The Mabry Influence

Clarence Mabry played a special role in Newman's life. From the time he was a young boy just starting tennis at age 11 through his incredible college career, Newman was guided and coached by Mabry. Their relationship began when Mabry kicked a young Newman off the tennis courts at the McFarlin Tennis Center for not having the correct shoes. Demonstrating the resilience that would aid him so much in tennis, Newman bought a pair of tennis shoes and came back the next day just to spite Mabry. They began working together from that day forward and they developed a relationship that would last a lifetime. 

Mabry's coaching ways had much to do with Newman's success as a coach later on. At the helm of the Trinty team, while Newman was playing there, Mabry demonstrated what it looked like to run and coach an elite program. Mabry guided Newman to an impeccable 53-2 record in singles and 24-3 record in doubles, capturing the program’s first All American accolade along the way. On top of tennis expertise, Mabry also preached an acronym SAT: Spiritual-Academic-Tennis for his players to live by. This acronym heavily influenced Newman's life and how he approached coaching down the road.