certainly can increase
your odds if, you know, you staywith a positive attitude and,
and, and you know, you make thatguy hit that extra ball when
they're up a set in the break and get them to a point where
they're maybe feeling a little bit more pressure.
Those are the those. That's the moments I missed.
(04:39):
Got it. So what I'm hearing is, and, and
again, Manny, I, I, I do preparesome questions, but at the same
time, I like to have real conversations, right?
And, and what I'm hearing you say is a lot of your Soviet
coaching is relationships motivating and, and, and
bringing in players that will listen to you where you can push
(05:02):
them beyond to what they actually believe they can do.
Is that right? That's correct.
Yeah, that's the fun of it. Right.
So I have a question. You won the national title in 99
O one, O 7 and O 8. I'm pretty sure that is correct.
You also came close a lot, Quarterfinals, semi finals,
(05:28):
finals. What is the difference to
actually crossing the line because there's a lot of coaches
that get really close. What would you say if you could
pinpoint something and it does not be one thing, but what
actually gets you across the line and lifting up that that
big trophy? Well, I, I don't want to sound
(05:49):
like I don't want to get too, too theoretical because
honestly, it takes a lot. It takes a little bit of luck.
It takes you being healthy. There's, there's talent
everywhere, right? It's so close.
I mean, you know, 11, you know, one point in double s makes
(06:11):
makes a difference. You get off to, you know, a a
slow start in double s, you're down one O you know, lost a
double S point that increases pressure.
You know, the other team increases their belief.
It's just a whole lot of things that really come into into play,
right. But you know, given the fact
that if, if you go to that championship and, and you know,
(06:33):
you've, you've gone through the season and you've created that
level of expectancy and you're healthy, you know, I'll be
honest with you, James, we lost my first 5 finals in the NCAA
championships, in the NCAA tournament.
Now I'll be, I'll be also honest.
(06:54):
I don't think we had the best team on paper.
And in many of those finals, 5 finals, we probably
overachieved. Right.
We played incredible. We, we had a great run and we in
those first 5 finals, I learned a lot as a coach.
(07:16):
I was a young coach. I got so sky high.
I had my teams overachieving. I couldn't, I couldn't complain
one bit about their effort and how they fought and their
belief. And yeah, we came just a little
bit short. But I saw those losses in the
finals is incredible, monumentalachievements.
(07:37):
And I just knew that if we kept putting ourselves in that
position, we'd get across the finish line.
But I think the biggest, the biggest difference for me was
when I got to 1999, we were downteam match points, multiple, OK.
(07:58):
When you want it. Yeah, the first time we want it,
we were down team match points in three or four of our stick
matches that we won the way to the the championship.
We were down double match point against Pepper Pepperdine I
think it was. Yeah.
(08:18):
In the second round of regionals, double match points
at #1 singles and we hit a return winner and we hit a on
the run back end passing shot toget it back to deuce and then we
broke. And then when we won that match,
I saw us. Honestly, I saw US winning the
championship. I don't know why I didn't say a
(08:41):
word to my guys. I didn't want to pressure them
even further. You know, we were down, we were
down. I think a break in the third set
against Duke and the quarters, they were out playing us and
their play at number. Their player at #5 singles broke
his ankle. Wow.
(09:02):
OK, And he still kept playing. We we still had to beat him, but
but we and we had to win two other matches.
But I mean, it just goes to showyou how things are.
But in that sixth time, in that sixth time in 99, I just got to
the point where I stopped tryingto get my guys to overachieve.
(09:26):
It was like, and I, I in my mind, I, I thought like, I've
been trying to get my team to breakthrough that door, to break
that door down. And in that final match, I went
like, the work has been done. Just go out there and have fun.
And I told them, stop trying to break the door.
(09:48):
There's a door knob on that door.
Just turn the knob and walk through it.
And it's probably, it was probably my least in inspiring
speech to that time. But it but it was like just
relax and go play. Yeah.
And and that was the first time we won a championship for me.
(10:10):
And then you won an O one, O 7 and O 8.
Are there certain players on those teams where you maybe
still have a phenomenal relationship or as a coach,
obviously former coach, one of the nicest things was to go in
there and hear one of your own players actually leading and
actually doing it for you. Are there certain guys that you
(10:32):
can that you can talk about now that that you have, that you had
or still have that special bond with?
Oh, just about every one of them, to be honest with you.
There's so many of them. And, you know, our, so our, you
know, culture was about preparing guys to lead and, and
expecting them to lead. And, and you, you know, you get
(10:55):
to that point somewhere halfway through the season.
You know, they could be in March, you know, early March, it
could be in early April where you all of a sudden gain enough
in Airshot where you basically, OK, we're rolling now.
And, and I started kind of removing myself a little bit.
You know, you push, you push, you push, you push.
(11:17):
And then at some point you got to let the horse run.
And, and, and we had some great leaders that really did a
tremendous job. And those not only those
national championship years, just even, you know, years
where, you know, things didn't quite bounce the way we wanted
to to balance our way, You know,we honestly stood of could have
(11:43):
won about three more national championships during my years
that slipped away, that got away.
We went undefeated in 2006. Right.
From door to door we win the National Indoors, beat
Pepperdine 40 OK in Seattle and the finals of the National
(12:05):
Indoors had to play them again in the finals.
Well when we got to Stanford that year in the first in the
round of 16, our number six player who is a lock and our he
also played #2 double S and him and Colin were ranked fifteen in
(12:26):
the country as our number 2 double S team.
We have the defending NCAA champions John Ezner and Antonio
Ruiz playing #1 double S. We have the 15th ranked team
playing two. We had a great number three
team. So we lost our number six player
that played #2 double S and had to play without him, You know,
(12:46):
the the quarters, semis and finals.
And we lost to Pepperdine. The team that we had beaten in
the finals of the National Indoors lost to them for three.
And I'm telling you it it, it rushed our guys because they had
such a phenomenal year. But you know what the results
(13:10):
were? Everybody went home and it it,
they showed up in the fall and we didn't have one bad practice
the whole year. They were so locked in and that
they could have come back and their, you know, confidence is,
you know, through the floor. But no, they came back and we
had great leader and John Isner,we had a tremendous #2 and Luis
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Flores, we you know, we had Travis Helgeson that transferred
from Texas. We had a phenomenal team and
went undefeated from the second straight year.
