A Warwickshire tennis coach who gave up his life in Birmingham to fulfil his dreams, is celebrating the launch of his own tennis academy.
Former British Number One doubles player and coach to some of the top junior tennis players in the UK, Daniel Kiernan opted for warmer climes to open the academy based in the Costa Del Sol in Spain.
Following his retirement from professional tennis in 2005, Daniel continued his career at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, where he had huge success for five years coaching several players up to International level.
Six months on, Newcastle-born Daniel is now Director and Head Coach of the aptly-named SotoTennis Academy, in Sotogrande. Traditionally an area in Spain renowned for its sporting excellence, the 30-year-old continues to train professional tennis players as well as provide tennis camps and holidays for children and adults whilst running pre-academy squads for local children.
Daniel, who reached the top 150 in the ATP doubles rankings during his time as a pro-tennis player said: “It’s been a manic few months, but the hard work is paying off. We already have several of the top juniors in Europe training here and we’re hoping to continue to build on that.”
With the new venture going extremely well, Daniel is already looking to move the Academy to a larger site to accommodate the increasing number of players.
“It’s been a great start but we now need an enhanced facility that will provide an improved environment for all of our players to excel. It will include more European red clay courts and have a gym, restaurant and pool all on site, with accommodation nearby,” he said.
“Several teams of players have travelled over from England for successful camps since STA opened, and if our plans move forward to move to a bigger academy, 2011 is set to be an extremely busy year for us. This venture has always been a life-long ambition and I am so happy that I have had the chance to fulfil that ambition,” Daniel added.
To find out more about SotoTennis, please visit our website www.sototennis.com which officially launches on Monday 29th November.