Tennis has lost a committed coach with the passing of Howard Cross at the age of 67.

Cross was buried on Wednesday after a funeral service at St James Church in Somerset and given a guard of honour by tennis players and coaches as his casket exited the packed church.

“We’re still receiving calls, ever since the news first broke last week,” David Lambert, a former president of the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association, said.

Lambert is also a former president of the Bermuda Pro Association, now called the BLTA Pro Registry, which Cross joined in the early Nineties.

“He was also one of Bermuda’s most certified tennis pros, being a member of the PTR [Pro Tennis Registry] which is based in South Carolina,” Lambert said.

“He was one of the members of the Bermuda contingent that travelled for upgrades through coaching courses, so he was well versed on different techniques for teaching players of all levels, and was also a member of the ITF level one. Howard was also a national coach and travelled quite a bit with our top juniors.”

Cross was also a keen cricketer, a spin bowler who played for Somerset Bridge and Southampton Rangers. He was also a martial artist and a retired prison officer.

After he finished playing cricket, Cross got more involved in tennis as a player, and then as a coach, when his daughter Cayla was coming through as a junior player. She has become one of the island’s top players, along with Lambert’s daughters, Tara, Jacklyn and Crystal.

“Cayla played a lot of tennis with and against my daughters and my whole family is taking it hard,” Lambert said. “Howard coached a lot of Bermuda’s best players as well as many visitors.

“I was teaching at the Reefs up until 1996 and when I left to come to Elbow Beach, Howard took over that property. And up until now he has been the pro, almost 20 years. He also coached at Cambridge Beaches.

“Howard was one of those coaches who, whenever there was something going on and a top pro was required, Howard was there. Whether it was the Ace interschool tennis tournament, the ITF Tournament, KPMG Chris Clinic or the Elbow Beach Celebrity Classic.”

Lambert added: “He was very reliable, loved what he did and brought a large influence of positive coaching. He kept it positive and made it fun. On the pro registry if he agreed with you you had his support 100 per cent, but if he disagreed with the policy or the programme he let you know.

“I appreciated that as the chairman of the pro registry, that you always knew where Howard stood. He was a tremendous asset to the development of the sport in Bermuda, including with the ITF Tournament which is now in its thirteenth year.

“With the level of tennis that was played on those courts every year, Howard played a big role in that.

“He worked with many of Bermuda’s best players in the junior and adults and his son Lamar and daughter Cayla were among them.

“I drove past the Reefs a couple of days ago and looked over at the courts expecting to see Howard. It’s going to take a while getting used to not seeing Howard there. This personally hurts because I’ve known Howard for a long time. The sport lost a big one and Bermuda lost a big one because of his positive personality.”