You know, you know, and it was, you know, it was a great, great
group of guys. Well, for the people that listen
to this, that are listening, these stories are just so good
(13:57):
to hear. It's it honestly is it's great
to hear. I think Woody once told me a
story when when I was at Tennessee, when Tennessee played
Georgia in the final in Athens. I think the story was Tennessee
won the double S point and you guys went into your locker room
(14:19):
and Steve Johnson basically wentin there and I'll let you can
finish the story and basically said I'm getting my point, I'm
going to get my point. Or something like, wait, Steve
Johnson, are you talking about somebody else?
Steve Johnson didn't play. Stevie Johnson played for USC.
Sorry, wrong guy. I'm having a I'm having a
(14:42):
headache here someone. Else it was, yeah, I remember
that was actually 2008. That was actually OK your story.
OK, OK. Yeah.
We we, we played Texas in the finals.
We stunk it up in, in double S, stunk it up.
(15:03):
And we go to the locker room andyou know, I'm talking and at the
very end of my talk, one of our guys and I'll, I'll be honest
with you, I can't remember who who it was.
It may have been Luis Flores went like, I've got my point.
Really. And.
And then somebody else, what I got mine.
I ain't losing to dad, like. And, and all of a sudden it was
(15:26):
like, let's go. Yeah, you know.
I love it and it was phenomenal.So back to you, Manny.
Why? Why did you know it was time?
Why did you walk away after so many successful years?
Well, you know, I was, I didn't know exactly when that was going
(15:48):
to be, but I kind of felt how much longer am I going to do
this? I started.
Thinking. And I felt like I had a great
assistant in Jamie Hunt. I felt like he had enough years
under me to know exactly, you know, and I kept, I kept
(16:09):
delegating a little bit more every year.
And I felt like he's, he's got what it takes.
And to be honest with you, I, the most important thing is I
got to the point where I, I, I, I started getting a little bit
tired. OK, I'm 71 years old.
(16:32):
Yeah, yeah. And it, it, it wasn't that I was
getting tired, it was that I started getting a little more
annoyed or impatient with my players.
And I recognize that as a sign, right?
And I didn't want to be this grouchy, you know, like God, I
(16:57):
had been a positive influence inmy guys.
I had been a positive coach. I, I started feeling like I
wanted my time before it was toolate.
I wanted my time to be my time. I have never had a hobby.
Honestly, it was all my coaching, my players and my
(17:21):
family. You know, I would, I didn't go
out and play golf. I didn't.
I just, I didn't feel like I hadthe time anyway.
And that was probably more me It, it was, you know, being
around with my my kids after practice and, you know, try to
make as many Little League gamesas I could.
And my wife was, you know, once they two of them played for me
(17:46):
at Georgia and that was great. But my wife was taking them all
over the place and I wasn't ableto really watch them play.
So in the summer I started trying to to do that.
But you know, it's, you know, you we go recruiting in the
summer. So I felt like I wanted my time
to be my time as as long as I was and I was healthy.
(18:08):
And, you know, now I'm playing pickleball, love it sacrilege,
but I know a lot of people are not huge fans and, and, but we
are hey, I'm I'm too old to run that big court and it's fun, you
know, so I'm playing pickleball about 3 or 4 times a week.
(18:31):
I play a little bit of golf. It's still a little slow for me,
but it's nice to get out there every now and then.
But I'm, you know, I just haven't given it enough time to
be decent at it. I kind of hit a straight ball,
but if as soon as I try to hit it far, it's going everywhere.
So I'm trying to, I'm trying to learn a little bit of golf.
(18:53):
And so, you know, I was, I was ready to do other things, travel
a little bit, those kinds of things.
And now, you know, we have, we bought a second home.
We had a lake house where the kids grew up for 20 years an
hour away from Athens. That was where our kids
(19:13):
basically, you know, I was driving the boat and they were
in the tube and they were, you know, skiing and whatever.
But, you know, they all went their own ways.
And so we weren't, it was too much work.
So during COVID, we were playingat Florida in 2020.
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The season got called. I go back home and I I sit in
the couch and I tell my wife Suzanne, what the heck, I've
never had three days off in the spring.
Like, what are we doing? And she went like, why don't we
go visit our friends in Amelia Island, Florida.
So we did. And you know, once we were here,
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why don't we go look at some properties around there?
I love it. And so we're on on the beach
and, and enjoying it down here. We have our home for sale and
Athens. After 43 years, we raise our
kids in this, it's going to be. And so we have it for sale and
(20:16):
and we still aim. To go to Athens and we, I saw a
bunch of matches this past spring.
I'm going to support them. But hey, if we sell our home,
I'll be VRB owing, you know, fora week or two at a time, and I'd
have to worry about who's doing the yard.
That I was going to ask you about that.
(20:37):
So are you still going to be able to get up to Athens and
watch some matches and N state tournament coming up?
Obviously, I'm assuming you'll be there.
Yes, I'm looking forward to, youknow, just being out there a
lot, quite a lot. And you know, we got the NC as
coming in May and that's going to be tremendous to get them
back there. I think we're going to do a
(20:57):
tremendous job and hopefully theatmosphere is going to be a
great one. Well, as I've said many times,
even when I was coaching at Tennessee, I think NCAS should
be in Athens every year. And, and my question to you,
Manny, is why is it that when you play in Athens, you know,
(21:21):
the crowds coming out? Is it the culture of the town?
Is it the community that's builtaround the the probe?
Why? Is it because you go to other
great schools? And it's no disrespect to other
great schools, but you just don't get those crowds?
You know I expect NCAS to just be electric, right?
I, you know, it's, it's, it's been something that has, you
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know, tennis matches in Athens are a big deal.
And it just, it, it just continues to, to, to be
fertilized when we have good kids.
We have, you know, we have greatcompetition in the SEC and in
our conference keeps getting better.
I mean, you know, our rivalries that you know that well and the
(22:09):
SEC are just incredible. And, and so we put on a, a great
show. I think our guys play with
passion and you know, I've heardso many people through the years
tell me, you know, I was, I didn't know anything about
tennis, but my friend brought mehere.
