Intercollegiate Tennis Association

Team Energy - Adam Steinberg

Adam Steinberg has covered a lot of ground during his college coaching career and has learned much along the way. His started at St. John's University before moving to Northwestern to become the assistant coach under Paul Toricelli. He was then named the head men’s coach at the University of Alabama before moving on to Pepperdine and now finds himself at the University of Michigan.

 

Adam has a string of outstanding accomplishments including the 2006 NCAA team title during his 13 year tenure at Pepperdine. 

 

In this episode we discuss why Adam moved from a head coaching position at St. John's to the assistant position at Northwestern, his NCAA title prediction in his interview at Pepperdine and how he helped turn that prediction into a reality. We also spend a lot of our time discussing his coaching philosophy and the high energy culture he creates wherever he goes. 

 

Key parts of this conversation have been marked for your listening convenience:

• 01:54 - Why was the decision to go from a head coach to an assistant coach a good decision for you?
• 07:21 - How do you think you were in a better position when you made the transition from head coach to assistant coach to head coach again?
• 09:37 - Did you really promise a National Championship in 4 years when you were interviewed for the head coach position at Pepperdine University?
• 11:55 - How did you build your program and know that your team was in a position to win the title?
• 15:29 - Were there any specific weaknesses you felt like you needed to "drill" in to?
• 17:26 - How do you help facilitate leadership with your team?
• 21:13 - Where does your high energy philosophy stem from?
• 26:18 - How do you establish a culture of energy, especially with a new program?
• 30:58 - How do you identify players who fit into your high energy culture?
• 33:47 - Are there any specific questions that you use to help you identify the players that fit your culture?
• 37:54 - How would you help to encourage a coach to find their identity and build values?
• 41:43 - How do you go about showing your players that you care about them first and foremost as a student and person and then an athlete second?
• 45:30 - What is a book that has made a major impact on you as a coach?
• 46:35 - What is your favorite drill?
• 48:00 - What would you say is one thing that you have changed your mind on in life or in coaching in recent years?
• 50:37 - What is your favorite quote?
• 51:54 - What is one lesson you hope your players learn by the time they leave your program?

 

Lessons From A Legend - Dick Gould

Coach Dick Gould is truly a college tennis coaching legend. As the head men’s tennis coach at Stanford for 38 years his teams won 17 NCAA team championships and he holds a record of 776 wins and 148 losses. He has coached 10 NCAA singles champions, 7 NCAA doubles champions, 50 All-Americans, and nine players who reached the top 15 in the ATP world singles rankings.

 

In this podcast Coach Gould discusses recruiting, fundraising, time management and many other lessons he learned along the way. His fundraising efforts match his winning percentage on the court. He never took the future of the Stanford program for granted. As you will learn through this conversation he worked tirelessly to endow every aspect of Stanford tennis so that future Stanford coaches would never have to worry about the sustainability of the programs. 

 

Key parts of this conversation have been marked for your listening convenience:

• 02:02 - How did you go about recruiting the top tennis players in the country and the world - and convince them that Stanford was viable for their talents?
• 13:48 - What are some of the recruiting traits you used that are ageless and could apply to coaches today?
• 17:46 - When you speak with recruits and they ask "where am I going to play" - how did you answer that question?
• 23:10 - What are some of the key lessons that you learned along the way?
• 24:49 - What player or team taught you the most as a coach?
• 28:43 - Is there a mistake that you made with a player that really stands out to you?
• 31:17 - Are there any time management strategies that were effective for you that would benefit other coaches?
• 37:09 - Do you believe that college tennis has "lost its way" in recent years?
• 44:30 - What should college coaches be doing right now?
• 45:30 - What advice do you have for coaches about fundraising?
• 47:42 - What is the most common questions asked of you by coaches?

The Language of Coaching - Nick Winkelman

Nick Winkelman is the former director of education and training systems for EXOS, formerly known as Athletes Performance. There he supported, NBA, national sports organizations and the military. He is currently the head of athletic performance and science for the Irish Rugby National Team who are ranked No. 4 in the world. He is an internationally recognized speaker on human performance and coaching science.

In this podcast, Nick takes us through the coaching loop, why cueing is so important for tennis players and especially for those returning from injury or a long break, why coaches should learn to speak less to their athletes during training and competition along with more information that is valuable to college tennis coaches.

Nick has graciously offered ITA Member Coaches a 20% discount for his book The Language of Coaching through June 30, 2020. Visit thelanguageofcoaching.com, click the "order now" button and provide the discount code: TLOC20.

