A former City of Oakland, California fireman, Mark A. Manning ran the Elmhurst Youth Tennis Center in inner city Oakland and spent numerous years devoting his time to positively impacting young people through the vehicle of tennis.
 

Many USTA Northern California (NorCal) Diversity Scholarship recipients have credited Mark for their success on the court and in the classroom.  Mark was a leading voice for “minority participation” in tennis. He served on committees and worked with the late Oakland Mayor Lionel Wilson. He became chairman of the Minority Participation Committee and was also on the Junior Tennis Council. He was a coach selected for his skills to receive special training a the USTA clinic in Florida. He served on the USTA Northern California Board of Directors and held the position of Vice President in 2001and he was elevated to President of the Board in 2002. In fact, Mark was the first African-American to hold the post of a section President in the history of the United States Tennis Association dating back to 1881. His appointment was testament to the fundamental hard-wrought changes the nation had made to overcome racism generally, and tennis’ own mounting struggle to eliminate all traces of its former elitism in order to make tennis accessible to everyone.  

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Mark was also a member of the Oakland City Tennis Advisory Committee, a group of tennis enthusiasts devoted to improving tennis facilities and programs within the city of Oakland. He was an active member and chairperson of the USTA NorCal Multicultural Participation Committee (now called the Diversity Committee). For many years, Mark was a member of and chair of the USTA NorCal Junior Council. A recipient of many USTA national, section and community awards, Mark was honored in 1992 by USTA NorCal with the Service to Tennis Award, which recognized his significant contributions to the game of tennis over a period of many years. This was considered one of USTA NorCal’s highest honors. The USTA honored Mark in 1994 with an award for his contributions to developing tennis through community programs. Mark received the USTA NorCal Diversity Leadership award in 2002 for outstanding coaching, mentoring and leadership in the multicultural tennis community. Throughout his career he championed the cause of providing accessibility to underserved individuals, who otherwise would never consider tennis as a sport of choice. Junior tennis players knew Mark best as the tournament director at the USTA sanctioned Oakland Open held at Laney College. He was very proud of charging the lowest entry fee and providing biggest trophies.

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His work in the community has impacted the lives of many young men and women.  Mark offered his services at no cost, a veritable Godsend for his many students who under normal circumstances would not have ever been able to afford high quality coaching and lessons.  Sadly, Mark passed away at the age of 52 while on a rail journey with some of his tennis students to Reno. Mark will forever be sorely missed by his many colleagues, friends and students, but his legacy will be kept alive through the youth he mentored and the programs he championed. On his passing , Mr. John Vegosen, Chairman of the Board and President of the United States Tennis Association issued the following statement to the entire national staff, committee and volunteers of the organization, and sent a national delegate to Oakland from New York to attend Mark’s services on behalf of USTA leadership.



Mark provided inner city kids living in troubled predominately Black Oakland communities the opportunity to fulfill their dreams through tennis. By founding the Elmhurst Youth Tennis Association in Oakland, California which was a community based program primarily funded by Mark with minimal support from other contributors, he coached many players who came

through his program to go on to become junior champions. In recognition of all of the wonderful work he was doing to bring tennis to the inner city. Mark was chosen to be the designated point person and liaison for Venus and Serena Williams when they traveled to Oakland in 1994.

Mark Manning coached tennis for well over 30 years in Oakland, California. He coached at the schools from which he himself graduated (Castlemont High School and Lafayette Elementary School). He later singlehandedly became the head coach at the Elmhurst Community Tennis Association. Mark was also featured in Jet Magazine’s December 12, 1994 issue for being named one of only two Black tennis instructors to receive the national USTA Annual Community Service Award during the USTA’s Recreational Tennis Leadership Workshop held in the City of Industry, California.
 

Just a partial list of Mark’s many accolades and appointments:
 

USTA Northern California Diversity Committee, 2001-2006
USTA Northern California Diversity Committee, Chairman, 2003-2006
USTA Northern California Junior Council Chairman
USTA Northern California Board of Directors, 2000-2011
USTA Northern California Board of President, 2001-2002
USTA Northern California Diversity Committee Service Award, 1994
USTA Community Service Award at the Recreational Leadership Workshop in Industry, CA 1994
USTA Northern California Diversity Committee Leadership Award, 2002
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Professional, 1991 - current
Certified Referee, 1994-2008
Certified Tournament Director, 1994-2007
Pacific Coast Championships (PCC) Board Member and Treasurer
Seven Oakland Athletic League Team Championships
Oakland City Tennis Advisory Committee (OCTA) Member and President, 1993-2000
The Pacific Coast Championship, Inc. awarded Mark’s family a formal proclamation for Mark’s outstanding dedication to community and development of youths’ minds and fitness. This proclamation was formally presented at Mark’s funeral on April 13, 2012.