(22:31):
It's, it's an incredible event. I mean, are you, you go from
watching number one or two to watching number four and five
and all of a sudden the double Sis so exciting and all of a
sudden we got a tiebreaker over there.
It's, it's, it's a great spectator event that a lot of
schools just haven't gotten the,the, the momentum with.
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And I, I think, you know, Coach McGill started it.
You know, when I was a player in1971, we hosted our first NCA.
That was my freshman year. And so I was over there from the
beginning. We played Miami, they we had
like a 70 something match winning streak at home and and
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Miami had a phenomenal team. Eddie Dibs was playing number
one. It was a, it was a juggernaut of
a team. They were top two or three in
the country and they came to Athens and we had the largest
crowd ever to watch a tennis match.
We had over 3000 people. We didn't we didn't even have
the grandstand that we have right now.
(23:42):
So Coach McGill is a great promoter.
He began and then, you know, obviously, you know, after he
retired, he continued to take care of the Hall of Fame for a
number of years. It it, it just continued to
grow. So I don't know exactly how
(24:02):
we've continued to keep it going, but I think a lot of it
is this how our guys compete, the passion that they show on
the court. The competition is always a
challenge and I just it's a great event for any kind of fan.
What advice would you give to coaches out there that are
(24:23):
trying to get more people out totheir matches to create more of
a a home atmosphere? There were many things that I, I
try to do, like I went to sorority houses to try to get
them to come out and I always took a couple of good looking
guys, you know, our freshmen andsophomore the, and, and they
(24:44):
would introduce themselves and the girls.
You know, we got one or two sororities to host each and
every match. So when you get, OK, sororities
as a whole sponsoring a match, right?
They tell a couple of fraternities each, right.
So you all of a sudden you got all these young ladies coming
(25:06):
out. Well, the young boys are coming
out too. And, and it creates this, this
atmosphere. And I think that's how we, you
know, we kind of were able to continue to get them going.
Yeah. One thing I remember again when
coaching against Georgia was I always felt like in a big
(25:32):
moment, your guys would play loose and they would swing and
they would play free, right? And I always kind of said to
myself, I wonder how Manny gets them and Jamie and, you know,
gets them to to do that. What, what, what would be your
(25:53):
advice there? How How do you how did you get
players to play so loose in those big moments?
Because we talked, I mean, I, I met with our guys most days
before practice for about 10 minutes and I would, I would put
stuff in their heads. We talk about discipline, we
(26:16):
talk about focus. We talk about how when it comes,
stuff is going to happen, you know, and pressure is going to
come to a boil, OK. And in those moments, we want
the match to be on our racket. Win or lose, you got to love the
battle. You got to love those moments.
(26:38):
You got to embrace the hard and it it was something that was
bred into them so that they would actually, I don't care,
pass me like we're going to, we're going to play big on the
big moments and we're going to come forward and we're going to
dictate play as best as we can. And we're going to just build on
(27:01):
that, build on that. And as long as you got guys
embracing that moment instead oflike waiting for things to
happen. And I think your odds go up.
And I think that was part of ourculture.
That was something we talked about consistently.
I mean, we, you know, there's some tough love in practice.
(27:22):
You know, there's some days thatguys show up and they stay till
2:00 in the morning, you know, studying for a final or doing a
paper, you know, and you're, youknow, you're struggling and how
you handle those moments in practice.
We we didn't, we didn't allow a whole lot of like wiggle room as
far as attitude, as far as like throwing rackets.
(27:44):
I think you build this sense of expectancy by holding guys
accountable and being, you know,being demanding in the in, in,
in that respect. And I think that you develop
that, that feeling that you deserve to win, you know, in
those moments. Well, for the.
People that are listening, what I'm hearing you say a lot is the
(28:08):
importance of communication, theimportance of relationships and
ultimately the your player actually trusting you.
The amount of work that you needto put into your players outside
of the tennis court is arguably more than actually on the tennis
court. So hearing you talk about these
meetings and one-on-one and 10 minutes before every practice,
(28:30):
like I think there's a lot of coaches out there that are going
to learn from this, to be honest.
Right. Talking about coaches, what
advice what advice would you give to coaches right now, right
You've got assistant coaches that are at Power 5 schools,
you've got head coaches at mid majors.
You've obviously had rule changes to where now there's no
(28:53):
AD and the pressure of college tennis is monumental, right?
Well, when you're in it it it there's a lot of pressure,
right? I think we can both agree that
college tennis doesn't get the the attention that it deserves
with how good a product it actually is, right?
What advice would you give to all the coaches out there?
(29:14):
Very general question, sorry. Yeah, I, I don't know if there's
a one thing in specific. It's just, you know, obviously
you have to invest. You know, you have, you can't
expect your team to be passionate if you're not.
You know, you, you got to have that sense of expectancy.
(29:36):
You got to set the bar for your teams, you know, physically as
well as mentally. You know, like we wanted to be
the, you know, fittest team in the country.
We wanted to be the hardest working team in the country and
we wanted to be the closest teamin the country.
Those were our three processes, all right.
There you go. And and those three things, if
we achieve those three things bythe end of the year or mid
(30:00):
midpoint through the year to thespring, I felt the synergy
happened and that's. What were those three things
again? Yeah, just be the hardest
working team in the country, be the fittest team in the country
and be the closest team in the country.
And that was our, you know, you know, Pyramid, those were our
(30:20):
three legs that we really talked.
And and you know, there are obviously other things that we
talked about as well, but those,those were the three things we
wanted to beat. I love it and it worked.
Yeah, yeah, obviously as well. Manny, you've been a huge fan of
UTR. Yes, Sir.
(30:41):
I don't know if you can explain to people.
Obviously now I've stepped away from the coaching world.
I'm now with UTR. Big thanks to the people that
I'm working with. They know who they are.
But but why? Why?
Why have you always been a fan of the company?
I just, I think it's a tremendous job that you guys are
doing, just creating opportunities for kids to really
(31:03):
get the matches that they need and be in a position where
you're playing, you know, competition that is, you know,
on your own level that can really, you know, start building
your confidence, whatever that level is.
And not only that, but it's, youknow, you, you get to play
players above you, right? And you get to feel the pressure
(31:24):
when you're playing players thatare slightly below you.
