Denise Dy was an outstanding college player at the University of Washington, reaching as high as No. 3 in the ITA National rankings. Denise has committed herself to learning as much as possible about the coaching profession and is committed to evolving with the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. In this podcast, Denise shares why continuing education has been important to her career development, how she manages community and athletic department expectations for the program, and how she approaches recruiting now as the divide between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen.
Bo Jabery-Madison is about to enter his 20th year coaching the men’s team at American River College, which competes in the CCCAA division of college tennis. Bo has led his teams to 13 conference titles while qualifying for the CCCAA Playoffs every year of his tenure. In this podcast Bo shares why he has stayed loyal to American River College throughout his collegiate coaching career; the differences between trying to develop players in a two-year window vs. a four-year window; the nuances of 3C2A college tennis and much more.
Richard Spurling is a former international college tennis player at FAU and founder of ACEing Autism, a volunteer-driven non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with autism grow through the sport of tennis. In this podcast Dave discusses with Richard how college coaches can help ACEing Autism fulfill their mission and goals; the many benefits of community service and how coaches can easily start an ACEing Autism program on their campuses while receiving all the help they need to get their program going.
Craig O’Shannessy is widely recognized as a world leader in teaching and analyzing tennis strategy. He has worked with numerous professional tennis players, including Novak Djokovic, throughout his illustrious coaching career. He is very familiar with the college game; playing college tennis himself and having worked with many college coaches and their programs through the years. In this podcast, Dave asks Craig to clear up any misconceptions about the first 4 ball concept that Craig popularized. Craig also puts himself in the shoes of a college coach and discusses what would his approach to identifying talent and what he what his practice focus would be throughout the fall season of college tennis, if he were to become a college coach tomorrow. We apologize for a bit of background noise during the early part of this podcast but stick with it, it is well worth a listen.
Tyler Thomson, the associate head coach for the UNC women’s tennis team since 2018, served as the head women’s tennis coach at the University of Minnesota for 11 seasons and the College of William & Mary for 6 seasons. In his time at UNC, he has helped the team to one NCAA title, four ITA National Indoor Championships and three ACC Conference titles. In this podcast, Tyler shares why he made the move from being head coach after 17 seasons to an associate head coach; why building a great culture and focusing on human development trumps winning; how he keeps perspective in work and in life; his work with the ITA Women’s Hall of Fame and a whole lot more.
Lauren and Dave discuss a wide range of college tennis topics including Dave’s hiring as the new ITA CEO starting in January 2025, important news that coaches need to know, and what he is excited for as Fall 2024 rapidly approaches.
Jay Tee began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s teams at Cleveland State helping both programs to many achievements. After struggling to identify a head coaching role at the NCAA DI level, Jay opened up his mind to the possibility of coaching another division. In 2012 he accepted the heading coaching role for both programs at the University of Chicago where he has gone on to many accomplishments culminating in a NCAA DIII title on both the men’s and women’s side this past May. In this podcast, Dave and Jay, discuss the transition from DI to DIII coaching, how Jay’s self-reflection during Covid allowed the teams to break through some plateaus, and finding the right fit for your coaching talents.
At one point this season, Gabby Moore helped her team to a 16-match win streak and spearheaded another resurgent year for McNeese State. She served as the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Jackson State for five years after a great career playing for another HBCU, the Southern Jaguars. In this podcast Dave and Gabby discuss transitioning from coaching two teams, to coaching one; how she manages the stresses of the life of a college tennis coach as a single mom, enjoy a disagreement over the let rule, and much more.
Earlier this year, legendary University of Georgia Head Men’s Tennis Coach, Manny Diaz, announced this would be his last season leading the Bulldogs after 36 years at the helm. During his career, Manny and his teams captured 29 conference championships, four NCAA titles, and two ITA national indoor championships to name just a few of his many accomplishments. In this podcast, Manny shares what he learned from his predecessor and mentor, Dan Magill; some of his favorite memories; how he stayed connected and relatable to his players with each passing generation, and much more.
Jason Harnett has devoted much of his professional coaching career to the growth and development of Wheelchair tennis in the USA. A former college tennis player at the University of Washington, Jason is now the Director of Wheelchair Tennis at the USTA having coached many of the top US Wheelchair Tennis players in recent decades. The growth of wheelchair tennis providers, wheelchair tennis tournaments, US Open slots and prize money, and collegiate wheelchair tennis programs has been nothing short of remarkable in recent years. However, with this growth comes a dire need for additional collegiate wheelchair programs across the country so that junior wheelchair players can continue their tennis journey. In this podcast, Jason shares some of his work to date and what steps college coaches could consider to start their own program.
