John’s passion for tennis was contagious, played on teams that he coached for years, took lessons from him for years. He improved my game. I’m grateful to have known him

 RIP John.

John was a fine person, caring and helpful. I will miss John but am grateful that I knew him. You will be remembered.

A Brief Review on John Lin's Early Life

John Lin, born on December 7, 1952 to Chou-Hsu Lin and Chen-Yi Wu in Taiwan, has been quite amicable and sociable since his childhood.

John was quite extraordinary as a teenager.

In 1967, at the age of 15, he and two of his classmates challenged an islandwide 30 kilometers road running event and won third place.

In 1970, at the age of 18, he challenged an islandwide singing competition and won first place, the youngest singer ever to clinch the title.

In 1971, at the age of 19, John became a college student and earned a law degree in 1975. In the meantime, John was good at fortune telling, especially palmistry.

After two years of military service as an artillery Second Lieutenant in 1977, John set his foot on U.S. soil and attended the Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 1978, John transferred to the University of Utah and registered as a student in the business school though, John had a mind to become a tennis coach.

In 1984, after attending the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy, John was certified as a professional tennis instructor. And some time later, John attended the Vic Braden Tennis Academy and was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame paving the way for becoming a prominent tennis coach founded on perseverance, resilience, versatility, and sensibility embedded in his personality, cultivated in Taiwan and bloomed in America.

Thanks to the United States of America for accepting John as its citizen making possible the realization of his American dream and many thanks to those who helped John go through hard times.

Special thanks to Rebecca Suelzle who constantly kept eyes on John until the last day of his life.

John taught me more about tennis than any other teacher ever. I will miss his ability to break down the game and his amazing commentary. My favorite is still “close don’t count for shit in tennis.”  Rest in peace my friend. 

John first taught me to love tennis which has stayed with me for over 50 years and my Dr. attributes my good health to  my tennis. Thanks John for all you gave to us, I will miss you, Dennis Bird 

John was my tennis coach when I first moved to Utah. He taught me everything I know and love about the sport. He always pushed me to work hard and never “admire my shot,” but just to get to the next shot. I looked forward to going to lessons every week and even as I had different coaches on different teams, I still always went back to John! When I felt frustrated, learning from him allowed me to find my love for the sport again and I don’t think I would have the same appreciation for tennis as I did today if it wasn’t for John. He was kind, funny, and the best coach I’ve ever had. I will miss him dearly!