Welcome to the very first episode of the ITA Student-Athlete Podcast, with your host Abi Wild, a senior women’s tennis player at Hawaii Pacific University. This podcast was created by college tennis players for college tennis players to share the stories and experiences of our unique sport with the world. In today’s episode, Abi sits down with NC State women’s tennis senior Amelia Rajecki, who is someone that she has grown up playing tennis with, and against, in England. Since starting her collegiate career at NC State, Amelia has risen to become one of the top players in all of college tennis, being named an ITA All-American in singles and doubles in 2023, while earning a career-high ITA Singles Ranking of No. 3 in the Nov. 15 rankings release. Over the next hour, Amelia and Abi will discuss many different aspects of being a college tennis player, including, why she chose to come to college America and NC state, her success, and what her plans are next. We hope you enjoy this inside look into college tennis, and be on the lookout for new episodes every month for the next four months.

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.

Geoff Russell worked for the USTA Player Development department for 13 years. During his time at USTA PD he worked with many of the top players and coaches in the world. Geoff is a leader in sports performance and data analysis. He leverages innovative solutions in optical data, visions, and wearable technologies to provide objective, measurable, feedback around development areas of focus. He is now working as a consultant for a number of college tennis teams, helping them to maximize their use of technology as it applies to player development and recruitment. In this podcast, Geoff discusses how coaches can implement some level of technology into their coaching modalities; what mistakes he has seen coaches make when trying to help their players reach their full potential; some themes he sees emerging after watching hundreds of hours of college tennis over the last several months and lots of other helpful insights for coaches.

Peter Smith was inducted into the ITA Men’s Hall of Fame this past May. Some of his career highlights include a 639-232 overall record; 5 NCAA Team Championships during his tenure at USC; a two-time ITA DI Coach of the Year recipient while also being the only coach to date to lead four different men’s programs to national top-25 rankings – Long Beach State, Fresno State, Pepperdine, USC. We cover a lot of ground in this podcast including some wonderful stories from Peter’s tenure as a college coach; the importance of building relationships; recruiting; focusing on the small details; learning from mistakes and more.

Dr. Jaco Keyser is the head women’s tennis coach at the University of South Alabama. He is also a professor at the South Alabama business school and the host of The Rest of Us Podcast. Jaco just completed his 21st year as a head coach but also served some time as the men’s assistant coach at South Alabama. In this podcast we discuss his transition from the men’s game to the women's game; how he manages his very busy schedule; his passion for promoting college tennis to a larger audience and much, much more.

Ryan Kucera is the head women’s tennis coach at UW-Milwaukee. He started his coaching career right out of college as the head women’s coach at DII Minnesota State. Within one year he had turned the program around with several players breaking school records and receiving conference coach of the year honors. In May of 2022, despite his young age, UW Milwaukee offered him an interview for their head coaching role, which he aced and was ultimately offered the position. Ryan just wrapped up his first year at UW Milwaukee and the Horizon League and has an incredibly bright college coaching future ahead of him. In this podcast, you will see why Ryan is rising up the coaching ranks at a rapid pace; he is very clear on his coaching philosophy and shares some great takeaways for coaches to consider as they start planning for the 2023/2024 season.

Dr. Tim Baghurst is a Professor of Education and the Director of FSU Coach at Florida State University. He earned his doctorate in kinesiology from the University of Arkansas and has three additional graduate degrees achieved in three different countries. His research focuses on coaching education and development with an emphasis on coach health and well-being. In this podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics from coach mental health to the team integration of international student-athletes. This podcast is full of important insights and key takeaways so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If you have not already picked up a copy of Legendary Kentucky Coach, Dennis Emery’s new book, Serving Up Winners: 10 Steps to Building your Program, I recommend you do so as soon as possible. In this podcast we discuss the traits of the most successful coaches, marketing yourself and your program, sustaining success over a long period of time, and the current state of Division I college athletics.

Josh Molino, the head men’s tennis coach at Kansas Wesleyan, has spent the last five seasons laying the foundations for long-term success in the classroom, on the courts and in the Salina Community. In this podcast, we discuss the impact Josh’s exposure to some of the best coaches and players in the world at a very early age had on his path to becoming a coach; why coaches should find time to volunteer their expertise; some fundraising strategies plus a whole lot more.

Jamea Jackson is in her first season as the head women’s tennis coach at Princeton. Jamea turned pro at age 16 reaching a career WTA high of No. 43. After just six years she had to call an end to her professional career and reimagine her future career plans. Her first coaching opportunity landed her at Oklahoma State from 2009 – 2013 where she combined her coaching duties with her work on an undergraduate degree. She then served as National Coach for the USTA Player Development department for nine years. In this podcast, we discuss Jamea’s unique path to a head coaching role in the college game; what she learned during her time at Oklahoma State and USTA PD; how she maximizes her practice time and managed her transition to the head coaching role at Princeton.

Joe Gilbert is the founder of JMG Tennis Academy, located in Sacramento, California. He is the only coach in the country to win the “Development Coach of the Year” award twice, awarded to him by the United States Olympic Committee in 2013 and 2018. He has helped to develop numerous top junior, college, and professional tennis players over the last 15 years. In this podcast, we discuss some mistakes coaches make in the recruiting process; how college coaches can facilitate a smoother transition from junior tennis to college tennis; how to maximize the potential of players with limited athletic ability and Joey shares his development philosophy which has proven to be very successful at every level of the game.