Nick Bollettieri

Nicholas James Bollettieri
Nick Bollettieri at the 2006 US Open.
Born	(1931-07-31) July 31, 1931 Pelham, New York
Occupation	Coach (sport)
Spouse	Cindi Eaton Bollettieri
Children	5
Website	The Official Website of Nick Bollettieri

Nicholas James Bollettieri (born July 31, 1931 in Pelham, New York) is an American tennis coach who is credited with developing many world-class champions, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Mary Pierce. Recently, he has worked with 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova, Jelena Janković, Nicole Vaidišová and Sabine Lisicki. He has also worked with Tommy Haas, Max Mirnyi, Xavier Malisse, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, and Marcelo RíosAnd Michael Robinson a.k.A Michael Legend. He also coached Boris Becker for two years.

Education

Nick Bollettieri attended Pelham Memorial High School in his home town and was a charter member of the Beta Lambda Chapter of the Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity, graduating in 1949. He graduated in 1953 from Spring Hill College (Mobile, Alabama) with a degree in philosophy. After serving with the United States Army, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant, he turned in 1956 to teaching tennis after dropping out of the University of Miami Law School. Bollettieri's first students included Sheryl Smith and Brian Gottfried. His first formal tennis camp was at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Career Path

Bollettieri was the tennis director at Dorado Beach Hotel in Puerto Rico in the early-mid 1970s when it was a Rockefeller resort. His main assistant coach there was Julio Moros, who followed Nick when he set up his academy in Bradenton.

Moving to Longboat Key, Florida in 1977, Bollettieri served as an instructor for the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort. In 1978, Bollettieri opened the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy near Bradenton, Florida on 40 acres (162,000 m²) in unincorporated Manatee County on the west coast of Florida, about fifty miles south of Tampa. It was the first major tennis boarding school and it changed the way tennis was taught at the elite junior level. Seeing a template for other sports, International Management Group (IMG) bought the academy from Bollettieri in 1987, but Bollettieri continues to manage and play a pivotal role in the development of the tennis academy and ancillary programs.

Successful Students

The earliest Bollettieri pupils to reach number one were Monica Seles, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi. Later, Marcelo Ríos climbed to the top while associated with Bollettieri. The Williams have a long-standing relationship with Bollettieri, having visited Bradenton for years and often prepare for Grand Slams there. More recently, Sharapova (who arrived from Siberia at the age of 9) and Janković (who came to the academy as a 12-year-old, direct from Belgrade, Serbia) became No. 1.

Honors

On May 18, 2008, Nick Bollettieri was honored at the New York College of Health Professions with an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters for his contribution to the world of sports, fitness, and wellness. Nick also was commencement speaker at the college's commencement ceremony.

Bollettieri continues with teaching and public speaking engagements throughout the world. He is instruction editor of Tennis Magazine and has written an autobiography, My Aces, My Faults, with Dick Schaap. New York: HarperCollins (1996). Hardcover: ISBN 0-380-97306-5, ISBN 978-0-380-97306-4. New York: Avon Books (1997). Paperback: ISBN 0-380-78723-7, ISBN 978-0-38078-723-4.

Family

Bollettieri married Cindi Eaton on April 22, 2004. In 2004, Nick and his wife, Cindi, founded the non-profit fitness camp, Camp Kaizen. It is a five-week summer fitness camp which is run in Vermont for overweight girls between the ages of 9 and 14. Bollettieri has five grown children (one son and four daughters), two granddaughters, and one grandson and one adopted son, Giovanni.

External links

• The Official Nick Bollettieri Web Site
• Nick's Picks: Nick Bollettieri's Predictions and Picks for Championship Tennis