Best and Worst D1 College Tennis Coaches

[Orson Welles]

Let's make a list of the best and worst college tennis coaches in the U.S. Divison 1 only please. I know a kid who is in high school who is trying to figure out which programs to consider and which ones to stay away from.

Important criteria should include the coach's ability to help his players improve through college. I know that this was Craig Tiley's claim to fame before he left the University of Illinois to become head of Tennis Australia.

I would also be interested to know which coach's are the jerks who aren't fair or who cannot be trusted.

As a start, I have heard good things about Peter Smith of USC. Some people had negative things to say about the University of Texas coach on the zootennis.com blog, but others defended him and Kelen Damico certainly likes him so I don't know who to believe on that one.

[10isDad]

Since, strictly speaking, this is a junior thread I'm not sure how much people know about various college coaches. I would think they would know only about a local coach near them and not much about other coaches. For example, I only know the Arizona State coaches since that's where we're located.

Also, I'm making an assumption you want to know about men's D1 coaches since you mentioned Damico. Is this the case?

ASU - Men's head coach Lou Belkin. Extremely good teacher. Difficult for some to get along with. Because he's trying to compete with Stanford and USC in the PAC-10, tends to recruit more foreign players since those two schools along w/ Georgia often snag the very top American players. Asst. Coach - Laurie Warder. He's a great guy, former Aussie Open doubles champion.

ASU - Women's head coach - Sheila McInerny - Awesome lady, great coach who all the players love. Asst. Coach - Josh Goffi. Unbelievably good teacher and player.

As I have posted in other threads, unless this kid is a real blue-chip player he shouldn't focus only on the big, well-known schools. There are tons of D1 schools out there. Many may not be well known & may not have winning programs but there's more of a chance for junior players getting into one of their programs and certainly a better chance for a US junior to get a chunk of scholarship money.

Finally, why only D1?

[babolatking]

There was a college week camp at a local club and we met the following D-1
coaches:

Jim Thompson-VT(men)- he was funny and really committed to his players

Brain Kabalaus-UNC (women)-not only showed us the tennis aspects of unc but explained college life

Peter Daub- William and Mary(men)- great doubles specalist coach. Has coach many top teams to gs finals.

Bobby Bayliss- ND (men)- helped me with my groundies-best drills

Brian Boland- UVA- the best all-around coach... gave everyone one on one attention and was the most enthusiastic...gave out t-shirts

thats all i know

[Orson Welles]

Finally, why only D1?

Because first of all, only D1 offers tennis scholarships. Second of all, this kid is very ambitious, always had a respectable national ranking, and would like to continue to play at the highest level. If he didn't compete at D1 level, I think he would feel like he is admitting that he's no longer at the top level.

That's why he's mostly interested in those coaches.

[redsoxrock930]

patton from boise state is a great guy, always comes for a week to sb in the summer and i love him.

[Orson Welles]

I would think they would know only about a local coach near them and not much about other coaches. For example, I only know the Arizona State coaches since that's where we're located.

ASU - Men's head coach Lou Belkin. Extremely good teacher. Difficult for some to get along with. Because he's trying to compete with Stanford and USC in the PAC-10, tends to recruit more foreign players since those two schools along w/ Georgia often snag the very top American players. Asst. Coach - Laurie Warder. He's a great guy, former Aussie Open doubles champion.



Do you know anything about the nearby coaches at the University of Arizona?

[tenniscrazed]

As I have posted in other threads, unless this kid is a real blue-chip player he shouldn't focus only on the big, well-known schools. There are tons of D1 schools out there. Many may not be well known & may not have winning programs but there's more of a chance for junior players getting into one of their programs and certainly a better chance for a US junior to get a chunk of scholarship money.

Finally, why only D1?


If US Jrs., are in fact snubbing lower level D1s, then so be it, they don't deserve it. My contention though is that with 30+% resident aliens on D1 rosters there is no question that the recruiting process does not involve a US Jr's declination but active recruitment of foreign student athletes.

2 euros worth :)

[Orson Welles]

Since, strictly speaking, this is a junior thread I'm not sure how much people know about various college coaches. I would think they would know only about a local coach near them and not much about other coaches.

Is there a college thread? I looked for one and ended up putting it here because I figured that this was the best choice available. I also figured that this would be most relevant to high school players trying to decide what college to apply to.

