We finally have tennis to play! Tomorrow is the first D3 vs D3 action. The Chicago vs Coe match-up looks to be pretty awesome because how many teams can boast a roster to have 14 singles matches. Pretty cool stuff. I will be watching some regional action as Wabash opens up their season against Augustana and Lake Forrest. With the Central region singles/doubles race pretty wide open, either teams top player(s) could sneak into the tournament by having a great season. I hope to get around to quite a few matches this year and thankfully Wabash plays a lot of the top teams in the region this season so I can make the short drive over to see everyone play. I am disappointed that the Oberlin match is away because I have been rather vocal about how much I love the Oberlin team spirit. Anyways, I digress.
As promised, this will be the final chapter of the How to Build a Winning Program series. I hope that you all have enjoyed reading it as I have enjoyed writing it. It allowed me to rethink about my time as a coach, consider the challenges I had during my time, and describe how I dealt with them or how I should have dealt with each scenario. I covered many different topics including recruiting, scheduling, setting a lineup, preparing for a match, in match coaching, and personality management. All of these things are crucial to the success of your team. There are a few takeaways from each subject that might benefit you as you begin to build something for the long haul. Sadly, none of this happens overnight. It takes complete buy-in from you as a coach which in turn needs to be adopted by your players and just as important, the administration of your school. Because it is a process, I have one final piece of advice to help you in all the facets I have described previously. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT! While I hate cliches, this one in particular is perfect. What do I mean?
If your program is new or at the bottom of the win column, you have to run it like you are national champions. That means a few of the following bullet points:
- Run each practice with the intention of getting better
- Develop off season work out plans with an expectation that your players will commit to it
- Recruit athletes that are top of your talent pool
- Talk about your vision and where you see your program in 3 years (both to current players and recruits)
- Raise money to be able to treat your players like they are Division 1 athletes (gear, spring break trips, equipment, etc)
- Hold them to the highest standard academically, athletically, and personally.
- Be a mentor. The coach and player relationship is likely the most important and timeless thing over the coarse of four years of college.
- Always be positive. It’s contagious.
Your team or program might not yet be ready to be a winner in the score book, but it sure as hell can be a winner in the overall game of life. My old teammates and I had a running joke when it came to tennis. We were pretty average when it came to talent, but seemed to understand what a privilege it was to be called college athletes. We lost a lot of battles, but took solace in knowing we were winning the war. I received quite the education from college tennis. You learn what it takes to work hard for a result. You learn what it means to be a good teammate. You learn how to win respectfully and how to lose with dignity and class. Don’t take these lessons for granted as they will shape you for the rest of your professional and personal lives. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything in the world and I bet you wouldn’t either.
So the moral of the story is, you as the coach are responsible for making your student athlete’s experience the most impactful. That is the same for the junior varsity player as it is for the five star recruit.
The Van Zee Vault will continue next week with a new topic. Hoping to get some coaching interviews done soon!