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Tennis Coach Leaves


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Longtime viewer of this board and a tennis and basketball enthusiast.  I noticed the longtime tennis coach has left SLU.  This would be a great time for SLU to upgrade an olympic sport.  I know in the past the tennis courts were destroyed when the arena was built,  but does anyone see the athletic department putting in new courts and hiring a good coach.  Like baseball, I think tennis could be a winning spring sport in the A10.  Thoughts?

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1 hour ago, Bills10s said:

Longtime viewer of this board and a tennis and basketball enthusiast.  I noticed the longtime tennis coach has left SLU.  This would be a great time for SLU to upgrade an olympic sport.  I know in the past the tennis courts were destroyed when the arena was built,  but does anyone see the athletic department putting in new courts and hiring a good coach.  Like baseball, I think tennis could be a winning spring sport in the A10.  Thoughts?

Old news - I think he said he was retiring.

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44 minutes ago, cheeseman said:

Old news - I think he said he was retiring.

Thanks for the warm welcome but I wasn’t trying to break news I was trying to ask the board their thoughts on my questions. There are a lot of posters that seem to know things that might be able to shed some light on my questions. Go Bills

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10 hours ago, Bills10s said:

Thanks for the warm welcome but I wasn’t trying to break news I was trying to ask the board their thoughts on my questions. There are a lot of posters that seem to know things that might be able to shed some light on my questions. Go Bills

No problem

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On 6/22/2019 at 8:28 PM, Bills10s said:

Longtime viewer of this board and a tennis and basketball enthusiast.  I noticed the longtime tennis coach has left SLU.  This would be a great time for SLU to upgrade an olympic sport.  I know in the past the tennis courts were destroyed when the arena was built,  but does anyone see the athletic department putting in new courts and hiring a good coach.  Like baseball, I think tennis could be a winning spring sport in the A10.  Thoughts?

 nm

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30 minutes ago, moytoy12 said:

Not sure why we have to be a-holes to posters who come here and seemingly post in good faith (this is not a Tilky situation).  But, to be fair, Cheeseman is gonna cheeseman so i'm not surprised.  And '05...well, 'nuff said. 

Telling the guy that it was old news is not being an ahole - but whatever.

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1 hour ago, moytoy12 said:

Not sure why we have to be a-holes to posters who come here and seemingly post in good faith (this is not a Tilky situation).  But, to be fair, Cheeseman is gonna cheeseman so i'm not surprised.  And '05...well, 'nuff said. 

Was I being an a-hole? I was just sharing my thoughts/shamelessly promoting myself.

from what I’ve heard this sounds like a case of a guy who’s been here a long time with no real improvement. He was here through 3 ADs and it was time to let him go and try something new. Since he’s built up 18 years of good will they allowed him  to see himself out. To put it in perspective Martelli was at SJU for 24 years. Next longest at SLU sis Halliburton who arrived about the same time as Zych

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On 6/22/2019 at 10:54 PM, Bills10s said:

Thanks for the warm welcome but I wasn’t trying to break news I was trying to ask the board their thoughts on my questions. There are a lot of posters that seem to know things that might be able to shed some light on my questions. Go Bills

new guys are supposed to quietly read posts for a period of years i think and then you might be deemed worthy of expressing your opinion or maybe not. jk of course but some take their selves a bit too serious

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On 6/22/2019 at 8:28 PM, Bills10s said:

Longtime viewer of this board and a tennis and basketball enthusiast.  I noticed the longtime tennis coach has left SLU.  This would be a great time for SLU to upgrade an olympic sport.  I know in the past the tennis courts were destroyed when the arena was built,  but does anyone see the athletic department putting in new courts and hiring a good coach.  Like baseball, I think tennis could be a winning spring sport in the A10.  Thoughts?

I was going to post yesterday, and, I got sidetracked with other things and accidentally hit send. 

I am a tennis enthusiast as well.  SLU currently plays at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park, as well as Sunset Tennis Center (Weather site) (affectionately known as The Bubble) in South County. Wash U. will be hosting the NCAA Division III National Championships in 2020 at Dwight Davis. 

The top 75 plus D 1 schools are Power 5 (Pac 12, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10), Warm sunny tennis friendly weather locations, California, Texas, Florida, as well as Ivy League and similar. 

In order for SLU to be successful in the A-10, they need a coach that can do more with less, or specifically. a tennis enthusiast donor to provide resources for the programs.  

