John Manos, Drew’s new golf coach, grew up in Mount Oliver, New Jersey. He received his undergraduate degree in Marketing at Centenary University and later went on to get his Master’s in Sports Management at Columbia University. Manos loves everything sports— he is interested in football, basketball, baseball and of course golf. When Manos was presented with the position of being the golf coach at Drew, he happily accepted the opportunity, as he saw it as a way to help the program and come back to his home state. Manos found Drew University a great academic institution and an attractive area for golfers to play in.
Manos would consider himself a pretty competitive person. He is always trying to give 110% for his players and family. Manos has always coached golf and for the last 6 years was a volunteer golf coach at Rosemont College. During his time at Rosemont, he led the golf team to the championships for the last three years in a row. He says that before he accepted the position at Rosemont, only one player had been on the roster. He cherished his time at Rosemont and would say that it was one of his greatest achievements to date.
“Competition breathes success,” is a phrase which Manos strongly believes in. Growing up, Manos’s role models were Paul O’Neill and Steve Young. Both athletes present a drive for going about doing things in their own way and never trying to find the easy way out. His idols’ passion and grit has inspired Manos throughout his life and he tries to convey that to his players. Manos loves being a part of a sports team. “Everyone shares the same experiences and through the highs and lows you know you always have a team behind you to support you,” Manos said.
Manos believes that integrity, fair play, enthusiasm, dedication and a drive to be successful are personality traits every athlete should portray within their sports teams. According to him, dedication, organization and commitment are qualities that make a good team captain. Manos said that Cassidy Conklin (‘22) and Luis Ng Tang (‘22), this year’s team captains, exhibit these traits. Manos hopes to lead the golf teams to win the Landmark Conference and qualify for the championships. The women’s golf team qualified in 2019 and won the Conference in 2020. Manos has no doubts in his capability to lead teams to greater success and bring home their next conference wins.