And so it builds a level of, if you play enough of these
tournaments, you build, you know, a, a, a, a level of trust
and a little bit more toughness and you learn to handle, you
know, you know, when you're being shot at and, and you need
to learn to handle, you know, how to play, how to play bigger,
(31:45):
because that's what it, that's the only chance that you have to
succeed. So I just, I think it's, it's
great and it's fantastic to see,you know, now events all
throughout the world. And now you got other sports
like pickleball. Aren't you involved in
pickleball? I mean, so you're, you know,
(32:06):
you're building this platform that creates opportunities for
players regardless of their level.
Well, we really appreciate that.Manny, Two more questions for
you and you can you can say don't ask me that question, but
I'm going to ask you. Is there any way that Manny Diaz
(32:27):
ever gets back into coaching? I don't see how.
I don't see how. It must be a really bad
emergency. Well, I had, I had to ask you.
I think there was a 10% in there.
I think I'll. Take Well, I'll tell you
(32:50):
something. My My.
When I decided to walk away the previous six months and the
following six months for about ayear, my stress level was so
high because I was so worried that I was going to be bored.
Right. That I have gone 100 miles an
(33:12):
hour for so long I have gotten wired and it, it honestly took
me, it took me 6 months past, ifnot more past my retirement to
really just relax right and, and, and you know I don't have
to yell at anybody today. I don't have to like, like get
people like to do more than theyfeel comfortable doing.
(33:36):
A whole lot of that kind of happened.
And, you know, honestly, I, I didn't know what life was going
to be on the other side, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
I think the timing was right. I'm enjoying just, you know,
doing things that I didn't get an opportunity to do.
So I don't, you know, I'll, I'llbe honest with you.
(33:59):
When I those first couple months, I was wondering if I
actually drove down to Jacksonville and went to North
Florida to watch one of their practices because I was having
cabin fever and like I had to get around a tennis court.
Right, right. And you know, anyway, it was
great meeting those guys. And but anyway, I, I, you know,
(34:22):
I enjoy talking tennis. I enjoy talking to you.
I enjoy, you know, last week I talked to the Rotary Club in
Athens about team building. How do you build a championship
team? I, you know, some people talk to
me about writing a book, some people, you know, speaking
engagements. I'm I'm enjoying doing those
(34:43):
kinds of things without working 80 hours a week.
I just really appreciate your honesty there, Manny, because
that is the fear of being a coach and and not knowing what
the other side looks like, right?
I think my advice is the collegecoaching is a phenomenal
profession. There are so many great things
(35:04):
you can do in college coaching. But if the passion is not there
or you feel the edge, the world is also an amazing place and
there's so many things you can be doing.
And I'm sure I'm sure you would agree with that.
Last thing, I want to talk aboutyour family.
I actually didn't have this plan, but I just you were
talking about certain things like on the boat and kids on the
(35:27):
back. And what, what is your if you
could tell people that listen, what's your family doing?
I know your son's coaching. I think he's coaching some very
good players, I believe. I don't want to name in case I
get it wrong, but what's everyone doing?
And are they all in Florida or what's going on?
My, my oldest son is named Mannyas well, and he was never in the
(35:50):
following my footsteps. He had the same name.
He didn't want the, that, you know, having to deal with all
that. And he was more artistic and,
and more like his mom in some ways in, in that artistic way.
And he is an executive chef, buta very, very exclusive,
successful elite level club in Port Saint, in Hope Sound,
(36:16):
Florida, So just north of West Palm Beach.
He's got he's he's, he's giving us 2 incredible grandbabies, 1,
three and one's one and and they're down there.
Yeah. I hope, Hope Sound, Port Saint
Lucie area. And then there's Eric, who, you
know, played for me and he, you know, has his own tennis Academy
(36:39):
in Southern California, tier oneperformance, I think it's
called. And he coached Alex Mickelson
and Lerner pens and along with the, you know, we he had the Jay
Leavitt is his partner there. And they do a tremendous job.
They have a very, very successful, you know, Academy.
Think about it, 2, two of their players are now like in the top
(37:03):
30 something in the world, thosetwo guys and they're young.
I think, you know, Lerner is like 19 and Alex Mickelson is
like 2021. Both phenomenal.
So they're doing a tremendous job as developmental, you know,
as a developmental coach in Newport Beach, CA.
(37:24):
And then Alex, who also played for me more recently, he's about
28 now and he's in the commercial real estate in, in
Atlanta, in the Atlanta area. So doing a you know, they're all
three doing great and we're veryproud of them.
I love it. Well, appreciate you sharing
that information money. I really, really appreciate your
(37:46):
time, not only me but also on behalf of of UTR.
I wish you and your family all the best here in the near future
and I will see you in Athens at the NCAA Tournament.
If not, before, If not. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here today with Manny Diaz, a true
legend of college tennis. Manny, I appreciate your time.
Thanks for coming on. Good to be with you, James.
Tell us, first of all, Manny, you stepped away from college
tennis I believe a year ago. How is life on the other side?
(00:25):
It is great. I'll tell you.
I think the timing was right forfor me, you know, like I put 42
years at the University of Georgia, that's an eternity in
today's coaching standards kind of thing.
And I enjoyed, enjoyed every minute.
I, you know, I had a lot of great moments, a lot of
(00:51):
tremendous players that played for our institution and it was,
you know, it was an honor to, toreally just cultivate some
incredible relationships with our guys.
Well, for those that don't know,and there will be people that
listen to this that don't, I just want to give you an idea of
(01:14):
just how long. First of all, Manny coached and
and also the success that he had.
It truly is quite amazing. First of all, his overall
record, which I cannot believe how many double S points he had
to go through here, was 781 to 206 losses.
Incredible. He won four national
(01:37):
championships, he won two national indoor championships
and he won 29 SEC titles. He is the all time SEC winning
this coach ever and he's also 6th in in NCAA men's tennis
history. I guess my first question to you
(02:00):
Maddie, do you do you miss it? Do you miss?
If you miss anything of college,tennis or coaching, what do you
miss? Well, no doubt, without a doubt,
working with the guys on the court was my favorite part of,
you know, my job. You know, just it, it, it, it
was specialist where you forge, you know, relationships is where
(02:24):
you learn to, you know, push them to their limits and, and
try to actually expand their, their, their belief and what
they're capable of, of achieving.
