René M. Vidal

Hometown: Long Island, N.Y. High School: Half Hollow Hills East H.S. Position: Head Coach

Birthdate: 03/18/1970 Alma Mater: Florida International (1993)

"We develop leaders both on and off the court." ~Coach Vidal

René M. Vidal enters his first full season with the Salukis after taking over mid-season last year. Vidal came to SIU from Mississippi State, where he served as assistant women's tennis coach and helped guide the Bulldogs to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) West Championship, an NCAA Regional Championship berth, and a No. 30 final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranking.

During Vidal's tenure at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs experienced their most successful women's tennis campaign in school history. On the court, the Bulldogs won their first-ever SEC Championship. In the classroom, the women's tennis team led all athletic programs with the highest cumulative GPA for the academic year.

"How fortunate Southern Illinois is to have the services of Rene Vidal! He is one of America's top young coaches - a real student of the game. He has earned the highest degree of respect from his peers in the coaching profession. Rene brings tremendous enthusiasm and passion to this position. His morals and ethics are beyond reproach, and he is a "winner" in every sense of the word!" ~Dick Gould, Director of Tennis, Stanford University.

Personal Development
A conviction-driven coach who creates a positive learning environment, the 37-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y. native has created a team model based on vision and organization.

Vidal has created the Saluki Way of Life Program, a detailed developmental plan designed to help each student-athlete achieve her dreams both on and off the court. The Program is administered by Roger Lipe, representative of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Sport Mentor for SIU Women's Tennis. Periodically throughout the year, the team attends Coach Lipe's Leadership Workshop where they work towards specific goals in the areas of Personal, Academic, Player, and Career Development.

"The Saluki Way of Life program guides us as we pursue excellence," Vidal said. "It facilitates our ability to excel as individuals and as a team. Coach Lipe does an excellent job of helping us focus on the process of developing as human beings and great competitors."

"We emphasize individual player development." ~Coach Vidal

Academic Development
Through the Saluki Way of Life Program and the Troutt-Wittman Academic Center for Athletics, each student-athlete takes responsibility and is held accountable for academic excellence.

Vidal promotes and encourages academic exellence in his athletes. Last year the SIU women's tennis team earned a 3.48 GPA and had one member selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team.

Player Development
A USA High Performance Tennis Coach and USPTA Certified P-1 Tennis-Teaching Professional, Vidal has created an environment that emphasizes Individual Player Development. Individual and team training sessions are structured to maximize individual player development while developing the team chemistry of a winning program. Vidal works with each player personally to create a Master Tennis Developmental Plan - a blueprint for training in the areas of Technical, Tactical, Psychological, and Physical development.

In addition to on-court training, the women's tennis program trains with a personal strength coach under the direction Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Eric Klein. Each athlete is tested physically on key tennis-specific areas such as Strength, Speed, Agility, Flexibility, and Aerobic/Anaerobic Endurance. A program is then put in place to address the unique demands of tennis and each individual student-athlete.

"Rene Vidal is the consumate professional. With his experience,work ethic and knowledge,he will soon establish himself as one of the up and coming coaching stars in college tennis.With his leadership,Southern Illinois will soon be one of the elite tennis programs in the country." ~Andy Brandi, Partner, Harold Solomon Tennis Institute.

Career Development
Based on one of his favorite quotes: "A vision is a dream with a plan," Vidal works closely with each student-athlete in the pursuit of finding a passion to pursue professionally; a career that will be challenging as well as rewarding.

"Failing to plan is planning to fail," Vidal said. "It's very important to nail down your priorities and act on your personal convictions. My priorities revolve around achieving excellence as a husband, father and coach."

Vidal has a strong track record of success based on surrounding himself with world-class coaches. Working under legendary coach Andy Brandi (University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame) at the Evert Tennis Academy (Boca Raton, Fla.), Vidal helped train and develop nationally-ranked junior players who are now competing internationally on the ATP and WTA Tours.

Vidal began his coaching career as a sport science intern with United States Tennis Association's (USTA's) Player Development Headquarters (Miami, Fla.). From there, he worked his way up the Division 1 tennis coaching ranks. While serving as the Graduate Assistant Men's and Women's Tennis Coach (1993-1995) at Boise State University (Boise, Idaho), the men's program won their third consecutive Big Sky Conference Championship, earned their second consecutive NCAA Regional Championship berth and a Top 25 ITA ranking. On the women's side, Vidal helped the team win their first-ever Big Sky Conference Championship.

From Boise State, Vidal moved to The College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Va) to serve as the assistant men's tennis coach for one season before joining the coaching staff at Colgate University (Hamilton, N.Y.). As the head coach for both men's and women's tennis (1997-98), Vidal led the women's program to its third consecutive Patriot League Conference Championship and earned the Patriot League Coach of the Year Award.

Vidal holds a Master's Degree in Sports Administration from St. Thomas University (Miami, Fla). He and his wife, Lisette, will soon celebrate their 10th anniversary and have three boys, Angelo (7), Manny (4), and Alex (1). They reside in Carterville, Ill.