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

Orson Welles
The coaching at Uof A is more than just the (latest) news of JIM DENT coming on board in a volunteer-coaching capacity to support his old pal, Tad Berkowitz.
U of A coaching staff seems committed to winning without killing the players.

[Orson Welles]

Orson Welles
The coaching at Uof A is more than just the (latest) news of JIM DENT coming on board in a volunteer-coaching capacity to support his old pal, Tad Berkowitz.


Don't you mean TAYLOR Dent?

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

Just walking back to hit "EDIT"
Yeah, TAYLOR DENT, still something to see...

[Bundey]

There was a college week camp at a local club and we met the following D-1
coaches:

Jim Thompson-VT(men)- he was funny and really committed to his players

Brain Kabalaus-UNC (women)-not only showed us the tennis aspects of unc but explained college life

Peter Daub- William and Mary(men)- great doubles specalist coach. Has coach many top teams to gs finals.

Bobby Bayliss- ND (men)- helped me with my groundies-best drills

Brian Boland- UVA- the best all-around coach... gave everyone one on one attention and was the most enthusiastic...gave out t-shirts

thats all i know

He is a very smart coach. He knows what players to use and when to use them.

[AndrewD]

'Underground Tennis' had a very long thread devoted to this topic that would prove interesting to potential college players or their parents. Didn't hurt that a number of the posters were identifiable former Division 1 players.

[tenniscrazed]

Because first of all, only D1 offers tennis scholarships. Second of all, this kid is very ambitious, always had a respectable national ranking, and would like to continue to play at the highest level. If he didn't compete at D1 level, I think he would feel like he is admitting that he's no longer at the top level.

That's why he's mostly interested in those coaches.

Just curious as to how you define "respectable National Ranking". Top 50, 100, 200. With all due respect if he's not in the top 50 B18s a D1 major school is probably out of reach and would recommend what 10sDad suggested which is a minor D1 school.

If he just doesn't want to go anywhere but Baylor, Stanford, SC, UCLA or other highly ranked program then that is a different issue.

[10isDad]

only D1 offers tennis scholarships.

Absolutely untrue. D2 schools also offer athletic scholarships. D3 schools cannot offer athletic scholarships but the coaches can "influence" the powers that be into providing academic scholarship money.

As far as scholarships for tennis, I wish I could give you a stat, but the fact of the matter is the vast majority of tennis scholarships are partial scholarships only. The only guys getting full rides are those players that are among the best in the country/world. Many guys are getting only 20%...

[Sixpointone]

I am by no means an expert, but I know Luke Jensen is a Coach at Syracuse University.

That said, I am unsure if it is for the Men's Team, the Women's Team or both.

I wish I was of more assistance but maybe that will help some.

All My Best,
John

[Orson Welles]

Just curious as to how you define "respectable National Ranking". Top 50, 100, 200. With all due respect if he's not in the top 50 B18s a D1 major school is probably out of reach and would recommend what 10sDad suggested which is a minor D1 school.

If he just doesn't want to go anywhere but Baylor, Stanford, SC, UCLA or other highly ranked program then that is a different issue.

He was top 50 in 14s and is about top 120 after his first year of b16s in his first year of the age group. He hopes to be ranked top 50 for his final year in B16s.

Perhaps someone can correct me, but this stat that people often refer to "top 50 in B18s" seems meaningless because virtually no kid will finish his last year in B18s until he graduates high school and has already decided which college to attend. Therefore, it would seem to me that the last year of B16s should be the most telling.

And, by the way, he is not only interested in Stanford, etc. He might go to an Ivy League school or another division 1 with a good academic reputation. He might even purposely stay away from schools like Stanford and Duke because he knows he will have trouble starting or making the team.

[Orson Welles]

I am by no means an expert, but I know Luke Jensen is a Coach at Syracuse University.

That said, I am unsure if it is for the Men's Team, the Women's Team or both.

I wish I was of more assistance but maybe that will help some.

All My Best,
John

He's the woman coach and frankly seems to be a bit of a wind bag.

[Fedace]

Coach John Whitlinger without a doubt. He has recruited a class for this year and next that could turn out to be a dynasty. If not this year(less likely), in 08-09 season, Stanford could go undefeated.

[10isDad]

Perhaps someone can correct me, but this stat that people often refer to "top 50 in B18s" seems meaningless because virtually no kid will finish his last year in B18s until he graduates high school and has already decided which college to attend. Therefore, it would seem to me that the last year of B16s should be the most telling.

