Denis Donovan was born in London on March 4, 1965. As a youth he played tennis for Ireland and was a world-ranked junior. He attended University of Alabama Birmingham where he was on both the tennis and soccer teams. Following graduation, Denis moved to Japan where he coached many promising young players. During this time, Denis was a regular on the Tokyo Irish FC where he made many friends. Denis moved back to the US around 1992 settling in Missouri where he again worked with promising young tennis players. In 1993 he married Chiaki and they began their life together. The following years were followed by stints in Tampa and Hilton Head SC before moving back to Japan, first to Kobe and then to the Tokyo area. You could say that Denis was a simple man; he knew what was important and he knew how to value those things. In this he was far wiser than most of us. Denis passed away on February 25th 2014. He left many, many friends spread throughout the world - team mates, coaches, students and simply people who were lucky enough to spend time with him. He is much loved and will always be remembered by all his friends and family.