John Woodward Blocher II (born August 24, 1951) is an American former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. Born in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Blocher started getting tennis lessons at the age of seven and was a successful junior player. In 1967, competing in the 16's age division, Blocher won an

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

title and was the national clay court champion. Blocher played collegiate tennis for

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

but was sidelined for much of the time with a serious wrist injury, although he was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in his senior year. While playing on the professional tour in the 1970s he reached a best singles ranking of 156 and featured in the main draw at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. Since the 1980s he has coached tennis, in North Carolina and San Diego. He has run his own tennis academies and coached numerous player on the professional tour, including

Marianne Werdel Marianne Werdel (born October 17, 1967) is an American former professional tennis player. Werdel was born in Los Angeles and played on the WTA Tour from 1982 to 1997. She is also known as Marianne Witmeyer or Werdel-Witmeyer. She won 19 nationa ...

and Tim Wilkison.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blocher, Woody 1951 births Living people American male tennis players SMU Mustangs men's tennis players Tennis people from California Sportspeople from Pasadena, California American tennis coaches