And, by the way, he is not only interested in Stanford, etc. He might go to an Ivy League school or another division 1 with a good academic reputation. He might even purposely stay away from schools like Stanford and Duke because he knows he will have trouble starting or making the team.

Regarding Ivy League schools: they do NOT offer athletic scholarships. I mention this because that was one of the criteria you listed.

Regarding rankings, most people who would be ranked that high will have already have an 18s ranking (and be ranked pretty darned high) even when they're 14, 15 or 16. For example, my son often trains with a just-turned 15 year old currently ranked around 100 in the boys 18s.

[Orson Welles]

Coach John Whitlinger without a doubt. He has recruited a class for this year and next that could turn out to be a dynasty. If not this year(less likely), in 08-09 season, Stanford could go undefeated.

I appreciate your efforts Fedace, but we're not interested in how good a recruiter the coach is. We're interested in the ability to help the player improve and whether we can trust the guy. I agree that Stanford has a fantastic class coming in with Thacher, Klahn, etc. This will actually make Stanford less attractive to us because the kid in question will have much greater difficulty playing for a team this good.

[JLyon]

please get your facts correct. D1 is not the only division to offer scholarships.
You have D2, NAIA, JUCO all offer scholarships. As mentioned earlier DIII does not offer athletic scholarships, but many help with academic scholarships, in fact one DIII locally actually gives free tuition to anyone who scores a 31 or higher on their ACT.
Try and do more research and do not limit yourself or friend to only the well known schools.

[CollegeBound]

Glen Michibata has an excellent reputation for his handling of college players. He is at Princeton and that is Ivy League but don't let that deter you. If you're scholarship material at another high level school the Ivies will help you out with financial assistance.

Steve Denton (and Bob McKinley, his assistant) at Texas A&M get a lot of good notices. Hasn't been there long enough to build a reputation for developing players but gets glowing reports for the way he handles the players and the team. Plus, he's a great bloke.

Kenny Thorne: doesn't get bad reviews, doesn't get rave reviews, just gets good solid notices. More a college coach than a developmental one but he does care about the education of his players. If going pro might be on your mind it's very significant that both he and Bryan Shelton (the women's coach) have tour experience and success. I can only think of one other program (Washington) where the men's and women's coaches were both top 150 players (Thorne was about 120 and Shelton was up to 50). Georgia Tech doesn't get the high calibre players that Georgia does but I think they do a better job with the overall personal of their players. Also, I don't like Georgia's reputation when it comes to academics.

Matt Anger at University of Washington also gets lots of good reports. He knows the route from top junior to the pros, he isn't too long out of the game and he is a great communicator plus a very nice guy. Jill Hultquist (nee Hetherington) is very much the same.

Marty Davis at University of California: Santa Barbara is a fantastic guy with huge enthusiasm for the sport, knows what it takes to develop a game (he had to work on his throughout his career), understands the path from juniors to college to pros, knows fitness and just has a great, laid-back approach to life. If you like laid-back, he'd be great to play for.

Bruce Berque at Michigan. I don't know much about him but have always heard very good things. Worth looking at.

Greg Patton at Boise State is always highly thought of and has had a lot of press lately, all of it very well deserved.

Bill Richards at Ball State. Another I don't know very well but have heard nothing but good things about.

Billy Martin at UCLA is a good coach and nice guy but I don't know if you'd call him someone who will help a player build a pro game. He did have great success through the juniors and college then early in his pro career so he can still understand the mindset a top junior has. But, I think he's been away from the pro tour too long to help in that department.

John Whitlinger: pretty much the same as Billy Martin. They've been at the game a long time but I think their priorities lie with building a winning college team and not developing a player beyond that. But, Stanford is a truly great school and will give you a fantastic education. If you're not going pro I'd put that first on your list.

Manny Diaz at Georgia, I just don't rate him at all. He gets the absolute cream of the crop (plus what they can snag from other schools), year in and year out, but who does he develop? Travis Parrott and John Isner: not too impressive for all that talent and the best facilities in college tennis.

[Orson Welles]

Thanks College Bound! That is precisely the information I'm looking for. We need more guys like you on this thread. Thanks again!

[Duzza]

Just walking back to hit "EDIT"
Yeah, TAYLOR DENT, still something to see...

Isn't Jim Dent his dad?

[Orson Welles]

Isn't Jim Dent his dad?

No. You mean Phil Dent, the former pro from Australia.