Key parts of this conversation have been marked for your listening convenience:

• 01:51 - Tell us about "the coaching communication loop!"
• 07:08 - What are the differences between internal and external focus?
• 17:54 - Tell us about the continuum of "Coaching Cues."
• 32:00 - What are your thoughts on the power of simplicity?
• 33:54 - What advice do you have for coaches to take a step back from giving your players all the information during a game (communicating too much)?
• 45:43 - When you're preparing for a coaching session - are you already thinking about your analogies you're going to share with your players or are you catering your analogies to each player?
• 51:20 - Talk about cueing during athletes returning from injury.
• 56:30 - Would you encourage coaches to share Rob Gray's work with their strength and conditioning coach and athletic trainers?
• 58:15 - Are cues only good for improving movement or do they do something else?

Leading Beyond the Court - Lauren Conching

Lauren Conching enters her eighth season as the head women’s tennis coach and third year serving as Assistant Athletic Director at Hawai‘i Pacific University. She holds a of 135-38 (.780) with seven trips to the NCAA National Championships, including five semifinal appearances and two quarterfinal berths.

Conching is also an Assistant Athletics Director for the Sharks and added the title of Senior Woman Administrator in 2018. She is in charge of apparel and branding for the department, marketing and promotional materials for the various athletics teams and assisting throughout multiple facets within the department. Active within the coaching community, Conching is a member of the ITA Board of Directors and serves on several committees including NCAA Coaches Commission, the ITA West Regional Ranking Committee, the ITA West Regional Award Committee and the ITA Ethics Committee.
 
Prior to becoming head coach, Conching spent five seasons as an assistant at HPU under Stefan Pampulov. In all five of those seasons, HPU reached the NCAA National Championships. In 2010, she was named the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year.

On this episode, we discuss how she manages being a coach and athletic department administrator. Also, we discuss how she sets expectations for herself, her student-athletes and her department. We discuss how coaches can take a better leadership role within their departments as well as how administrators are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and much more!

Key parts of this conversation have been marked for your listening convenience:

• 01:34 - What is your experience as a student-athlete and then moving into coaching?
• 05:47 - In what year did you take on administrative duties at Hawaii Pacific University?
• 06:46 - What qualities did the Athletic Director see in you as an administrator?
• 08:57 - How has your time as an administrator changed your outlook on college tennis or college athletics specifically?
• 10:42 - How do you balance your administrative, family and coaching responsibilities?
• 12:35 - How do you break down where you put your focus?
• 13:55 - Has the progression of perfection been slow or have you just realized it?
• 15:40 - What are your major concerns right now in college sports?
• 18:23 - What themes do you see emerging in how college athletics will operate in the future?
• 21:38 - What advice do you have on program budgets in the future?
• 25:57 - How can coaches show leadership capabilities and take a leadership position within their athletic department?
• 28:18 - What's the best thing and worst thing about being married to the Head Men's Tennis coach at Hawaii Pacific University?
• 30:11 - What advice do you have for couples in the coaching career?
• 31:07 - What is one book that made a major impact on you as a coach?
• 31:56 - What is your favorite drill to do with your team?
• 32:41 - Name one thing you have changed your mind on in recent years?
• 32:24 - Do you have a favorite quote?
• 33:45 - What is one lesson you hope your student-athletes have learned by the time they leave your program?

 

Player Development - Joey Scrivano

Joey Scrivano is in his 18th season with Baylor and the guest in this week's College Tennis Coaches Podcast. In his 18 seasons leading the Baylor women's tennis program, Scrivano has put his Lady Bears among the nation's elite, along with 19 combined Big 12 Conference championships between regular season and tournament titles.

He led Baylor to an impressive 14-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 2005-18, and Baylor earned trips to the NCAA Final Four in 2008 and 2011. During that 14-year span, Baylor compiled an astounding 125-16 (.887) record. Scrivano was promoted from head coach to the director of women's tennis in July 2016.

On this episode, we discuss how he stays ahead of the curve with all things player development and his process for planning his student-athletes practice schedule. Also, we talk about why he videos all of his practices and how tennis has become such an influential aspect of Baylor Athletics and the Waco, Texas community.