It helps to look at the top A-10 teams and see why they are successful in the league, VCU, etc...Their long time coach is still there in a more reduces role, makes low six figures. 

In the past SLU would hire local club pros, (Skip Salzenstein etc..who coached SLU for the love of coaching college tennis as opposed to money etc...Previously mentioned D-3 Wash U. has long time highly successful coach Roger Follmer, who played at Sunset and later the Big Ten. Among other things, Roger has been Director of Tennis at a local Country Club for years in addition to his D-3 coaching success. But it’s a bit apples to oranges from that to D-1. But this has often applied to many D-1 coaches of programs at a bit higher level than SLU tennis. Some similar level schools, leagues, programs to SLU have their own courts and facilities and even a little bit better resources, and some don’t.  The top 75 plus programs mentioned obviously have much better resources, money, etc..invested in their programs to be successful. 

I do hope SLU some day can have a nice on campus tennis facility. I also hope that the league improves as well. 

There have been a few interesting recent examples elsewhere to discuss. 

 

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11 hours ago, dennis_w said:

new guys are supposed to quietly read posts for a period of years i think and then you might be deemed worthy of expressing your opinion or maybe not. jk of course but some take their selves a bit too serious

If trolls would stop posting here, it would be much easier to discern the sincere posts from the nonsense posts.

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6 minutes ago, dennis_w said:

sorry i forgot i am not allowed, please forgive me your honor sir

I wasn't talking about you - I know you're not a troll. 

Sometimes people join the board and make sincere posts, but the trolls - people who set up accounts and make posts for the sole purpose of getting other posters riled up - can make it difficult to tell the difference. 

Unfortunately, there have been multiple instances of trolls doing this.  And when they do, it's common for longtime posters to lash out at them. 

To someone who may not spend as much time reading the board as the Message Board Morons (MBMs), this could be perceived as longtime posters being hostile toward newbies.  And I get it.  But I would say the MBMs have a pretty high batting average when it comes to identifying trolls.    

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19 minutes ago, Box and Won said:

I wasn't talking about you - I know you're not a troll. 

Sometimes people join the board and make sincere posts, but the trolls - people who set up accounts and make posts for the sole purpose of getting other posters riled up - can make it difficult to tell the difference. 

Unfortunately, there have been multiple instances of trolls doing this.  And when they do, it's common for longtime posters to lash out at them. 

To someone who may not spend as much time reading the board as the Message Board Morons (MBMs), this could be perceived as longtime posters being hostile toward newbies.  And I get it.  But I would say the MBMs have a pretty high batting average when it comes to identifying trolls.    

I was all over spotting @Will Patterson.  Although in fairness, he is my favorite "One Post Wonder".  

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On 6/28/2019 at 8:26 AM, courtside said:

I was going to post yesterday, and, I got sidetracked with other things and accidentally hit send. 

I am a tennis enthusiast as well.  SLU currently plays at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park, as well as Sunset Tennis Center (Weather site) (affectionately known as The Bubble) in South County. Wash U. will be hosting the NCAA Division III National Championships in 2020 at Dwight Davis. 

The top 75 plus D 1 schools are Power 5 (Pac 12, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10), Warm sunny tennis friendly weather locations, California, Texas, Florida, as well as Ivy League and similar. 

In order for SLU to be successful in the A-10, they need a coach that can do more with less, or specifically. a tennis enthusiast donor to provide resources for the programs.  

It helps to look at the top A-10 teams and see why they are successful in the league, VCU, etc...Their long time coach is still there in a more reduces role, makes low six figures. 

In the past SLU would hire local club pros, (Skip Salzenstein etc..who coached SLU for the love of coaching college tennis as opposed to money etc...Previously mentioned D-3 Wash U. has long time highly successful coach Roger Follmer, who played at Sunset and later the Big Ten. Among other things, Roger has been Director of Tennis at a local Country Club for years in addition to his D-3 coaching success. But it’s a bit apples to oranges from that to D-1. But this has often applied to many D-1 coaches of programs at a bit higher level than SLU tennis. Some similar level schools, leagues, programs to SLU have their own courts and facilities and even a little bit better resources, and some don’t.  The top 75 plus programs mentioned obviously have much better resources, money, etc..invested in their programs to be successful. 

I do hope SLU some day can have a nice on campus tennis facility. I also hope that the league improves as well. 