[Duzza]

No. You mean Phil Dent, the former pro from Australia.

I do! As soon as I saw there was a reply to my post I realised I was talking about Phil.

*To self - Who the hell is Jim Duzza! :D

[JLyon]

Some lower Division Coaches of Note:
Craig Ward at Ouachita Baptist (AR)
John Peterson at Tyler JC; just look at his track record of developing players.
Hutton Jones at Abilene Christian; years of success in developing players

[AndrewD]

Orson,

A list of who people think are good coaches isn't worth much if they aren't at schools your friend/son/? would like to attend or would have a chance of making the team. So, if Stanford is likely to be too tough for him, in terms of getting playing time, then you could also cut out a number of other teams that perennially recruit the very top tier juniors. That still gives you a lot of teams to choose from but it would be easier to make suggestions if we knew what he was looking for in a school - prestige, academic ranking, a winning team, likelihood of playing in the NCAA finals, tennis facilities, location, climate, etc.

[redsoxrock930]

heres the fact of the matter, no mater how terrible a recruiter Stanfords coach was they would still get great players simply because of their name, and yes marty davis is a great coach, go gauchos!

[Orson Welles]

Orson,

A list of who people think are good coaches isn't worth much if they aren't at schools your friend/son/? would like to attend or would have a chance of making the team. So, if Stanford is likely to be too tough for him, in terms of getting playing time, then you could also cut out a number of other teams that perennially recruit the very top tier juniors. That still gives you a lot of teams to choose from but it would be easier to make suggestions if we knew what he was looking for in a school - prestige, academic ranking, a winning team, likelihood of playing in the NCAA finals, tennis facilities, location, climate, etc.

That's a very good point, Andrew. I guess I'm most interested in hearing about the coaches from Division 1 schools that are considered to have good academic reputations, with tennis teams that aren't top 15 in the NCAA. The good news is that usually the schools that are known to be prestigious academically are not tennis powerhouses. Stanford, UVA and Duke are probably the most obvious exceptions. However, even Stanford and Duke can be weaker some years than others. Therefore, I am particularly interested in hearing any information about any of the coach's in the Ivy Leagues as well as the following schools: Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Davidson College, any of the solid state schools such as Michigan, UNC, Cal, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, University of Texas (Austin), University of Arizona.

I realize that many of the schools listed (e.g., Texas, Michigan, UNC) are very strong tennis-wise depending on the year. There is no precise science but the constants are teams considered to have strong or at least very respectable academic reputations, but also not known as ridiculous tennis powerhouses such as what UVA and Stanford are starting to become right now.

With regard to why Division 1 is important, perhaps this is not well thought out and slightly immature, but this kid feels that if he wasn't in Division 1 then he would be going to a lower tier and taking himself out of the top level action by that choice.

[little_e]

Kemper Baker @ Samford, good coach and a great school

[JLyon]

Kemper Baker @ Samford, good coach and a great school

Played a tournament at Samford about 10 years ago and that is an absolutely beautiful campus in a very nice city.

[little_e]

It is a very beautiful campus and they have just recently built a new tennis facility 6 outdoor courts and 3 indoor courts all hard with the same surface they use at the US Open.

[gdsballer]

Elon's coach Michael Leonard is like a lot of basketball coaches. He wants things done right and will drill you til you do it right but he'll be happy when you do it right

[playfairplease]

Stanfords always been great but it is shaping up to be unbeatable. My sons got 2 years before hes ready but that team is the new dream team for up and com'n kids. Forget the Big10-STanfords the buzz

[dork2tennisstud]

Syracuse only has a women's varsity team, but I'll throw my buddy Luke Jensen's name into the mix (who coaches at SU now).

Jensen only wants players who are aiming for the stars and don't mind working their tails off, but if you want a talented, high energy coach, Luke Jensen at Syracuse is your guy. He's a former French Open Doubles Champion, and he's even more energetic in person than on TV.

[bigfoot910]

Don Ball from New Mexico State is an awesome person and coach. He is committed to the development of his players as tennis players, but more importantly the development as a respectable person.
I learned more from Coach Ball and his assistant Carlos than anyone else I can think of my 4 years at school.

Hope this helps.

[BounceHitBounceHit]

Ian Duvenhage (mens) and Geoff MacDonald (women's) at Vandy are two of the best coaches AND human beings you will likely ever find. Further, they run absolutey topnotch tennis programs at a university with renowned academics. The facilities are also world class. ;) CC