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May 25, 2015

Getting to Know: Carlos Goffi, Celebrating 30 years at the Helm of Tournament Tough

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Carlos Goffi began playing tennis at the age of five in his native Brazil. Following a successful junior tennis career, he became one of the pioneer student athletes from Brazil to attend college in the US. His multi-faceted entrepreneurial career began as a professional tennis coach and author. Author of tennis best-seller, "Tournament Tough", former coach of John and Patrick McEnroe, and proud father of former player and head coach at South Carolina, Josh Goffi, his passion for tennis runs thick and through.  He has coached players of all ability levels, both juniors and adults, and is celebrating 30 years this summer with his TOURNAMENT TOUGH Training Camps.  

How many years have you been directing camp?
30 years!

Favorite camp drill and why?  
All camp drills simulate different pressures we face in a match. Therefore, all of them are my favorites.

Why did you get in to coaching?
Following my college graduation, I played the European circuit for a few months and decided to coach juniors in the US. I still remember calling Mr. Hopman from Denmark and asking him for a position in his Staff at Port Washington. Several weeks later, I was going into a court to give my first lesson to 4 young teens; one of them was Mac. From that first lesson, he taught me how to coach! My coaching method developed as we became friends, culminating into the publishing of the book Tournament Tough in 1984 when Mac was the top player in the world.

What’s in your bag?  
I'm still an "old timer" from the days when we travelled around the globe with 3 frames and a racquet cover as our purse/bag! Today's racquet bags are impressive! As big as the kids, in some cases!  

You can be heard saying …. 
The competitive game is 5 times more mental than technical and physical. 
There are many more hitters in the game than players!

If you could “borrow” one stroke from a current pro player ...  
Novak's high Backhand!

Tennis great moment...
After 57 years around the courts, there have been many great moments for me in tennis. However, I am particularly proud to have my son choose to follow my footsteps. Josh practically grew up in our camps and, presently, he is enjoying his career as a college coach. Having had the experience of coaching my own son, helped me grow as a coach.

Come join the fun and get in on the action this summer at Goffi's Tournament Tough Camp at ESPN Wide World of Sports.  Click here for more info - https://www.ussportscamps.com/tennis/nike/espn-wide-world-of-sports-complex/

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