Lindsay Peterson is a former standout player for Nebraska Volleyball helping the team to an NCAA title in 2000. She coached at Northern Colorado and Virginia Tech before taking on the Director of Operations role at the University of Nebraska. Lindsay has enjoyed a front-row seat to the rise in popularity of women’s college volleyball in recent years and in this podcast, Dave and Lindsay discuss the factors that have led to the growth of interest in volleyball and other collegiate women’s sports; how volleyball coaches have helped grow attendance at their matches and the story behind the world record women’s sports attendance record set last year.
Brendan Sullivan, the founder and CEO of the newest ITA partner, ZAMA Health joins Jon Fagg, the UTA Athletic Director and host, Dave Mullins, to discuss how student-athletes and coaches at UTA are maximizing their use of the ZAMA Health app. They discuss some of the key features of the app which is free for all ITA member programs, the current state of intercollegiate athletics and its impact on the mental health of coaches, and several best practices to ensure the safety of student-athletes.
Nadia Abdala was named the head women’s tennis coach at the University of San Diego (USD) after serving 8 years as the assistant coach. She has made an immediate impact as the head coach helping the team jump to another level of competitiveness amongst the best teams in the nation. In this podcast Nadia discusses how she managed her relationships with her players during the transition from assistant coach to head coach, her passion to help women in coaching, and her new favorite drill.
Dave Mullins is the current Chief Operating Officer with the ITA and has served in this role since 2019. Before joining the ITA, Dave spent 12 years as a coach in college tennis, last serving as the head women's tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma. Dave also spent time in college tennis as a player, competing for Fresno State where he would earn All-American honors. In this podcast, Dave & Lauren Conching discuss the questions coaches submitted, covering everything from WTN to managing dual matches to rules’ questions with Anthony. If you enjoy this unique podcast, let us know so we can do more!
Andres Pedroso is in his second stint with the University of Virginia after serving as the Associate Head Men’s coach from 2010 – 2014. He was named the Head Men’s Coach in 2017 and in his short career as a head coach, he has won back-to-back NCAA National Team Championships in 2022 and 2023. He is a three-time ACC Coach of the Year, three-time ITA Atlantic Region Head Coach of the Year, and was twice named the ITA National Coach of the Year In this podcast, Dave inquires about Andre’s fascinating background having worked on Wall Street and flirting with a career as a sports agent. They also discuss the importance of scheduling, recruiting the right fit and how Andres deals with the pressures of being a top DI coach.
Dan Oosterhous was named the Athletic Director for Recruiting at the Air Force Academy this past summer after 14 years as the head men’s tennis coach. Dan achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force after serving in multiple combat-support overseas deployments. In 2013 he suffered two brain stem strokes but recovered to compete as a member of the 2014 and 2016 USA Invictus Games team and continue his coaching career. Dan has served his country, the Air Force Academy, and college tennis with great distinction, and in this podcast we learn more about Dan’s new role, his views on the current and future state of NCAA Olympic sports, what lessons coaches can apply from the US military and some recruiting insights.
Tara Collingwood is a renowned Sports Dietician, author and TV personality. She has served as the Dietician for the Orlando Magic, UCF Athletics, the WWE and the USTA. She is a performance coach at the prestigious Johnson & Johnson Performance Institute where she teaches executives how to manage their energy. In this podcast she discusses how coaches can improve their own energy levels, stay healthy throughout the long dual match season, how to speak with athletes about their dietary habits and much much more.
John Shackelford served 33 seasons as the head men’s tennis coach and three seasons as Director of Tennis at the University of the South - Sewanee. During his tenure, he won 551 matches and 12 conference titles. In 2021 he was named as the Director of Athletics and continues to serve the Sewanee community, coaches and student-athletes. In this podcast, John and Dave discuss John’s commitment to one University over 38 years, how John found ways to develop as a coach, the challenges of sustaining success over a long period of time and advice for coaches with families.
Mark Booras, the head men’s tennis coach at Tulane University for the past 14 seasons, received some devastating personal health news during the 2023 spring season taking him away from his team, his family, and everything else in his life for several months. In this podcast, we discuss Mark’s journey over the last several months, his recovery from a heart transplant to date, and his hopes for the future. Mark also shares some advice on the necessary skills the current college tennis coach needs to acquire to excel in this profession, the importance of patience, and some lessons he learned from coaching some of college tennis's finest players.
In this podcast, Liz and Dave talk about the lessons Liz has learned over her four decades coaching college tennis; the differences between coaching at each of the three NCAA divisions; advice for young women interested in becoming a college tennis coach; and how she balanced the demands of coaching and raising a family.