Intercollegiate Tennis Association

Creating Your Own Legacy - Dash Connell

Dash Connell is one of the lucky coaches who have the unique honor to coach at their alma mater. He was an All-American at Tyler Junior College before moving on to play for the Texas A & M Aggies under Tim Cass. He returned to Tyler in 2009 to work for his former coach John Peterson, before taking over the head coaching duties in 2011 as interim head coach for one year, being named head coach in 2012. Dash discusses what it was like to follow in the footsteps of a legendary coach in John Peterson, what he learned from him and how he handles the expectations for the tennis program at Tyler. We talk about some the myths college coaches have around junior intercollegiate tennis, the pros and cons of recruiting junior college players and much more.

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

01:44 - What attracted you to Tyler Junior College?

04:02 - At what point did you figure out that you might want to be a college tennis coach?

05:41 - What qualities did coaches see in you to make you an offer as a coach?

07:01 - What profound lessons did you learn early on from your coaches?

10:57 - Did you feel a lot of pressure to emulate your coaches success?

12:35 - How do you personally manage the pressure to succeed?

14:25 - What were some of the unexpected surprises that you faced when transitioning through your coaching career?

16:47 - How did you put your own personality & philosophy on your team? How did you make your program, your own?

20:07 - What myths do you think exist in the realm of college coaching ranks about Junior College tennis?

22:15 - What are the similarities between Junior College tennis and other divisions?

24:02 - What are the pros & cons of recruiting Junior College tennis student-athletes? Why should other coaches consider recruiting Junior College tennis student-athletes?

26:01 - What are some of the challenges that you face?

28:42 - Why do you think up and coming coaches should consider coaching at the Junior College level?

31:22 - How would you advise Junior College coaches and coaches at any other levels to maximize their potential?

 

From Volunteer to Assistant to Head Coach - Marisa Arce

Marisa Arce is in her 5^th year as a head women’s tennis coach and has nearly completed her first year as the head coach at Depaul University. She started her college coaching career as a volunteer assistant at the University of Oklahoma in 2012 shortly after graduating from the University of Illinois.

In this episode we discuss her decision to start her career as a volunteer, if it was worth it and how she has transitioned from volunteer to assistant coach and on to becoming a head coach. We discuss the challenges of combining college coaching and parenting and how she is navigating her new job, her new-born baby and all the other obligations she is facing at this point in her young coaching career.

 

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

2:14 - When did it dawn on you that your career would be as a college tennis coach?   

4:20 - What was the feedback you were getting from the programs that you were applying to?

8:35 - What was different about moving into a full-time assistant role?

17:05 - "Better Allies" by Karen Catlin - 37% of Women's Tennis coaches are women. 

18:20 - Do you think that a male athletic director would have hired you knowing that you were nine-months pregnant at the time? 

23:23 - How do you deal with the struggle of having a family and being a coach? What adjustments did you have to make? 

29:05 - Are there any lessons that you apply today that you learned from any of your coaches along the way that you're applying to your team today?

 

 

 

 

 

Authentic Networking - Silviu Tanasiou

Silviu Tanasoiu is the head men's coach at Cornell. He is setting records at Cornell with his team currently ranked #16 in the ITA Rankings. Prior to coming to Cornell he was the assistant men’s coach at the University of Oklahoma. 

We discuss Silviu's journey from Romania to the U.S.A., his time on the WTA tour, his approach to learning and networking, why he turned down his dream job and what lessons he is learned to date in his young head coaching career.

This is a must listen episode for all college coaches but especially for young international coaches hoping to make a career as a college tennis coach.

Starting From Nothing - Brian Boland

Brian Boland has over 600 victories while serving as the head coach of Indiana State, Virginia and Baylor. He won four national championships in a five year span while at Virginia. He has coached 13 teams who have gone undefeated in conference play and one perfect season at Virginia, going 30-0 in 2013. He has already made his mark at Baylor winning the Big 12 Tournament Title in 2019.

In this conversation we discuss Brian’s early days as a coach at Indiana State, his development as a college coach and his ability to focus. Despite Brian’s obvious passion for college coaching and a never ending resume of incredible accolades, he still has his struggles, doubts and frustrations, just like the rest of us. 

A Culture of Integrity - Amy Bryant

Amy Bryant is the first female in NCAA history to win the national team championship as both a coach and a player. She has been the head coach of the Emory Women's Tennis team since 2000 and has garnered a number of impressive achievements along the way. However, what many of you probably don't know about Amy is that she has spearheaded an Integrity Initiative which has permeated throughout the Emory athletic department. 

She is joined on the podcast by Audrey Hester, Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Success & Compliance, to explain how and why they started this program, how it has developed over the last few years, and provide suggestions as to how college tennis coaches can work to infuse their own teams and athletic departments with a culture of integrity.

Bagels (0) & Baguettes (1) On & Off the Court - Kevin Epley

Kevin’s head coaching career began at Fresno State in 2000. He then moved out east to William & Mary and after five highly successful seasons he decided to take a break from college tennis to coach on the WTA tour and open a bakery in Colorado! He made his return to the college game in 2012 when he was named the head women’s coach at the University of South Carolina. Under his guidance the team’s results have improved every year and have broken numerous program records along the way. He was named the ITA NCAA Division 1 Women’s Head Coach of the Year in 2019.

In this podcast we discuss some of the lessons he learned from Billie Jean King and several of the top female tennis players of all time, plus how the college tennis game has evolved and his approach to learning and coaching. 

Coaching Longevity & The Bigger Picture - Sheila McInerney

Sheila McInerney kicks off her 36th season as the head women’s tennis coach at Arizona State University. In that time her teams have made 32 consecutive NCAA tournaments & 18 Round of 16 appearances. She was a 4 time All-American at USC & competed in Wimbledon, the French Open & the US Open. In this conversation Sheila reflects upon her time as a coach, how she stays connected with her players & the ever changing recruiting landscape.

Striving for Greatness - Jeff Moore

Jeff Moore has a fascinating background as a coach, educator, speaker, consultant, author and much, much more. He was the Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at Colorado for 6 seasons before switching to becoming the Head Women’s Coach at the University of Texas in 1982. He spent the next 23 years at Texas where his teams won 2 NCAA Championships, appeared in 2 NCAA finals, and won 18 conference titles.

The Art of Winning - Chase Hodges

Chase Hodges is the record setting coach at Georgia Gwinnett. Chase and his teams have dominated NAIA play in recent years, with his men’s team currently sitting on a 109 match winning streak! Chase has won big at every college tennis program he has coached, leading 6 of the 7 teams he has coached to their first ever ITA ranking. In this conversation we explore Chase’s approach to recruiting and how he has gone about turning a brand new program into a national powerhouse.

The Evolution of a Coaching Philosphy - Claire Pollard

Claire Pollard, the head women’s tennis coach at Northwestern University, has dominated Big 10 conference play for over two decades. She has had teams and individual players ranked as high as No. 1 in the ITA rankings and has won countless coaching awards along the way. In this conversation Claire discusses what she learned from coaching the men’s team at Lamar, her coaching philosophy, and how she is able to get the most of her student-athletes.