#BloggerReveal – The Real D3Central

AS Intro: You had to know that I was going to throw my hat into the ring here with the first blogger reveal that we’ve ever had here at the Blog. It wouldn’t be a post without one of my famous intros, right? Anyways, the people have spoken.  The people want the artist formerly known as D3Central to finally reveal himself and we must oblige. Now, I know you’re really interested.  Now that you will know who D3Central really is, those of you who have connections to him, please refrain from blowing up his phone on this late Sunday night.  He wants to enjoy the Warriors game in peace. Savor this moment folks, because it’s about to get real.  And I mean that literally.  We’ve brought in the resident interviewer D3NE to take the reins on this official #BLOGGERREVEAL of the 2016 season.  NE, take it away.

NE: Ok. First thing’s first, can you please tell the people your real name,  your background, and what your real age is???

Central: Ah the moment has finally come. My name is Adam Van Zee. I am a 2007 graduate from Wabash College where I was a 4 year letter winner and I was the coach at Earlham College for 5 years where we had quite a bit of success (after a few rough early seasons). While we have made everyone think I am an old man, I am just 31 years old although I wake up most days feeling 65.

NE: Adam? Yuck, I always pictured you to have a name that better fits your curmudgeonly personality, like Glen or Barry. What position (if any) did you play on the Wabash tennis team?

Central: I mostly played #2 for singles, and played 3 of my 4 years at #1 doubles. I was nothing more than a placeholder in singles, but I was a pretty good doubles player and was first team All-NCAC as a senior which is usually dominated by Kenyon and Denison.

NE: Gotta love the doubles specialist. What was your best moment as a player?

Central: This undoubtedly was at ITAs my senior year. My doubles partner and I beat the All-American duo of Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland from Wash U in the second round. To this day, Coach Follmer reminds me of it anytime I run into him. I was more worried about the match that followed as I wanted to prove the win wasn’t a fluke. Thankfully we won that one too.

NE: What about the worst moment?

Central: There are so many, but the one that sticks out has to be on spring break my junior year. Team score was tied 4-4 and I was up 5-0 in the third set at #2 against UT-Dallas. My opponent decided to start crushing winners and came back and won the next 7 games to beat me 7-5. I never even had a match point. That one stung a bit.

NE: What was your best moment as a coach?

Central: In terms of outcomes, upsetting Denison in my last year was pretty huge. It came down to #6 singles and I had a senior facing a freshman in a third set tiebreaker with the match tied at 4-4. It was an awesome and program defining win for us as we received Earlham’s first ever national ranking. I also had a doubles team make the finals at ITAs only to miss out being All-Americans losing to Wade Heerboth and Rob Turlington. Turlington had a back injury and put together one of the most impressive underhand serving clinics I have ever seen. But I have to mention all of the close relationships and bonds that I have formed with my players. Those mean more than any win ever would.

NE: Any difficult losses you remember?

Central: That same year we lost 5-4 to Depauw at their place and it came down to another third set at #6 singles (different player for us this time), but the one that I wish I had back was at nationals that season. I am sure you all remember the Wash U regional where they got the easiest draw to the Elite Eight ever. Well that was because Coe and Earham were the #2 and #3 seed. We lost 5-3 to Coe which would have gotten us to the Sweet Sixteen. We were missing our undefeated #5 player which hurt us, but Coe was better on that day and moved on. I wish we could have pulled that one out.

NE: How about now, where do you live and what is your “real” job?

Central: I left coaching because I have goals and aspirations to get into athletic administration and Earlham wasn’t providing me with the avenues to get there. So I took a job back at my alma mater as a Major Gifts Officer and live in the Indianapolis area. I also am an adjunct professor of sports psychology at a school in Indianapolis.

NE: When did you know that you wanted to be a blogger?

Central: I have followed the blog since it’s inception and loved reading it in the early days. I always thought I could write for it because I knew a lot about the national landscape and especially the Central region. When the first D3Central didn’t pan out, I threw my name in the hat to take his place. This actually happened around the same time that I left coaching oddly enough so it has kept me connected to D3 tennis.

NE: What was your best moment as a blogger (besides this interview, of course)?

Central: In terms of blogging, I think the evolution of the site has really been exciting. Doing things like the tournament challenge, Fantasy Draft Kings, and other creative articles really are examples of how great the information we provide can be. Outside of writing, I think the friendships made with the other bloggers was something I didn’t expect. I have met most everyone (NE has been elusive) and have enjoyed drinks, dinners, and great conversations with them. It has been fun to be a part of a group that is passionate about giving D3 tennis the coverage it deserves.

NE: How many people not affiliated with the blog knew your secret identity before today?

