BRADENTON, Fla., May 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today IMG Academies announced the addition of Rohan Goetzke as Director of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Goetzke, a native of Australia, joins IMG from the Dutch Tennis Federation, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the nation's tennis program from the junior through professional ranks.
"I am thrilled to join the tennis world's most advanced and highly-regarded academy for youth development," said Goetzke. "I'm looking forward to mentoring young student-athletes, while helping continue to develop the best junior, collegiate and professional talent in the world."
Within his new role, Goetzke will ensure that the program delivers the optimal training and highest level of development to each male and female tennis athlete at the junior, high school, postgraduate, collegiate and professional levels.
"I look forward to welcoming Rohan to the IMG family," remarked Nick Bollettieri, legendary tennis coach and founder of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy. "Rohan will be a tremendous leader and resource to not only our staff and our athletes, but also to the families who are looking to ensure their children receive the best development possible."
Over the years, Goetzke has been personally involved in the development of countless junior, collegiate and professional players. "Rohan's extensive tennis knowledge and his passion for getting players of all ages to achieve at their fullest potential will prove invaluable to our Academy," remarked Greg Phillips, IMG Academies' Athletics Director. "There are very few leaders in the tennis world who have served as the private coach for a Wimbledon champion, coached Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams, and led the training of so many successful boys and girls as they developed into collegiate or professional players."
Prior to joining the Dutch Tennis Federation as Technical Director, Goetzke served as the National Head Coach of the Federation, working with top professionals including Robin Haase, Michaella Krajicek, Thiemo De Bakker and Arantxa Rus.
He also privately coached Mario Ancic for several years, during which Ancic rose to #17 in the world. Additionally, he served as Richard Krajicek's coach for more than ten years, during which Krajicek rose to a #4 world ranking and captured the Wimbledon singles title in 1996.
Remarked Krajicek of his relationship with Goetzke: "Rohan took a chance on me when I was only 19 and ranked #800 in the world, and helped me rise to #4 with a Wimbledon title. He understands tennis players are individuals, and while his goal is always to extract the full potential from them, he is very observant and capable of figuring out different ways of doing it for the individual."
From a team perspective, Goetzke has served as the Dutch Davis Cup coach for the past six years, and the Fed Cup coach for the past two.
Goetzke began his tennis career in his home country of Australia at a young age, eventually competing on the professional circuit there and in Europe for several years before turning to coaching at a prestigious tennis school in Belgium. While there, he worked regionally with the Belgian Tennis Federation before joining its Dutch counterpart.
Goetzke will relocate to Florida this summer with his wife and their three sons.
Contact: Kim Berard, IMG Academies, kim.berard@imgworld.com, 941-447-1316
About IMG Academies
IMG Academies, a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, is the world's largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex. For more than 30 years, IMG Academies has helped countless youth, adult, collegiate and professional athletes reach their full potential in and out of sport, by providing world-class coaching, tailored programs and professional facilities within an energetic environment across a 450-acre campus.
Today the Bradenton, Fla.-based campus attracts 30,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries annually. IMG Academies offers youth camp and academy programs in baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer and tennis, in addition to training opportunities for professional athletes, teams and leagues. IMG also runs a series of events on its campus and throughout the country on an annual basis.
For more information about IMG camps, programs and events, please visit our website at www.imgacademies.com.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
http://www.cisionwire.com/img-academies/r/img-academies-appoints-rohan-goetzke-as-director-of-img-bollettieri-tennis-academy,c9264521
The following files are available for download:
| wkr0006.pdf |