ALL my Athletes had a GREAT 1st half and took most of the Holiday Season off to rest and let their bodies and minds heal and recharge. The 2nd half of the 2008-2009 is under way and they all MORE then ready to keep chipping away at their goals and have the BEST Season ever...are you?
Let's take a quick look at their accomplishments...I am SO PROUD of them!
Jason Mannino:
- Born: January 28, 1975, 34 years old
- Resides in San Diego,CA
- Hometown: Staten Island, NY
- Started Playing Racquetball at: 2 years old
- Present Ranking: # 5 IRT Professional Player in the World
- Highest Ranking: # 1 IRT Professional Player in the World in 2003
- Career Finishes: Won 30 Professional Titles including Pro Nationals and 2 US Opens
- Awards: Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year
- Teaches: 15 Camps per year with Fran Davis and 20 Clinics/Exhibitions per year
Fran: He started working with me in the year 2000 when he was ranked # 4 on the IRT Pro Tour. In 3 years, 2003, he had his HIGHEST and BEST Ranking ever...# 1 IRT Professional Player in the World. People always ask me, "How can you help Jason...what'd you guys do?" Jason is the MOST receptive to hearing about his game than anyone I know. We study hours and hours of videos and pick up so much from analyzing matches. We tweak some physical parts of his game, but mostly we zero in on the "mental aspects" of the game and how to keep his mental edge. When you are at the top everyone is gunning for you and what separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls is from the neck up....the "mental side of the game". Jason is KNOWN on tour as "one of THE most mentally tough players to ever play the game".
Jason: "My ultimate goal is to win the IRT PRO NATIONALS, which is the season finale. The IRT starts our second half of the season in a few days. I feel good; strong! My game is exactly where I need it to be. Now it's all about execution: not only being able to execute shots, but execute the game plan of high percentage racquetball - applying my strengths to my opponents weaknesses. Wish me luck...it can't hurt."
Taylor Knoth:
- Born: January 18, 1991, 17 years old
- Hometown: Portland, OR
- Started Playing Racquetball at: 7 years old
- Present Ranking: # 1 in 16 & under National Champion
- Career Finishes: 14 National Titles, 3 World Titles including 2 High School National Titles
- Awards:Mike Griffith Award (Exemplifies Leadership as well as a great Role Model), Outstanding Player of the Year for Oregon and 4X All American Athlete
- GPA: 3.95
Fran: I began working with Taylor 5 years ago when he was 12. The first year working together at the Jr. National Championships Taylor won 3 Gold Medals in the Boys 12 & Under Singles & Doubles and Mixed Doubles…and we NEVER looked back. He has won EVERY age group since...Boys 14 & under and 16 & under and now shooting for the big one.
Taylor: "Well my greatest goal for this year would be making the USA Junior National Team again and then going to the Dominican Republic for Jr. Worlds and coming away with a Gold Medal. I have all the shots I need. I just need to go out there and WANT IT MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE."
Sharon Jackson:
- Born: September 21, 1989, 19 years old
- Hometown: Shelbyville, IN
- Started Playing Racquetball at: 5 years old
- Present Ranking: # 1 in 18 & under National Champion
- Career Finishes: 14 National Titles, 3 World Titles including High School National Champion
- Awards: Female Junior Player of the Year, 5X All American Athlete
- GPA: 3.95
Fran: I began working with Sharon at Jr. Nationals this year in Concord, CA and I helped her through some very tough matches on her way to winning the Girls 18 & under National Championships. When working together at the Jr. National Championships I opened her eyes to better court postion and smarter shot selection. After coaching her at the US Open we reviewed some of the footage from her matches and we have begun to revamp her game. Watch out she's on the move.
Sharon: "My ultimate goal is to be the best professional player in the world before I turn 25, and I know that goal is attainable for me."
Devon Pimentelli:
- Born: December 6, 1993, 14 years old
- Hometown: San Bruno, CA
- Started Playing Racquetball at: 8 years old
- Present Ranking: # 1 in 14 & under National Champion
- Career Finishes: 5 National Titles and 3 World Titles
- Awards:4X All American Athlete
- GPA: 3.2
Fran: I began working with Devon when she was 9 years old and a Women's D player. In less than 2 years she went to her first Jr. National Championships and finished 4th in Girls 10 & under...she even shocked me. It gave her a sense of what she needs to do be a National Champion. We BOTH worked hard that year and the following year, her 2nd Jr. National Championships, she won a Gold Medal in Girls 12 & under.I couldn't be prouder of her accomplishments.