Central: There are a handful of people who already knew, but for the most part I have kept it under wraps. I am sure there are others out there who have been told, but they weren’t sure it was me. A former coach, a few former players, and one or two blog followers know about my identity, but other than those, most of the time people are way off on who I actually am.

NE: Of all the speculation as to who D3Central was, what was your favorite guess?

Central: I laughed every time someone guessed Coach Todd from Case mainly because I have been critical of his program the most. I do have to give Coach Burling from Denison a shout out because he is the only person to ever ask me personally if it was me. Sorry I had to tell a fib in that moment.

NE: Do you have any regrets about your blogging style? Any apologies?

Central: I would say my only regret is I have been critical of some of my former colleagues beyond the normal reporting a few times. I am not sure I would apologize, but rather own up to the things I said. Most of the time my criticism came from a place of jealousy as I didn’t have many of the advantages at Earlham that some of the other top Central teams have with academic prestige, facilities, budget support, etc.

NE: Who’s your favorite blogger and why?

Central: Oh man this is a tough one. Northeast is out because we haven’t met. Sorry dude. I think West and I are the most alike in our jaded perspective. ASouth is a fun guy to be around, but I think I am going to have to pick the Guru. It was his vision to get all this started and the whole reason why the blog has thrived year after year.

NE: I’m heartbroken. On a scale from 1 to 10, how awesome was it to hide shirts at NCAAs last year?

Central: Might be my favorite thing in terms of being at matches because I could watch from afar guys looking around trying to figure out where they were and who I was. The Kenyon fan who got one was so proud. I also got to mess with a few players taking pictures of them and send them out after I left so they would know I was close, but no longer there to see. We just might have to do it again this year….

NE: Now that you have revealed your identity, will your life ever be the same? What about the non-stop paparazzi that will now be parked outside your home, forever trying to get a glimpse into the old-man lifestyle of Adam Van Zee?

Central: There is definitely some risk in revealing my identity so I am hoping nothing will change. If for whatever reason players and coaches don’t respond to my presence at matches and requests for comments, we will just find another blogger to take my place in anonymity. I sadly am very replaceable!

NE: Please, you will forever be the first D3Central that stuck! What additions are you hoping to make to the blog in 2016-2017? Now that you’re no longer anonymous, will your blogging style change at all?

Central: This was the whole reason I was a big proponent of revealing my identity. My desire is to do more interviews, potential recorded podcasting, pre and post match comments by players and coaches, and even Skype interviews. I am wanting to do a coach’s corner weekly article that allows a coach to simply talk about their program. This could be a great recruiting tool as well as more exposure and recognition. I plan to focus on ALL teams so not just the Central region. I also won’t just focus on national level teams. I have always been a supporter of the “little guys” in my region because I have been there both as a player and as a coach. It is difficult to break through and be noticed. In the end, I really enjoy doing this and look forward to taking the blog even further with our coverage. The players, coaches, parents, and fans are what make this blog so great to be a part of and if we can shine a light on the student athlete’s accomplishments to recognize all their hard work, I will continue to be a supporter of that.

AS: Well, well, well. Feel free to bombard the man we call AVZ with texts, complaints, and incredulous emails now. His blog email is d3centraltennis@gmail.com and his phone number is… oh wait. We’re not that revealing.  Anyways, as D3Central mentioned in his final paragraph, we’re planning some fun things for next year as well as a potentially new D3Central to take over his anonymous duties.  Wow, the flexibility! I hope you all enjoyed this article.  And as D3West so mentioned in the comments of a previous article, this was probably way more anti-climactic than you thought it would be.  No apologies. We’ll see you tomorrow for the Elite 8.  ASouth, OUT.

6 thoughts on “#BloggerReveal – The Real D3Central

  1. West Coast -> Midwest

    The NCAC connection finally explains D3Central’s love affair with Oberlin, but is Central the only blogger with an NCAC connection or is there possibly another?

  2. Anon

    Why don’t you apply for Earlham College Head Coaching position again? They’re building a bubble this summer and need a new head coach. Budget is better and a young team.

    1. D3CentralTennis

      I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to be a head college coach at 24 and Earlham took a chance on me. Sadly it is a very difficult place to be in terms of athletics and I don’t see myself taking a step back to start all over at Earlham. They promised me a bubble for 5 years so needless to say I would be skeptical until I saw it actually go up. They do need to find stability in the program as they will now have their 4th coach in 4 years.

      1. Anon

        This coach left and that reason was very sudden and out of his hands. He did get them to increase the budget and they are starting construction on the bubble.

        Jack Creuss who you coached has applied to be asst but still no head coach.

        The recruiting class for 2016 is solid and there won’t be any seniors next year.

  3. GWP

    You should be very proud of the work you do!

    1. D3CentralTennis

      Thank you!

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