So I, I felt like my job when I recruited kids was to try to
steep past where they were and what they could become.
(02:45):
And then once you get them on campus and when you once you
have them on a daily basis is to, you know, create stepping
stones for them where they, you know, like they stretched or
reached a certain level. And then that creates A belief
for something bigger. And and you do that with them on
the court, right? You do them.
(03:06):
You do that in the moments, you know, in between the grills
where you have those special moments to create special bonds.
You do that after practice, whenthey've had a terrible practice
in their eyes and you try to find ways to opening their, you
know, their, their thought process as to, you know, Hey,
(03:30):
you got to suffer. You, you've, you've got to
struggle. If, if you're going to
breakthrough, you know, you, youwant to create, you get in the
gym to create, you know, more strength, you're going to be
sore, you're, you're going to break, you know, some fibers and
you've got to recover. And then you, you got to build
on that every day. And, and just creating a mindset
(03:54):
for our guys where they, you know, we always talked about,
you know, getting to the point where you, you, you earn the
right to expect to win when things are not going well, when
you're down a break, when you'redown a set, when you're down a
set and a break, you know how tostay, you know, positive.
(04:16):
And you know, you're not going to win every match either way,
right? But you certainly can increase
your odds if, you know, you staywith a positive attitude and,
and, and you know, you make thatguy hit that extra ball when
they're up a set in the break and get them to a point where
they're maybe feeling a little bit more pressure.
Those are the those. That's the moments I missed.
(04:39):
Got it. So what I'm hearing is, and, and
again, Manny, I, I, I do preparesome questions, but at the same
time, I like to have real conversations, right?
And, and what I'm hearing you say is a lot of your Soviet
coaching is relationships motivating and, and, and
bringing in players that will listen to you where you can push
(05:02):
them beyond to what they actually believe they can do.
Is that right? That's correct.
Yeah, that's the fun of it. Right.
So I have a question. You won the national title in 99
O one, O 7 and O 8. I'm pretty sure that is correct.
You also came close a lot, Quarterfinals, semi finals,
(05:28):
finals. What is the difference to
actually crossing the line because there's a lot of coaches
that get really close. What would you say if you could
pinpoint something and it does not be one thing, but what
actually gets you across the line and lifting up that that
big trophy? Well, I, I don't want to sound
(05:49):
like I don't want to get too, too theoretical because
honestly, it takes a lot. It takes a little bit of luck.
It takes you being healthy. There's, there's talent
everywhere, right? It's so close.
I mean, you know, 11, you know, one point in double s makes
(06:11):
makes a difference. You get off to, you know, a a
slow start in double s, you're down one O you know, lost a
double S point that increases pressure.
You know, the other team increases their belief.
It's just a whole lot of things that really come into into play,
right. But you know, given the fact
that if, if you go to that championship and, and you know,
(06:33):
you've, you've gone through the season and you've created that
level of expectancy and you're healthy, you know, I'll be
honest with you, James, we lost my first 5 finals in the NCAA
championships, in the NCAA tournament.
Now I'll be, I'll be also honest.
(06:54):
I don't think we had the best team on paper.
And in many of those finals, 5 finals, we probably
overachieved. Right.
We played incredible. We, we had a great run and we in
those first 5 finals, I learned a lot as a coach.
(07:16):
I was a young coach. I got so sky high.
I had my teams overachieving. I couldn't, I couldn't complain
one bit about their effort and how they fought and their
belief. And yeah, we came just a little
bit short. But I saw those losses in the
finals is incredible, monumentalachievements.
(07:37):
And I just knew that if we kept putting ourselves in that
position, we'd get across the finish line.
But I think the biggest, the biggest difference for me was
when I got to 1999, we were downteam match points, multiple, OK.
(07:58):
When you want it. Yeah, the first time we want it,
we were down team match points in three or four of our stick
matches that we won the way to the the championship.
We were down double match point against Pepper Pepperdine I
think it was. Yeah.
(08:18):
In the second round of regionals, double match points
at #1 singles and we hit a return winner and we hit a on
the run back end passing shot toget it back to deuce and then we
broke. And then when we won that match,
I saw us. Honestly, I saw US winning the
championship. I don't know why I didn't say a
(08:41):
word to my guys. I didn't want to pressure them
even further. You know, we were down, we were
down. I think a break in the third set
against Duke and the quarters, they were out playing us and
their play at number. Their player at #5 singles broke
his ankle. Wow.
(09:02):
OK, And he still kept playing. We we still had to beat him, but
but we and we had to win two other matches.
But I mean, it just goes to showyou how things are.
But in that sixth time, in that sixth time in 99, I just got to
the point where I stopped tryingto get my guys to overachieve.
(09:26):
It was like, and I, I in my mind, I, I thought like, I've
been trying to get my team to breakthrough that door, to break
that door down. And in that final match, I went
like, the work has been done. Just go out there and have fun.
And I told them, stop trying to break the door.
(09:48):
There's a door knob on that door.
Just turn the knob and walk through it.
And it's probably, it was probably my least in inspiring
speech to that time. But it but it was like just
relax and go play. Yeah.
And and that was the first time we won a championship for me.
(10:10):
And then you won an O one, O 7 and O 8.
Are there certain players on those teams where you maybe
still have a phenomenal relationship or as a coach,
obviously former coach, one of the nicest things was to go in
there and hear one of your own players actually leading and
actually doing it for you. Are there certain guys that you
(10:32):
can that you can talk about now that that you have, that you had
or still have that special bond with?
Oh, just about every one of them, to be honest with you.
There's so many of them. And, you know, our, so our, you
know, culture was about preparing guys to lead and, and
expecting them to lead. And, and you, you know, you get
(10:55):
to that point somewhere halfway through the season.
You know, they could be in March, you know, early March, it
could be in early April where you all of a sudden gain enough
in Airshot where you basically, OK, we're rolling now.
And, and I started kind of removing myself a little bit.
You know, you push, you push, you push, you push.
(11:17):
And then at some point you got to let the horse run.