There have been a few interesting recent examples elsewhere to discuss. 

 

Courtside, Thanks for the detailed reply!  Looks like SLU Tennis has several needs.  It's my understanding from some people and from your post there are quite a few things that need to be addressed:

1. Scholarship Increase 

2. Budget Increase

3. On Campus Facility (Minimum 6 outdoor courts, Indoor courts would be outstanding)

4. A Head Coach for each program (1 coach overseeing 2 programs with very little assistant help is very low budget)

5. Assistant Coaches (Full Time or at minimum GA positions for each program)

6. Decent salary for an experienced coach

Courtside, I agree with your assessment about just hiring local pros that do it for the love of the game.  If the admin wants to move the programs forward they need to hire a coach with experience in recruiting and building teams.  The next coach is going to have his/her hands full bringing in talent.  As I see it, the overall level of player needs to dramatically increase.  If they hire a local pro or someone with a year or 2 of college coaching experience it will be the same old story.  I think it's a great chance to take advantage of a sport SLU should be good at by making some improvements to the program and hire an experienced coach.  I am not holding my breath though.  Go Bills!

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28 minutes ago, Bills10s said:

Courtside, Thanks for the detailed reply!  Looks like SLU Tennis has several needs.  It's my understanding from some people and from your post there are quite a few things that need to be addressed:

1. Scholarship Increase 

2. Budget Increase

3. On Campus Facility (Minimum 6 outdoor courts, Indoor courts would be outstanding)

4. A Head Coach for each program (1 coach overseeing 2 programs with very little assistant help is very low budget)

5. Assistant Coaches (Full Time or at minimum GA positions for each program)

6. Decent salary for an experienced coach

Courtside, I agree with your assessment about just hiring local pros that do it for the love of the game.  If the admin wants to move the programs forward they need to hire a coach with experience in recruiting and building teams.  The next coach is going to have his/her hands full bringing in talent.  As I see it, the overall level of player needs to dramatically increase.  If they hire a local pro or someone with a year or 2 of college coaching experience it will be the same old story.  I think it's a great chance to take advantage of a sport SLU should be good at by making some improvements to the program and hire an experienced coach.  I am not holding my breath though.  Go Bills!

The very best/top coaches in the men’s and women’s college tennis game make approx: $175k to about $350k plus.  Many of the best schools have both indoor and outdoor facilities, especially in seasonal climates 

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2 minutes ago, courtside said:

The very best/top coaches in the men’s and women’s college tennis game make approx: $175k to about $350k plus.  Many of the best schools have both indoor and outdoor facilities, especially in seasonal climates 

I don’t think we could pay for a top coach but maybe get someone with a little track record instead of just a club pro. We will need someone who can recruit and build a team. Maybe a salary around 65k could draw someone like that,  Just guessing though. I think they need to get separate coaches for sure. I don’t see that being good for the athletes or the coaches spreading that position so thin. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. 

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26 minutes ago, Bills10s said:

Courtside, Thanks for the detailed reply!  Looks like SLU Tennis has several needs.  It's my understanding from some people and from your post there are quite a few things that need to be addressed:

1. Scholarship Increase 

2. Budget Increase

3. On Campus Facility (Minimum 6 outdoor courts, Indoor courts would be outstanding)

4. A Head Coach for each program (1 coach overseeing 2 programs with very little assistant help is very low budget)

5. Assistant Coaches (Full Time or at minimum GA positions for each program)

6. Decent salary for an experienced coach

Courtside, I agree with your assessment about just hiring local pros that do it for the love of the game.  If the admin wants to move the programs forward they need to hire a coach with experience in recruiting and building teams.  The next coach is going to have his/her hands full bringing in talent.  As I see it, the overall level of player needs to dramatically increase.  If they hire a local pro or someone with a year or 2 of college coaching experience it will be the same old story.  I think it's a great chance to take advantage of a sport SLU should be good at by making some improvements to the program and hire an experienced coach.  I am not holding my breath though.  Go Bills!

The administration has no desire to move these programs forward. That would take money and commitment. They are content with their philosophy that the men’s basketball program is the crown jewel. Followed by men’s soccer. Women’s basketball, volleyball and soccer get funding because of Title IX requirements and they will even put a little effort and money into baseball and softball. The rest of the sports are sacrifial lambs and pretty much given a low price coach, minimal funding and told good luck. I assume the reason for all the low funded sports is either league or NCAA requirements to have a certain number of teams. If that is not the reason, I’ve always wondered why they bother to have them if they are not willing to fund them at a competitive level.

