My favorite sports event/memory/moment is…watching the 4th round of the 1989 French Open between Ivan Lendl and Michael Chang. I remember that I told my coach that I wanted to have Chang's speed and stamina and Lendl's forehand and backhand. My coach replied, “Do you want McEnroe's head, too?” I looked at my coach and with a big smile on my face told him, “I'm going to work hard to reach my goals.”
After four years of constant, disciplined work on my fitness, I improved as a person and tennis player and raised my expectations. I began having better results as a junior tennis player. I was ranked number one among 14, 16, and 18 year olds in my home country of the Dominican Republic. I participated in tournaments in Central America and the Caribbean. I was a member of the Dominican Republic's National and Davis Cup Teams.
My coaching career began in 1996 at the Santo Domingo Tennis Club, where I worked until 2015. I have also coached in the intermediate program at Nick Bollettieri's Academy in the Dominican Republic. I coached in the High Performance Program at Marcial Mota's Academy. In 2006, I was on tour through Europe as a coach for the Dominican Republic's Davis Cup Team.
I studied nutrition and marketing at Organization & Method College, which is a university in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I have taken many ITF tennis coaching courses.
I can speak Spanish and Italian.
My coaching philosophy is that success can be achieved through daily effort, passion, dedication, practice, and discipline.