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In the latter part of 1991, Paul Manning was sent a newspaper article from his
twin sister highlighting the death of one of his childhood neighbors.
Specifically, this young man was killed by two of Paul's high school basketball
teammates. All three were entrenched in Richmond's urban drug-dealing culture.
Heartbroken over the three lives ruined (the other two received life sentences
in federal prisons), Paul began to pray and ask God how he could be used to make
a difference in the lives of young, inner-city kids. Having attended Campus
Crusade for Christ's 1991/1992 Impact Conference in Atlanta, GA, he was inspired
by several compelling speakers who spoke about daring to impact the world for
Jesus Christ. The speakers' consistent messages of impacting others for both now
and eternity - utilizing gifts and talents from God - changed Paul's life
purpose and direction.
Having degreed from Virginia Tech in Electrical Engineering, Paul worked for
a few years in corporate America. The informal inner-city youth tennis ministry
he began in the Summer of 1992 began to produce some of the top junior tennis
talent in the state and Mid-Atlantic. Assisted by long-time friend Daman Chavis,
Paul trained urban youth two-three times per week. By the summer of 1994, most
of the kids enrolled achieved state rankings. They also won awards and
scholarships to tennis camps at various universities. Because of their
accomplishments, they garnered the attention of kids and parents at local
country clubs.
By the summer of 1995, the demographic of the inner-city outreach program had
begun to evolve. No longer operating as a nomadic, multi-site program, training
was centralized at the Westover Hills tennis courts. Kids from various country
clubs began attending. Now, black, white, and asian - representing America's
racial and socioeconomic spectrum - began to train, fellowship, grow, and
succeed together. Douglas Barrett, a fellow Virginia Power employee and former
inner-city youth tennis coach, began volunteering to assist Paul in the
development of the growing number of kids. The kids continued to shine as some
of the top tennis talent in the city, state, and Mid-Atlantic.
U-TURN, Inc. was birthed as a full-fledged non-profit organization in April
of 1996. Having turned down an opportunity to attend Dallas Theological Seminary
(Th.M - Systematic Theology), Paul left Virginia Power in November of 1996 to
pursue the vision of creating a multi-sport training academy which would be the
means to the end - develop highly skilled athletes who will live, love, and lead
like Jesus Christ.
In 1997, Tom Chewning, Dominion Resources' Executive Vice President and CFO,
began volunteering his time as both tennis coach and mentor. In June 1998,
U-TURN opened the doors of its 50,000 square-foot Sports Performance Academy
with 22 kids. God worked through many wonderful volunteers and business leaders
to help bring to reality U-TURN's vision of having its own state of the art
indoor facility. During the summer of 2003, U-TURN trained approximately 600
athletes per week and now impacts over 1000 annually. Many of its alumni are now
competing as college athletes and are active in college ministries.
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