USTA NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR TENNIS HEAD COACH NAMED WHEELCHAIR TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR

Written by: Staff on 1st May 2012

USTA NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR TENNIS HEAD COACH NAMED WHEELCHAIR TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR |

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced that Dan James, USTA Manager of Wheelchair Tennis and the U.S. Wheelchair Tennis Coach, has been named the 2011 Wheelchair Tennis Coach of the Year by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). James will be presented with a trophy during the 2012 BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Seoul, Korea.

This will be James’ second ITF Wheelchair Tennis Coach of the Year Award, with the first coming in 2007, where he served as the head coach at the Parapan American Games.

“I am truly honored to be recognized with this award once again by the ITF,” said James. “Without the USTA staff, coaches, and especially our exceptional players, this would not be possible.”

In 2011, James acquired a successful year beginning with the Parapan American Games in Mexico where he led the U.S. team to five medals – three gold, one silver and one bronze. Through James’ dedication and commitment to wheelchair tennis, he managed to land US Open Wheelchair Champion David Wagner a spot to train at the U.S. Olympic Committee training center in Chula Vista, CA. This is the first ever for wheelchair tennis.

James joined the USTA full time as the National Manager of Wheelchair Tennis in 2003 running the training program for all teams as well as supervising grassroots initiatives. He has been serving as the men’s head coach for the World Team Cup since 2007, and served as men’s head coach for six years prior from 1999-2005. James became a member of the USTA’s national wheelchair coaching staff as the assistant coach at World Team Cup in 1998.

This summer, James will serve as the head coach for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. James was the men’s head coach at the Sydney, Australia Paralympic Games (2000), and head coach at the Athens, Greece (2004) and Beijing, China (2008) Paralympic Games.

The coach of the year is nominated by the International Wheelchair Tennis Association (IWTA) member nations, then voted on by the IWTA Management Committee.

Topics: 10sballs.com, 2012 BNP Paribas World Team Cup, 2012 London Paralympic Games, Dan James, International Wheelchair Tennis Association, National Manager of Wheelchair Tennis, Parapan American Games in Mexico, U.S. Wheelchair Tennis Coach, United States Tennis Association, US Open Wheelchair Champion David Wagner, USTA Manager of Wheelchair Tennis