Key points of this conversation have been indexed for easy listening here:

• 02:01 - Why do you think that player development is such an important aspect of your coaching career?
• 05:08 - What things are you exploring that will help your student-athletes progress in their playing career?
• 07:34 - How do evaluate changes and adapt to your team? Are you taking feedback from your student-athletes?
• 09:40 - How have you been able to instill a high level of professionalism in your student-athletes?
• 11:00 - How do you figure out where student-athletes fit in your profile?
• 13:13 - What is your process for planning your practices?
• 15:20 - Do you record all of your practices?
• 16:33 - Do you have a form of reflection on your own coaching? Do you go back and analyze the job that you have done as a coach?
• 20:54 - What is the biggest theme that you really struggle with when you're trying to develop players? What solutions do you have when you come across that hinderance?
• 23:40 - Has being a father helped you with your coaching style and ego?
• 24:49 - Have you had to adapt how you develop players with changing generations?
• 27:42 - Where do you spend the majority of your time outside of recruiting and player development?
• 29:56 - How do you develop relationships with sport supervisors?
• 32:09 - How did tennis become so influential at Baylor?
• 35:53 - What else are you doing within the community that is allowing you to have such a high level of stature within your athletic department?
• 40:40 - What recommendations or quick tips do you have for coaches on how they can maximize their facility?
• 43:25 - What is a book that made a major impact on you as a coach?
• 45:41 - What is your favorite drill?
• 45:55 - Name one thing you've changed your mind on in recent years - in coaching or in life?
• 47:00 - What is your favorite quote?
• 47:37 - What is one lesson that you hope your players learn by the time they leave Baylor?

Fearless Recruiting - Dr. Bill Moore

This is the second in our series of interviews with an expert. This month speak with Dr. Bill Moore who also happens to be a former college tennis coach. Dr. Moore is an influential author, international speaker and executive coach. He has trained world class athletes, performing artists and business professionals all over the world. In the past several years Dr. Moore has dedicated much of his professional time to helping sales professionals be more effective in their prospecting abilities. 

 

In this podcast we talk about how coaches can go from having a fear of failure to having an excitement for success, the beliefs held by confident recruiters, how a coach can manage their reluctance around self promotion and much much more

 

Key points of this conversation have been indexed for easy listening here:

• 01:12 - What is your experience as a college tennis coach and player?
• 03:45 - What are some of the common themes that emerge from those that change their thinking and habits?
• 11:02 - What are some the issues that you see that hold people back from achieving their sales/recruiting goals?
• 14:16 - How do you focus on promoting your program/university rather than promoting yourself?
• 18:22 - How can coaches make the switch from a "fear of failure" mindset to the excitement for success?
• 23:01 - What are the beliefs and actions of confident recruiters?
• 27:05 - What are some other tools that coaches can use to build their confidence when recruiting?
• 29:19 - How would a coach know if they have a lack of motivation for recruiting or if they are a reluctant recruiter?
• 30:30 - How would you encourage coaches to manage interferences/disruptions?
• 34:25 - What is your definition of high performance?
• 39:17 - Do you have any strategies for coaches to deal with inevitable ups and downs and pressure?
• 41:50 - How could coaches find ways to keep players engaged over the summer & continue team culture? 

Budgeting 101 & Recruiting Tales - Mark Ardizzone

If you want to learn how to maximize your operating budget, this is the episode for you! Mark Ardizzone just completed his first year as the Associate Head Women's Coach at Florida State University. Mark was the Head Coach at Depaul University for 23 seasons leading the team to four Big East Championships. He was also named the ITA Midwest Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2014 and won Big East Coach of the Year honors five times.

 

Mark discusses his humble beginnings in tennis, his transition into college tennis coaching, how he went about maximizing every penny in his budget during his early days at Depaul and how that penny pinching has served him well throughout his college career. He provides some expertise on International Recruiting and shares some hilarious stories from some of his trips to Europe. 

 

Key points of this conversation have been indexed for easy listening here:

• 01:27 - What are some of your experiences as a junior player and college tennis student-athlete?
• 06:33 - How did you move into college tennis coaching?
• 10:40 - How would you encourage coaches to maximize their operating budgets?
• 14:25 - When did you take your first international recruiting trip and what did you learn?
• 17:26 - How did you find ways to stretch your budget when you were recruiting internationally?
• 23:11 - How did you break down the barriers of international recruiting and build trust?
• 26:02 - What is your most memorable international recruiting experience?
• 30:40 - How has your coaching experience changed while going from Mid-Major to Power Five
• 33:57 - What changes have you seen in college tennis in the last couple of decades that concern you?
• 38:00 - What is your hope for the future of college tennis?
• 41:48 - Is there a book that has made a major impact on you as a coach?
• 43:49 - Do you have a favorite tennis drill?
• 46:33 - Name one thing you've changed your mind on in recent years?
• 48:11 - What is one lesson you hope your players have learned from you as they leave your program?

Time Management & Continuing Education - Pam Rende

Pam Rende has led both the men’s and women’s tennis programs at Division III Arcadia for the past 5 seasons. However, Pam has been coaching for over 20 years in the Philadelphia area and has worked with players of all levels from beginner to grand slam participants. She serves on the board of the USTA Philadelphia Area Tennis District and is working towards her PTR Master of Tennis certification.

