As with Alan’s Midtown Tennis Club, what Nick began has of course expanded far beyond tennis. Today the academy has programs based on Nick’s philosophy for a multitude of sports, and places thousands of young people in college every year. Prolific until the very end, Nick wrote books and offered his learnings on every platform available, from television and very early on digital, to the animated anecdotes of Nick. These including sharing curriculums free to coaches everywhere and extending his reach to millions who would never set foot on his campus.
Nick was also a major part of Tennis Channel’s success, beginning as soon as I arrived. More than his appearances on our network, he genuinely rooted for and supported the channel as a vehicle for spreading the gospel of the game he loved so much. He thought of us as kindred spirits, two institutions that made something special to help grow the game on our own.
He always called, and texted (and texted…), imploring us to think about what we do from the point of view of the average player, the real fan at home. Nick wanted everyone to love tennis and his brain was committed 24/7 to achieving that, from folks like you and me to hundreds of the greatest players of all time. In this fashion he lived up to the true definition of the word teacher, showing us a new way to embrace the sport he adored.