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10 minutes ago, kmbilliken said:

The administration has no desire to move these programs forward. That would take money and commitment. They are content with their philosophy that the men’s basketball program is the crown jewel. Followed by men’s soccer. Women’s basketball, volleyball and soccer get funding because of Title IX requirements and they will even put a little effort and money into baseball and softball. The rest of the sports are sacrifial lambs and pretty much given a low price coach, minimal funding and told good luck. I assume the reason for all the low funded sports is either league or NCAA requirements to have a certain number of teams. If that is not the reason, I’ve always wondered why they bother to have them if they are not willing to fund them at a competitive level.

Km, you are right and I do understand. I just thought it might be a good opportunity to do some upgrades to the program now that they have a clean slate on the coaching side. I would not expect the administration to go all in on a 3rd tier program but it is a little embarrassing that Wash U and UMSL have courts and we don’t. Plus Wash U has a different coach for each program. Definitely wishful thinking on my end. 

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39 minutes ago, Bills10s said:

Km, you are right and I do understand. I just thought it might be a good opportunity to do some upgrades to the program now that they have a clean slate on the coaching side. I would not expect the administration to go all in on a 3rd tier program but it is a little embarrassing that Wash U and UMSL have courts and we don’t. Plus Wash U has a different coach for each program. Definitely wishful thinking on my end. 

Why not just go down the street and hire Roger Follmer at Wash U? D-3...In 17 years at Wash U, 14 of his teams have finished as an NCAA quarterfinalist or better. Yep, that’s right, 14 of 17 seasons NCAA quarterfinals or better, including a National title. (He made the NCAA 1st or 2nd round all of the other 3 seasons) He played at Purdue, also was an assistant there, as well as Navy. Super high character person, relentless work ethic. He’s had Academic All Americans, and all kinds accolades, multiple time National coach of the year. You’d have to give him some resources and commitment to entice him. Doesn’t hurt to make a call if SLU ever wanted to advance the program. But SLU of course has had 17 years to consider it at this point. Wash U uses both on campus and Dwight Davis for practice and play. 

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4 minutes ago, courtside said:

Why not just go down the street and hire Roger Follmer at Wash U? D-3...In 17 years at Wash U, 14 of his teams have finished as an NCAA quarterfinalist or better. Yep, that’s right, 14 of 17 seasons NCAA quarterfinals or better, including a National title. (He made the NCAA 1st or 2nd round all of the other 3 seasons) He played at Purdue, also was an assistant there, as well as Navy. Super high character person, relentless work ethic. He’s had Academic All Americans, and all kinds accolades, multiple time National coach of the year. You’d have to give him some resources and commitment to entice him. Doesn’t hurt to make a call if SLU ever wanted to advance the program. But SLU of course has had 17 years to consider it at this point. Wash U uses both on campus and Dwight Davis for practice and play. 

Well here are a few reasons why he would say no IMHO:

Wash U has a better program overall with on campus courts, opportunity to win a national championship, coaches just one team, and probably makes more money at Wash U after 17 years of service. He would be crazy to leave for SLU with all the reasons discussed in this thread. Plus, I would think recruiting would be so much different. 

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5 minutes ago, Bills10s said:

Well here are a few reasons why he would say no IMHO:

Wash U has a better program overall with on campus courts, opportunity to win a national championship, coaches just one team, and probably makes more money at Wash U after 17 years of service. He would be crazy to leave for SLU with all the reasons discussed in this thread. Plus, I would think recruiting would be so much different. 

I didn’t say he would take the position. What I said was if SLU wanted a better program with much better resources, it could go then go after someone like him. It is different, but he would do just fine. I am willing to entertain the discussion of SLu tennis as well as how it works elsewhere. I am also quite aware of SLU’s lack of interest and the A-10’s lack of interest in the sport. (and other sports)

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5 minutes ago, courtside said:

I didn’t say he would take the position. What I said was if SLU wanted a better program with much better resources, it could go then go after someone like him. It is different, but he would do just fine. I am willing to entertain the discussion of SLu tennis as well as how it works elsewhere. I am also quite aware of SLU’s lack of interest and the A-10’s lack of interest in the sport. (and other sports)

100% Agree

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