 

In this podcast we discuss how Pam manages two college teams while running L3 Tennis and leading a staff of seven full time pros and up to 20 seasonal pros. We discuss some of the assumptions people make about a woman coaching a men’s team, why continuing education is so important for coaches and if college coaches should consider pursuing a coaching certification. Pam also provides some great answers to our newly implemented rapid fire round.

 

Key points of this conversation have been indexed for easy listening here:

01:35 - How did you know that tennis would be the sport you would dedicate your life to?

04:25 - Why did you land on college tennis coaching - what interested you in becoming a coach?

06:19 - Being a female coach, how did the men's team accept you as a their coach when you came on board?

10:05 - Have you found any differences between coaching men and coaching women?

13:55 - Toggling between both genders, how did you develop being able to balance coaching these genders?

14:55 - How do you go about developing relationships with student-athletes?

18:00 - Do you see the gender bias statistics of women as coaches reflected in college athletics?

21:25 - Do you have any advice for young female coaches that are starting out in this profession?

23:30 - How do you manage your time and do you have any management tips/tools?

27:00 - What are some of the coaching programs that you have attended for coaching development?

32:11 - What are some of the lessons that you have learned in life outside of college athletics that have helped you as a coach?

36:51 - What is a book that made a major impact on you as a coach?

37:29 - What is your favorite drill?

39:50 - Name one thing that you have changed your mind on in recent years - in coaching or life!

40:11 - Do you have a favorite quote?

41:10 - What is one lesson you hope your players have learned by the time they leave?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Stories We Tell Ourselves... - Dr. Jim Loehr

This is a special release of the ITA College Tennis Coaches Podcast!

Dr. Jim Loehr is a world renowned performance psychologist and author of 16 books. Dr. Loehr has worked with hundreds of world-class performers from the arenas of sport, business, medicine and  law enforcement. He is well known in the tennis industry for his work with Grand Slam champions Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. He is the co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute which delivers a science-based energy management training solution to a wide array of industry leaders including 25 of the Fortune 100 companies, Olympic Gold Medalists and the Special Forces.

Key points of this conversation have been indexed for easy listening here: 

01:45 - What stories should the coaches be telling their student-athletes in this time of uncertainty?

08:58 - How could college coaches be leaders not only for their teams, but for their athletic departments and communities?

15:45 - How can coaches build resilience in themselves?

19:45 - How should coaches find their purpose and why?

22:28 - How do you encourage coaches to be less concerned about wins/losses and more about their athlete's development?

29:19 - What does the shift in career look like as a coach? How did they shift their attention and focus back to the development of the student-athletes?

35:07 - How would you encourage coaches to increase their skillset in player development?

40:33 - Do you have a story about a student-athlete/player that you worked with that went through personal development?

49:13 - How would you encourage coaches to have players adopt their leadership style and team culture?

 

 

 

Having a Vision - Matt Hill

Matt Hill is the head men’s coach at Arizona State University. He began his coaching career as a volunteer at Alabama, moved to the assistant coaching role at Mississippi State before taking over the program at the University of South Florida. There he inherited a team with a losing record, and 4 years later found themselves in the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament. After his success at USF he was named the head coach of the newly reinstated men’s program at Arizona State in 2016, and helped his team to an NCAA berth in just their first year of competition.Matt is one of those rare coaches who appear to excel in all areas of running a college tennis program. He not only has a clear vision for his program at ASU but also a vision for college tennis. Matt’s insights and execution of marketing and fundraising are second to none, and I believe every college coach in the country can learn something from this conversation.

Key points of this conversation have been indexed for easy listening here: 

 01:45 - What are some of the steps that you took in the first 3 months of your positions that set you up for success?

04:35 - What are some of the qualities that you look for in an assistant coach?

06:10 - How do you think you are able to convince accomplished players to believe in a losing/new program?

10:01 - What lessons did you learn along the way to set you up to have success along the way?

13:09 - How do you believe you're juggling priorities to build a successful program?

17:06 - What are some of the things that you implement to engage the community & bring fans out?

22:04 - Do you believe that coaches in general have lost sight of the bigger picture?

25:01 - Do you believe that charging admission for college tennis matches is possible?

29:37 - How can coaches get ahead of the discussion of budget cuts?

36:09 - How did you identify and build relationships with potential donors?

38:04 - Are there easier asks from donors - are there traditional items that are easier to ask for?

40:53 - What message do you have for coaches about mindset surrounding the build of your program?