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
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.
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Jamea Jackson is in her first season as the head women’s tennis coach at Princeton. Jamea turned pro at age 16 reaching a career WTA high of No. 43. After just six years she had to call an end to her professional career and reimagine her future career plans. Her first coaching opportunity landed her at Oklahoma State from 2009 – 2013 where she combined her coaching duties with her work on an undergraduate degree. She then served as National Coach for the USTA Player Development department for nine years.
In this podcast, we discuss Jamea’s unique path to a head coaching role in the college game; what she learned during her time at Oklahoma State and USTA PD; how she maximizes her practice time and managed her transition to the head coaching role at Princeton.
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Joe Gilbert is the founder of JMG Tennis Academy, located in Sacramento, California. He is the only coach in the country to win the “Development Coach of the Year” award twice, awarded to him by the United States Olympic Committee in 2013 and 2018. He has helped to develop numerous top junior, college, and professional tennis players over the last 15 years.
In this podcast, we discuss some mistakes coaches make in the recruiting process; how college coaches can facilitate a smoother transition from junior tennis to college tennis; how to maximize the potential of players with limited athletic ability and Joey shares his development philosophy which has proven to be very successful at every level of the game.
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Davidson Kozlowski is in his 11th year leading the men's tennis program at Drake University. During his time at Drake, he has been named the conference coach of the year on six occasions while qualifying his teams for seven NCAA tournaments. He has also helped the program to its highest ITA National Ranking of #16. Davidson served as the men's assistant coach at UAB prior to arriving in Des Moines, Iowa.
In this podcast we discuss why he left his forever home in Alabama for Iowa; his approach to community engagement initiatives and what can be done to make college tennis more relevant at both the local and national levels.
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Dr. Timothy Russell is the President and CEO of the ITA. He spent three decades as a distinguished educator at Arizona State, The Ohio State University and the University of Rochester. He became well-known in the tennis world for his tireless work and leadership as a long-time USTA Volunteer. Due to his extensive contributions to the tennis world, he has been inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Hall of Fame, the USTA Southwest Hall of Fame, and the USTA Central Arizona Hall of Fame.
Tim has led the ITA for the past eight years ushering in many positive changes to ITA business practices to help keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of college athletics while at the same time building the credibility of college tennis with key stakeholders in the global tennis industry. In this podcast, we discuss the future of college athletics, the NCAA COC decision to pilot the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in the fall of 2024 and 2025, and the potential role of television coverage in college tennis.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Billy Porter is the Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at Southwestern University and has seen significant success and steady improvement in both programs since his arrival in 2013, including an NCAA Elite 8 appearance for the women's team and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance for the men's team in 2021. In this podcast, Billy discusses the differences and similarities he sees in coaching men and women and how he's adapted his coaching style to be most effective with both teams. He also shares his ideas on building a successful program and then the challenge of sustaining it over time.
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Simon Earnshaw, the head women’s tennis coach at NC State, won nine NCAA Division II National Championships while serving as the head coach at Armstrong Atlantic. In 2014 he took over the reins at NC State and has helped the program to multiple program firsts including a run to the Final Four in 2021 and an NCAA Division I Doubles Title in 2022.
In this podcast, Simon shares what he learned during his early days of coaching at the Nick Bolleteiri Tennis Academy; some of his keys to consistent success on the court; his struggles to find the right fit at an NCAA Division I athletic department, and lots more.