Entrepreneur
RENÉ VIDAL is the founder and CE0 at Down 40 Love, Inc.. a training business and brand that helps companies and organizations turn adversity into competitive advantage.
A 7-time NCAA championship coach at Boise State, Colgate, Mississippi State, and McKendree, Vidal also serves as head coach at national powerhouse NIU Men’s Tennis.
Vidal speaks to dynamic organizations across industries on leadership, culture, and the psychology of winning.
He is the author of 5 top-selling books, including “Down 40 Love: Private Lessons on Turning Adversity into Competitive Advantage.” (May, 2024)
On Vidal’s Down 40 Love Podcast, bold leaders across industries share how they flip setbacks into bouncebacks.
Culture Creator
In 2022, Vidal led the McKendree men’s team to its first-ever Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship, a best-ever 21-3 record, and a program best Top 25 (No. 22) final ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The Bearcats advanced to the NCAA Regionals Round of 32 for the first time as Vidal earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors.
Under Vidal’s leadership, the McKendree team made three consecutive appearances (2021, 2022, 2023) in the GLVC Championships, while the women’s team qualified for the conference championship for the first time in 10 years in 2023. Currently, Vidal serves as head of men’s tennis at national powerhouse Northern Illinois University (NIU).
Author and Podcast Host
Coach Vidal is the author five books, including Play Smart to Win: Better Tactics Lead to Better Results (2013), The Power of Focus (2014), Play Smart to Win in Business: Leadership Lessons from Center Court to Corner Office (2015), Execute to Win: How Leaders Get Results (2018), and Down 40 Love: Private Lessons on Turning Adversity into Competitive Advantage (2024).
As creator and host of the Down 40 Love Podcast, Vidal interviews bold leaders who turn adversity into competitive advantage. Guests include American film producer Hawk Koch, Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute co-founder Dr. Jim Loehr, and real estate tycoon Michael Staenberg.
Q & A: Victorious Vidals
“Tennis is a really challenging sport that pushes me to be better every single day. You have to be completely on top of your mental game, you have to be calm, collected and smart. At the same time you have to be gritty and tough,” says Angelo Vidal, former tennis student-athlete at Kenyon College.
“My dad always says tennis is a mental game, and you [have to] be there mentally and physically to play good tennis. I think there’s always a lot to learn when you lose and no matter how good you are there’s always something to improve on,” says Manny Vidal, tennis student-athlete at Goucher College.
