Brian Manzella
Administrator
I am very humbled by this honor. I grew up in a house where sports was king. My dad and brothers were great athletes that I idolized and learned from. The area where we lived was awesome for any athlete and I was blessed by great coaches and facilities at every level in St. Bernard Parish. My Pops would be proud.
BRIAN MANZELLA TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE ST. BERNARD PARISH (County) SPORTS HALL-OF-FAME
The St. Bernard Sports Hall of Fame and its corporate sponsor, Gulf Coast Bank, are proud to announce its 2013 induction class and award winners. Internationally renowned golf pro Brian Manzella will head the 2013 class. Stockton was named High School Coach of the Year three times and was inducted into the LHSAA Top 28 Basketball Tournament Hall of Fame in 2009. Jimmy Besson will be honored as the 2013 Humanitarian of the Year. As the founder and president of Jimmy’s Kids, Besson has been a leading philanthropist and advocate for the handicapped in St. Bernard Parish. Longtime philanthropist and Operation Merry Christmas founder Chris Roussel will be recognized as th 2013 Elphage Callihouette Special Recognition Award winner.
The induction and awards ceremony will be held at the Fred Sigur Civic Center auditorium on Saturday, April 5th at 6:30pm.
A 30-year teacher of the game, Brian is a 2-time Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher in America and was named to the Golf Digest 50 Best Teachers in America list for 2013-2014, where he is ranked #40. A 24-year member of the PGA of America, Brian is the 2013 PGA Gulf States Section Teacher of the Year and was the PGA Kentucky Section Teacher of the Year in 2003.
Brian grew up in Chalmette, where he was a standout multi-sport athlete at Rebel Park and St. Mark’s Elementary, playing for long-time St. Bernard recreation department coaches Joe Roche, Ronnie Nunez and Mike Ginart, Sr. along the way. After making the Bobby Nuss coached Chalmette High varsity Football team as a 13-year old freshman, he chose to play on the Freshman team that was the eventual City runner-up and the JV squad. Both squads were coached by Rick Gaille and Mike Presley. Gaille, who was a college all-american golfer and the future long-time St. James Head Football Coach Manzella, also coached Manzella on the Chalmette High Golf team, where Brian lettered four years and qualified for the State High School tournament twice. He was the team’s #1 player and captain his final three seasons.
A two-year letterman for Bobby Chimento’s Fighting Owls at Free Safety, Manzella was an integral part of the 1978 Chalmette High Football team that lost 20-19 to St. Augustine in the final game of the season with the Catholic League title on the line. Playing in front of the still-all-time record crowd at the then Noel Suarez Stadium, Manzella broke up a pass, made several tackles, blocked two consecutive extra points while being called offsides on both, and then disrupted the third kick which was missed. He also executed a successful onside kick which set up the Owls with a chance to win.
Manzella went on to become a scholarship golfer at the University of New Orleans, playing for former National Championship coach Bob Brown. Manzella played #1 and #2 man his senior season and was the team’s captain. He graduated from UNO in 1985.
Brian broke into the golf business under long-time City Park Head Golf Professional Henry Thomas in 1982, where Thomas put Manzella in charge of the park’s then very small Junior program after witnessing Manzella’s aptitude for teaching the golf swing. When Manzella turned the program over to the park’s new golf staff in 1987, there were over 200 participants. With Manzella as the lead full swing instructor over the next five years, the program grew to 500 young golfers.
He turned pro in 1984 and by 1988 Manzella was teaching 1st team All-American David Toms at LSU, who he works with to this day. Brian's extensive work with David in 2011 resulted in Toms moving up 80 places in the world rankings, finishing second at the Players', and winning at Colonial.
In 1987 he began a long tutelage under world-renown instructor Ben Doyle and after becoming one of 30 G.S.E.D’s in the world for The Golfing Machine organization, Manzella left to form his own research group that is a leader in synthesizing scientific research for use by golf instructors.
Manzella has trained 20 Brian Manzella Certified instructors in nine states and Australia, and he has been a featured speaker at seminars in seven countries.
A frequent contributor to Golf Magazine and Golf.com, Brian's web presence is significant, and he has produced and appeared in videos that have been watched over a million times.
In 2012 Brian was the featured instructor for the Sports Illustrated at the Majors promotion, teaching over 600 golfers in four cities, as well as participating event analysis for SI.com.
Manzella's Academy home base is English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans.
The 2013 Amateur Athletes of the Year are Sean Beckwith of Chalmette High and Maci Ousset of Cabrini High. Beckwith was a letterman in football and baseball, as well as Academic All-State in football. Ousset is a karate blackebelt who won the women’s world championship in 2013. She also won a state championship with the Cabrini volleyball team in 2011. Nicholas Michael, formerly of Holy Cross High, will be presented a Crystal Award for his outstanding wrestling career. Michael was recognized by the Times-Picayune as the 2012 high school wrestler of the year after amassing a record of 50-0.