And, and, and we had some great leaders that really did a
tremendous job. And those not only those
national championship years, just even, you know, years
where, you know, things didn't quite bounce the way we wanted
to to balance our way, You know,we honestly stood of could have
(11:43):
won about three more national championships during my years
that slipped away, that got away.
We went undefeated in 2006. Right.
From door to door we win the National Indoors, beat
Pepperdine 40 OK in Seattle and the finals of the National
(12:05):
Indoors had to play them again in the finals.
Well when we got to Stanford that year in the first in the
round of 16, our number six player who is a lock and our he
also played #2 double S and him and Colin were ranked fifteen in
(12:26):
the country as our number 2 double S team.
We have the defending NCAA champions John Ezner and Antonio
Ruiz playing #1 double S. We have the 15th ranked team
playing two. We had a great number three
team. So we lost our number six player
that played #2 double S and had to play without him, You know,
(12:46):
the the quarters, semis and finals.
And we lost to Pepperdine. The team that we had beaten in
the finals of the National Indoors lost to them for three.
And I'm telling you it it, it rushed our guys because they had
such a phenomenal year. But you know what the results
(13:10):
were? Everybody went home and it it,
they showed up in the fall and we didn't have one bad practice
the whole year. They were so locked in and that
they could have come back and their, you know, confidence is,
you know, through the floor. But no, they came back and we
had great leader and John Isner,we had a tremendous #2 and Luis
(13:33):
Flores, we you know, we had Travis Helgeson that transferred
from Texas. We had a phenomenal team and
went undefeated from the second straight year.
You know, you know, and it was, you know, it was a great, great
group of guys. Well, for the people that listen
to this, that are listening, these stories are just so good
(13:57):
to hear. It's it honestly is it's great
to hear. I think Woody once told me a
story when when I was at Tennessee, when Tennessee played
Georgia in the final in Athens. I think the story was Tennessee
won the double S point and you guys went into your locker room
(14:19):
and Steve Johnson basically wentin there and I'll let you can
finish the story and basically said I'm getting my point, I'm
going to get my point. Or something like, wait, Steve
Johnson, are you talking about somebody else?
Steve Johnson didn't play. Stevie Johnson played for USC.
Sorry, wrong guy. I'm having a I'm having a
(14:42):
headache here someone. Else it was, yeah, I remember
that was actually 2008. That was actually OK your story.
OK, OK. Yeah.
We we, we played Texas in the finals.
We stunk it up in, in double S, stunk it up.
(15:03):
And we go to the locker room andyou know, I'm talking and at the
very end of my talk, one of our guys and I'll, I'll be honest
with you, I can't remember who who it was.
It may have been Luis Flores went like, I've got my point.
Really. And.
And then somebody else, what I got mine.
I ain't losing to dad, like. And, and all of a sudden it was
(15:26):
like, let's go. Yeah, you know.
I love it and it was phenomenal.So back to you, Manny.
Why? Why did you know it was time?
Why did you walk away after so many successful years?
Well, you know, I was, I didn't know exactly when that was going
(15:48):
to be, but I kind of felt how much longer am I going to do
this? I started.
Thinking. And I felt like I had a great
assistant in Jamie Hunt. I felt like he had enough years
under me to know exactly, you know, and I kept, I kept
(16:09):
delegating a little bit more every year.
And I felt like he's, he's got what it takes.
And to be honest with you, I, the most important thing is I
got to the point where I, I, I, I started getting a little bit
tired. OK, I'm 71 years old.
(16:32):
Yeah, yeah. And it, it, it wasn't that I was
getting tired, it was that I started getting a little more
annoyed or impatient with my players.
And I recognize that as a sign, right?
And I didn't want to be this grouchy, you know, like God, I
(16:57):
had been a positive influence inmy guys.
I had been a positive coach. I, I started feeling like I
wanted my time before it was toolate.
I wanted my time to be my time. I have never had a hobby.
Honestly, it was all my coaching, my players and my
(17:21):
family. You know, I would, I didn't go
out and play golf. I didn't.
I just, I didn't feel like I hadthe time anyway.
And that was probably more me It, it was, you know, being
around with my my kids after practice and, you know, try to
make as many Little League gamesas I could.
And my wife was, you know, once they two of them played for me
(17:46):
at Georgia and that was great. But my wife was taking them all
over the place and I wasn't ableto really watch them play.
So in the summer I started trying to to do that.
But you know, it's, you know, you we go recruiting in the
summer. So I felt like I wanted my time
to be my time as as long as I was and I was healthy.
(18:08):
And, you know, now I'm playing pickleball, love it sacrilege,
but I know a lot of people are not huge fans and, and, but we
are hey, I'm I'm too old to run that big court and it's fun, you
know, so I'm playing pickleball about 3 or 4 times a week.
(18:31):
I play a little bit of golf. It's still a little slow for me,
but it's nice to get out there every now and then.
But I'm, you know, I just haven't given it enough time to
be decent at it. I kind of hit a straight ball,
but if as soon as I try to hit it far, it's going everywhere.
So I'm trying to, I'm trying to learn a little bit of golf.
(18:53):
And so, you know, I was, I was ready to do other things, travel
a little bit, those kinds of things.
And now, you know, we have, we bought a second home.
We had a lake house where the kids grew up for 20 years an
hour away from Athens. That was where our kids
(19:13):
basically, you know, I was driving the boat and they were
in the tube and they were, you know, skiing and whatever.
But, you know, they all went their own ways.
And so we weren't, it was too much work.
So during COVID, we were playingat Florida in 2020.
(19:34):
The season got called. I go back home and I I sit in
the couch and I tell my wife Suzanne, what the heck, I've
never had three days off in the spring.
Like, what are we doing? And she went like, why don't we
go visit our friends in Amelia Island, Florida.
So we did. And you know, once we were here,
(19:55):
why don't we go look at some properties around there?
I love it. And so we're on on the beach
and, and enjoying it down here. We have our home for sale and
Athens. After 43 years, we raise our
kids in this, it's going to be. And so we have it for sale and
(20:16):
and we still aim. To go to Athens and we, I saw a
bunch of matches this past spring.
I'm going to support them. But hey, if we sell our home,
I'll be VRB owing, you know, fora week or two at a time, and I'd
have to worry about who's doing the yard.
