Intercollegiate Tennis Association

A Meritorious Coaching Career - Bev Buckley

Bev Buckley is now in her 35th year as the Head Women's coach at Rollins College. She has led her teams to over 500 wins and has coached 21 All-Americans. She was also a standout player herself competing in Wimbledon, the French Open, and the US Open.

Bev was recently recognized for her extraordinary commitment to the ITA and college tennis after being named the recipient of the 2020 ITA Meritorious Award this past December. We discuss her early days as a player and a coach, some mistakes she sees many coaches make early in their career, her advice for a long tenure in college coaching, and why coaches should consider getting more involved with the governance of college tennis.

Coaching Yourself First - Chad Stoloff

Chad Stoloff was the head women's coach at the University of Northern Colorado. Unfortunately, the program came to an abrupt end in the summer of 2020 due to athletic department financial concerns around the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Chad began his career as a volunteer coach at San Diego State before eventually making his way to the head men’s coaching role at the University of Nevada, where he led the teams to many program firsts between 2005 & 2009. He also served as the head men’s and women’s coach at Springfield College from 2015 to 2018. 

 

We discuss with Chad his transitions in and out of coaching and from one division to another, dealing with the cancellation of the program at UNC, how he balances his intense love of learning with application, and most importantly coach mental health.

Managing Without Tennis...Again - Jeremy Loomis

Jeremy Loomis is now in his 20th year as the head women’s tennis coach at Swarthmore College. He recently conducted a study named Perceptions of Division III college tennis coaches during the Covid-19 pandemic national emergency.

Jeremy possesses a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and also an MBA. He has coached at Duke, Maryland, Miami of Ohio and oversees in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In this podcast, we discuss some of Jeremy’s recent research, his advice for those coaches dealing with yet another semester without their teams or competition, what lessons he will continue to apply in a post-covid world, managing generational differences, and why coaches should take advantage of continuing education opportunities on their campus.

Mindset is Everything - David Sammel

David Sammel is well known in British and ATP coaching circles. He has coached many of the top British tennis players throughout the years. He regularly writes articles and publishes content about sport, psychology. He has now developed an online course (Mindset College) to help athletes reach their potential on and off the tennis court. David has also worked outside of tennis consulting with England Rugby and premiership clubs including Chelsea and Fulham.

 

In this podcast, we discuss how he teaches the players he works with to focus on the mental side of the game, how to help players bounce back from losing matches from a commanding lead, the importance of staying loose, the qualities of a great coach and much more.

Never Stop Challenging Yourself - Alison Swain

Alison Swain, the head women's coach at the University of Southern California, spent 10 years in the same role at Williams College winning a mind-blowing eight NCAA Division III National Championships along with countless other awards and trophies. She is now entering her 4th season at USC but began her professional life as an 8th-grade teacher and high school coach in Georgia.

 

In this podcast, we discuss how her background in education influences her coaching style, her remarkable success at Williams College, her decision to move from Division III to Division I, and she also shares some helpful advice for young coaches trying to make their way in this profession.

 

 

Applying Business Principles to Coaching - Chad Camper

Chad Camper is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Mocs women's tennis program.  He joined UTC on August 4, 2016, after spending the previous three seasons as the head coach at Louisiana Tech. Prior to LA Tech, Camper was the associate head men’s and women’s tennis coach at his alma mater, Wright State. Prior to being promoted, he served three years as an assistant coach for the Raiders.

Chad was in the business industry before coming to college tennis. He ran his own logistics company before making the decision to enter the coaching ranks.

In this episode, we discuss his decision to step away from running his own business, the similarities between running a business and leading a program, where coaches should think about spending their time, and much more!

Clarity = Freedom: Giancarlo Lemmi

We are joined by Liberty University women's tennis associate head coach, Giancarlo Lemmi on this episode!

Giancarlo joined the Lady Flames' coaching staff in the fall of 2012 as a graduate assistant and during the summer of 2013, he was promoted to a full-time assistant by head coach Jeff Maren. In May 2018, Lemmi received a promotion to associate head coach.

His strong knowledge of the game and Liberty tennis stems from his four-year playing career for the Flames. In this episode, we discuss his personal development as a coach, his coaching philosophy, and advice for other coaches. 

The Wisdom of Experience - Peter Wright

There are few college coaches in recent memory who have volunteered as much of their time to help grow the sport of tennis as Peter Wright.

Entering his 27th season at the helm of the California program in 2019-20, Peter Wright has built an impressive résumé as the leader of the Cal Golden Bears. Previously the head coach of the Bears, Wright earned the title of Director of Men's Tennis after an anonymous gift endowed the head-coaching position in January of 2018.

Wright received his first coaching award in 1994 when he was named Wilson/ITA Regional Coach of the Year for guiding the Bears back to postseason play. More recently, Wright was named the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading Cal to the NCAA semifinals and to its first appearance in the conference championship match. Wright earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors in 1997 and 2001 and has helped the Bears become fixtures in NCAA postseason play since. Wright also claimed the 2012 USTA/ITA National Campus & Community Outreach Award, for providing a leadership role in increasing tennis participation throughout his community, both on and off-campus, and earned induction into the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame and into the Berkeley High School Hall of Fame.

This conversation with Peter goes in many different directions; we discuss the importance of volunteering, fundraising, the future of college tennis, and Peter provides lots of thoughtful advice for the next generation of college tennis coaches.

 

No Excuses - Darnesha Moore

Darnesha Moore is the head men's and women's coach at Alcorn State. Darnesha battled through adversity in her young life to pursue her goals as a tennis player and now as a college coach. She wasted no time in moving through the coaching ranks, starting her career as a volunteer coach at Southern University and Lousiana State University before taking over both programs at Alcorn State at the young age of 23.

 

In this podcast, we discuss some of the challenges she faced as a child, her progress through the HBCU system, and some things she learned from her experiences in the USTA Professional Coaching Program, the ITA/USTA Mentorship Program, and from Coach Andy Brandi at LSU.

Changing with the Times While Staying True to Yourself - Rodney Harmon

Rodney Harmon is in his ninth season as the head women’s tennis coach at Georgia Tech. In his eight seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech, Harmon has posted a 145-69 career record.

Most of you know Rodney as one of the top coaches in college tennis. But did you know that he made the quarterfinals of the US Open while still enrolled as a student-athlete at SMU? Did you know that he was the first African-American male to become the president of the PTR in 2018? His list of accomplishments to date is truly amazing and there are many more yet to come.

In this podcast we discuss some of Rodney's playing accomplishments, his early days coaching the men's tennis team at Miami, and his experience coaching the top U.S. players while at the USTA. Rodney also provides some viewpoints on the lack of diversity in the game of tennis and amongst college tennis coaching ranks.