Devon: "2008 was a super year for me especially winning the Gold in Doubles with Courtney at Jr Worlds. I'm getting ready for a tough 2009 Nationals with the goal of making the Junior National Team again."
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 A few months have passed since the Grand Gala Hall of Fame evening and I have had a chance to reflect on one of the BEST evenings of my life and the sport.
I was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004. As an athlete or coach of any sport your life long dream would be to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of your sport as that is the HIGHEST honor you could EVER achieve....the sport is recognizing YOU for your contributions over the years. When I received the letter from the Hall of Fame committee that I was chosen I felt so MANY emotions. I was EXCITED, HAPPY, ELATED, and was jumping for JOY. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that the evening I was inducted could be matched, but I was wrong. The Grand Gala Hall of Fame 35th Anniversary Celebration was also a night to remember and was one of the BEST evenings of my life. To know I am one of ONLY 35 Racquetball Hall of Famers in the world is an INCREDIBLE feeling. Bud Muelhisen summed it up very clearly, "All these people being recognized tonight are all good competitors, but the real reason they are all in the Hall of Fame is because they gave back to the sport".
And I will continue to give back to this sport for as long as I can because the sport has be good to me. The friends I have made, the friendships I have created, the extended family I now have and the memories I continue to share is what keeps me going day in and day out....I wouldn't give it up for anything.
So sharing that night with the other Hall of Famers, the racquetball community and my personal family was an UNBELIEVEABLE feeling....more memories created that night that goes into my memory bank and can NEVER be taken away from me.
Thanks to ALL my students, colleagues, sponsors and my immediate/extended family for supporting me, believing in me and just loving me for whom I am.
Click here to view a few pictures that I'd like to share with you from my "night to remember"!
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Taylor Knoth(my student) / Fran Davis(the coach) Team Up to Win Mixed Open Northwest Regionals. Several months ago I asked Taylor if he would like to play with me at Regionals. I NEVER in a million years expected him to say “yes” as I thought he would have a partner, but I was pleasantly surprised when I received an e-mail back which said “COOL, let’s do it”. The rest is history….we actually played VERY well together and we did not drop a game. I guess I had to carry him…L.O.L.!
Taylor and I began working together in 2002. I remember when his mother Annette came to me at the Jr. Nationals in Eau Claire, WI and was very frustrated because she felt she couldn’t help him anymore and he wouldn’t listen to her. (I am sure most parents can relate to this feeling.) She saw me coaching the Crawford’s at the time and knew in order for Taylor to win a National Championship Taylor needed a teacher/coach as she took him as far as she could take him. Annette and I talked at the tournament and decided I would come up to Portland, OR and work with Taylor and see if Taylor and I had chemistry together and could work well together. Not only did we work well together within one year of working together Taylor won 3 Gold Medals in the Boys 12 & Under at the 2003 Jr. Nationals in Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles…a testament to Taylor’s hard work ethic, commitment to success and believing in me and my coaching. Our relationship grew and grew in the subsequent months and years and Taylor has NOT looked back as he did a 3 Gold Medal repeat in Boys 14 & Under at the Jr. Nationals in Lansing, Michigan. Every year since we have been working together he has medaled at the Jr. Nationals and has won a total of (10 Gold Medals, 2 Silver Medals, 12 Medals in total).
I CANNOT begin to tell you just how proud I am of Taylor as in the last 2 years all the ground work we have been doing over the last several years has paid off BIG TIME. He won the High School Nationals in 2007(as a sophomore…unheard of) and 2008 (as a junior) and just last month at the age of 16 years old he won the Men’s Open State Championships in Oregon against seasoned adult players he had NEVER beaten before.
Taylor is a “Class Act on and off the Court” and is a true testament to the OJRA (Oregon Junior Racquetball Association) Program and his parents, Annette and Kevin, who TOTALLY support Taylor’s efforts. I have no doubt you will be seeing Taylor for many, many years to come.
A great BIG THANKS Taylor for playing with me at Regionals…a dream come true for a coach.
For a detailed interview and to get up close and personal with “Taylor Knoth…The High School Sensation”, click here to visit the IRT website.
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