That I was going to ask you about that.
(20:37):
So are you still going to be able to get up to Athens and
watch some matches and N state tournament coming up?
Obviously, I'm assuming you'll be there.
Yes, I'm looking forward to, youknow, just being out there a
lot, quite a lot. And you know, we got the NC as
coming in May and that's going to be tremendous to get them
back there. I think we're going to do a
(20:57):
tremendous job and hopefully theatmosphere is going to be a
great one. Well, as I've said many times,
even when I was coaching at Tennessee, I think NCAS should
be in Athens every year. And, and my question to you,
Manny, is why is it that when you play in Athens, you know,
(21:21):
the crowds coming out? Is it the culture of the town?
Is it the community that's builtaround the the probe?
Why? Is it because you go to other
great schools? And it's no disrespect to other
great schools, but you just don't get those crowds?
You know I expect NCAS to just be electric, right?
I, you know, it's, it's, it's been something that has, you
(21:46):
know, tennis matches in Athens are a big deal.
And it just, it, it just continues to, to, to be
fertilized when we have good kids.
We have, you know, we have greatcompetition in the SEC and in
our conference keeps getting better.
I mean, you know, our rivalries that you know that well and the
(22:09):
SEC are just incredible. And, and so we put on a, a great
show. I think our guys play with
passion and you know, I've heardso many people through the years
tell me, you know, I was, I didn't know anything about
tennis, but my friend brought mehere.
(22:31):
It's, it's an incredible event. I mean, are you, you go from
watching number one or two to watching number four and five
and all of a sudden the double Sis so exciting and all of a
sudden we got a tiebreaker over there.
It's, it's, it's a great spectator event that a lot of
schools just haven't gotten the,the, the momentum with.
(22:56):
And I, I think, you know, Coach McGill started it.
You know, when I was a player in1971, we hosted our first NCA.
That was my freshman year. And so I was over there from the
beginning. We played Miami, they we had
like a 70 something match winning streak at home and and
(23:21):
Miami had a phenomenal team. Eddie Dibs was playing number
one. It was a, it was a juggernaut of
a team. They were top two or three in
the country and they came to Athens and we had the largest
crowd ever to watch a tennis match.
We had over 3000 people. We didn't we didn't even have
the grandstand that we have right now.
(23:42):
So Coach McGill is a great promoter.
He began and then, you know, obviously, you know, after he
retired, he continued to take care of the Hall of Fame for a
number of years. It it, it just continued to
grow. So I don't know exactly how
(24:02):
we've continued to keep it going, but I think a lot of it
is this how our guys compete, the passion that they show on
the court. The competition is always a
challenge and I just it's a great event for any kind of fan.
What advice would you give to coaches out there that are
(24:23):
trying to get more people out totheir matches to create more of
a a home atmosphere? There were many things that I, I
try to do, like I went to sorority houses to try to get
them to come out and I always took a couple of good looking
guys, you know, our freshmen andsophomore the, and, and they
(24:44):
would introduce themselves and the girls.
You know, we got one or two sororities to host each and
every match. So when you get, OK, sororities
as a whole sponsoring a match, right?
They tell a couple of fraternities each, right.
So you all of a sudden you got all these young ladies coming
(25:06):
out. Well, the young boys are coming
out too. And, and it creates this, this
atmosphere. And I think that's how we, you
know, we kind of were able to continue to get them going.
Yeah. One thing I remember again when
coaching against Georgia was I always felt like in a big
(25:32):
moment, your guys would play loose and they would swing and
they would play free, right? And I always kind of said to
myself, I wonder how Manny gets them and Jamie and, you know,
gets them to to do that. What, what, what would be your
(25:53):
advice there? How How do you how did you get
players to play so loose in those big moments?
Because we talked, I mean, I, I met with our guys most days
before practice for about 10 minutes and I would, I would put
stuff in their heads. We talk about discipline, we
(26:16):
talk about focus. We talk about how when it comes,
stuff is going to happen, you know, and pressure is going to
come to a boil, OK. And in those moments, we want
the match to be on our racket. Win or lose, you got to love the
battle. You got to love those moments.
(26:38):
You got to embrace the hard and it it was something that was
bred into them so that they would actually, I don't care,
pass me like we're going to, we're going to play big on the
big moments and we're going to come forward and we're going to
dictate play as best as we can. And we're going to just build on
(27:01):
that, build on that. And as long as you got guys
embracing that moment instead oflike waiting for things to
happen. And I think your odds go up.
And I think that was part of ourculture.
That was something we talked about consistently.
I mean, we, you know, there's some tough love in practice.
(27:22):
You know, there's some days thatguys show up and they stay till
2:00 in the morning, you know, studying for a final or doing a
paper, you know, and you're, youknow, you're struggling and how
you handle those moments in practice.
We we didn't, we didn't allow a whole lot of like wiggle room as
far as attitude, as far as like throwing rackets.
(27:44):
I think you build this sense of expectancy by holding guys
accountable and being, you know,being demanding in the in, in,
in that respect. And I think that you develop
that, that feeling that you deserve to win, you know, in
those moments. Well, for the.
People that are listening, what I'm hearing you say a lot is the
(28:08):
importance of communication, theimportance of relationships and
ultimately the your player actually trusting you.
The amount of work that you needto put into your players outside
of the tennis court is arguably more than actually on the tennis
court. So hearing you talk about these
meetings and one-on-one and 10 minutes before every practice,
(28:30):
like I think there's a lot of coaches out there that are going
to learn from this, to be honest.
Right. Talking about coaches, what
advice what advice would you give to coaches right now, right
You've got assistant coaches that are at Power 5 schools,
you've got head coaches at mid majors.
You've obviously had rule changes to where now there's no
(28:53):
AD and the pressure of college tennis is monumental, right?
Well, when you're in it it it there's a lot of pressure,
right? I think we can both agree that
college tennis doesn't get the the attention that it deserves
with how good a product it actually is, right?
What advice would you give to all the coaches out there?
(29:14):
Very general question, sorry. Yeah, I, I don't know if there's
a one thing in specific. It's just, you know, obviously
you have to invest. You know, you have, you can't
expect your team to be passionate if you're not.
You know, you, you got to have that sense of expectancy.
