The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body of college tennis and a coaches association, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. The ITA is committed to serving college tennis and returning the leaders of tomorrow while promoting both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, founded in 1956, is comprised of more than 2,000 men’s and women’s varsity tennis teams representing more than 1,250 institutions, while administering numerous regional and national championships, and the ITA/Tennis Point College Tennis Rankings for 20,000 college varsity student-athletes across five levels of play. The ITA also bolsters an industry leading awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership, and sportsmanship. Keep up with all of the excitement around college tennis by visiting WeAreCollegeTennis.com and following the ITA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, and LinkedIn.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
John Shackelford served 33 seasons as the head men’s tennis coach and three seasons as Director of Tennis at the University of the South - Sewanee. During his tenure, he won 551 matches and 12 conference titles. In 2021 he was named as the Director of Athletics and continues to serve the Sewanee community, coaches and student-athletes.
In this podcast, John and Dave discuss John’s commitment to one University over 38 years, how John found ways to develop as a coach, the challenges of sustaining success over a long period of time and advice for coaches with families.
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Mark Booras, the head men’s tennis coach at Tulane University for the past 14 seasons, received some devastating personal health news during the 2023 spring season taking him away from his team, his family, and everything else in his life for several months.
In this podcast, we discuss Mark’s journey over the last several months, his recovery from a heart transplant to date, and his hopes for the future. Mark also shares some advice on the necessary skills the current college tennis coach needs to acquire to excel in this profession, the importance of patience, and some lessons he learned from coaching some of college tennis's finest players.
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
In this podcast, Liz and Dave talk about the lessons Liz has learned over her four decades coaching college tennis; the differences between coaching at each of the three NCAA divisions; advice for young women interested in becoming a college tennis coach; and how she balanced the demands of coaching and raising a family.
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Geoff Russell worked for the USTA Player Development department for 13 years. During his time at USTA PD he worked with many of the top players and coaches in the world. Geoff is a leader in sports performance and data analysis. He leverages innovative solutions in optical data, visions, and wearable technologies to provide objective, measurable, feedback around development areas of focus. He is now working as a consultant for a number of college tennis teams, helping them to maximize their use of technology as it applies to player development and recruitment.
In this podcast, Geoff discusses how coaches can implement some level of technology into their coaching modalities; what mistakes he has seen coaches make when trying to help their players reach their full potential; some themes he sees emerging after watching hundreds of hours of college tennis over the last several months and lots of other helpful insights for coaches.
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Peter Smith was inducted into the ITA Men’s Hall of Fame this past May. Some of his career highlights include a 639-232 overall record; 5 NCAA Team Championships during his tenure at USC; a two-time ITA DI Coach of the Year recipient while also being the only coach to date to lead four different men’s programs to national top-25 rankings – Long Beach State, Fresno State, Pepperdine, USC.
We cover a lot of ground in this podcast including some wonderful stories from Peter’s tenure as a college coach; the importance of building relationships; recruiting; focusing on the small details; learning from mistakes and more.
Friday Jun 30, 2023
Friday Jun 30, 2023
Dr. Jaco Keyser is the head women’s tennis coach at the University of South Alabama. He is also a professor at the South Alabama business school and the host of The Rest of Us Podcast. Jaco just completed his 21st year as a head coach but also served some time as the men’s assistant coach at South Alabama.
In this podcast we discuss his transition from the men’s game to the women's game; how he manages his very busy schedule; his passion for promoting college tennis to a larger audience and much, much more.
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Ryan Kucera is the head women’s tennis coach at UW-Milwaukee. He started his coaching career right out of college as the head women’s coach at DII Minnesota State. Within one year he had turned the program around with several players breaking school records and receiving conference coach of the year honors. In May of 2022, despite his young age, UW Milwaukee offered him an interview for their head coaching role, which he aced and was ultimately offered the position.
Ryan just wrapped up his first year at UW Milwaukee and the Horizon League and has an incredibly bright college coaching future ahead of him. In this podcast, you will see why Ryan is rising up the coaching ranks at a rapid pace; he is very clear on his coaching philosophy and shares some great takeaways for coaches to consider as they start planning for the 2023/2024 season.
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Dr. Tim Baghurst is a Professor of Education and the Director of FSU Coach at Florida State University. He earned his doctorate in kinesiology from the University of Arkansas and has three additional graduate degrees achieved in three different countries. His research focuses on coaching education and development with an emphasis on coach health and well-being.
In this podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics from coach mental health to the team integration of international student-athletes. This podcast is full of important insights and key takeaways so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
If you have not already picked up a copy of Legendary Kentucky Coach, Dennis Emery’s new book, Serving Up Winners: 10 Steps to Building your Program, I recommend you do so as soon as possible. In this podcast we discuss the traits of the most successful coaches, marketing yourself and your program, sustaining success over a long period of time, and the current state of Division I college athletics.
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Josh Molino, the head men’s tennis coach at Kansas Wesleyan, has spent the last five seasons laying the foundations for long-term success in the classroom, on the courts and in the Salina Community. In this podcast, we discuss the impact Josh’s exposure to some of the best coaches and players in the world at a very early age had on his path to becoming a coach; why coaches should find time to volunteer their expertise; some fundraising strategies plus a whole lot more.