(29:36):
You got to set the bar for your teams, you know, physically as
well as mentally. You know, like we wanted to be
the, you know, fittest team in the country.
We wanted to be the hardest working team in the country and
we wanted to be the closest teamin the country.
Those were our three processes, all right.
There you go. And and those three things, if
we achieve those three things bythe end of the year or mid
(30:00):
midpoint through the year to thespring, I felt the synergy
happened and that's. What were those three things
again? Yeah, just be the hardest
working team in the country, be the fittest team in the country
and be the closest team in the country.
And that was our, you know, you know, Pyramid, those were our
(30:20):
three legs that we really talked.
And and you know, there are obviously other things that we
talked about as well, but those,those were the three things we
wanted to beat. I love it and it worked.
Yeah, yeah, obviously as well. Manny, you've been a huge fan of
UTR. Yes, Sir.
(30:41):
I don't know if you can explain to people.
Obviously now I've stepped away from the coaching world.
I'm now with UTR. Big thanks to the people that
I'm working with. They know who they are.
But but why? Why?
Why have you always been a fan of the company?
I just, I think it's a tremendous job that you guys are
doing, just creating opportunities for kids to really
(31:03):
get the matches that they need and be in a position where
you're playing, you know, competition that is, you know,
on your own level that can really, you know, start building
your confidence, whatever that level is.
And not only that, but it's, youknow, you, you get to play
players above you, right? And you get to feel the pressure
(31:24):
when you're playing players thatare slightly below you.
And so it builds a level of, if you play enough of these
tournaments, you build, you know, a, a, a, a level of trust
and a little bit more toughness and you learn to handle, you
know, you know, when you're being shot at and, and you need
to learn to handle, you know, how to play, how to play bigger,
(31:45):
because that's what it, that's the only chance that you have to
succeed. So I just, I think it's, it's
great and it's fantastic to see,you know, now events all
throughout the world. And now you got other sports
like pickleball. Aren't you involved in
pickleball? I mean, so you're, you know,
(32:06):
you're building this platform that creates opportunities for
players regardless of their level.
Well, we really appreciate that.Manny, Two more questions for
you and you can you can say don't ask me that question, but
I'm going to ask you. Is there any way that Manny Diaz
(32:27):
ever gets back into coaching? I don't see how.
I don't see how. It must be a really bad
emergency. Well, I had, I had to ask you.
I think there was a 10% in there.
I think I'll. Take Well, I'll tell you
(32:50):
something. My My.
When I decided to walk away the previous six months and the
following six months for about ayear, my stress level was so
high because I was so worried that I was going to be bored.
Right. That I have gone 100 miles an
(33:12):
hour for so long I have gotten wired and it, it honestly took
me, it took me 6 months past, ifnot more past my retirement to
really just relax right and, and, and you know I don't have
to yell at anybody today. I don't have to like, like get
people like to do more than theyfeel comfortable doing.
(33:36):
A whole lot of that kind of happened.
And, you know, honestly, I, I didn't know what life was going
to be on the other side, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
I think the timing was right. I'm enjoying just, you know,
doing things that I didn't get an opportunity to do.
So I don't, you know, I'll, I'llbe honest with you.
(33:59):
When I those first couple months, I was wondering if I
actually drove down to Jacksonville and went to North
Florida to watch one of their practices because I was having
cabin fever and like I had to get around a tennis court.
Right, right. And you know, anyway, it was
great meeting those guys. And but anyway, I, I, you know,
(34:22):
I enjoy talking tennis. I enjoy talking to you.
I enjoy, you know, last week I talked to the Rotary Club in
Athens about team building. How do you build a championship
team? I, you know, some people talk to
me about writing a book, some people, you know, speaking
engagements. I'm I'm enjoying doing those
(34:43):
kinds of things without working 80 hours a week.
I just really appreciate your honesty there, Manny, because
that is the fear of being a coach and and not knowing what
the other side looks like, right?
I think my advice is the collegecoaching is a phenomenal
profession. There are so many great things
(35:04):
you can do in college coaching. But if the passion is not there
or you feel the edge, the world is also an amazing place and
there's so many things you can be doing.
And I'm sure I'm sure you would agree with that.
Last thing, I want to talk aboutyour family.
I actually didn't have this plan, but I just you were
talking about certain things like on the boat and kids on the
(35:27):
back. And what, what is your if you
could tell people that listen, what's your family doing?
I know your son's coaching. I think he's coaching some very
good players, I believe. I don't want to name in case I
get it wrong, but what's everyone doing?
And are they all in Florida or what's going on?
My, my oldest son is named Mannyas well, and he was never in the
(35:50):
following my footsteps. He had the same name.
He didn't want the, that, you know, having to deal with all
that. And he was more artistic and,
and more like his mom in some ways in, in that artistic way.
And he is an executive chef, buta very, very exclusive,
successful elite level club in Port Saint, in Hope Sound,
(36:16):
Florida, So just north of West Palm Beach.
He's got he's he's, he's giving us 2 incredible grandbabies, 1,
three and one's one and and they're down there.
Yeah. I hope, Hope Sound, Port Saint
Lucie area. And then there's Eric, who, you
know, played for me and he, you know, has his own tennis Academy
(36:39):
in Southern California, tier oneperformance, I think it's
called. And he coached Alex Mickelson
and Lerner pens and along with the, you know, we he had the Jay
Leavitt is his partner there. And they do a tremendous job.
They have a very, very successful, you know, Academy.
Think about it, 2, two of their players are now like in the top
(37:03):
30 something in the world, thosetwo guys and they're young.
I think, you know, Lerner is like 19 and Alex Mickelson is
like 2021. Both phenomenal.
So they're doing a tremendous job as developmental, you know,
as a developmental coach in Newport Beach, CA.
(37:24):
And then Alex, who also played for me more recently, he's about
28 now and he's in the commercial real estate in, in
Atlanta, in the Atlanta area. So doing a you know, they're all
three doing great and we're veryproud of them.
I love it. Well, appreciate you sharing
that information money. I really, really appreciate your
(37:46):
time, not only me but also on behalf of of UTR.
I wish you and your family all the best here in the near future
and I will see you in Athens at the NCAA Tournament.
If not, before, If not. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
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