Episode #8: Interview with Kyle Hoffman

Alec sits down with his former college tennis coach at Fairmont State (and former co-worker at Salem University), Kyle Hoffman. Coach Kyle took Fairmont State to their first conference title in 30 years and first post-season NCAA victory since joining NCAA Division 2. The two discuss some of their days at Fairmont State and reflect on their season at Salem University. 

Alec sits down with new head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University, Jon Parker. He had success at his previous stop, before taking a few years off of coaching and working for a recruiting agency. Coach Parker gives an interesting outlook on the differences between working on both ends of that spectrum and why he decided to step back into the coaching ring. He also talks a bit about what next tennis season could potentially look like and what changes we will see from the previous years. 

Alec catches up with a familiar foe, assistant coach at West Virginia State University, Jake Lorenz. They played against each other in college and now they both are assistant coaches for top women's teams in the Atlantic Region. Jake talks about his transition from player to coach at his former university, how he got plugged in at WVSU, and about going to Nationals in his year one as assistant. Jake also discusses some funny stories along the way, including the story about the mysterious "Glove", plus many more!

Alec brings on Edinboro Head Tennis Coach Kody Duncan on the show, who ironically gave the Salem Tigers their only loss of the season on the men's side before the season was cut short. Coach Duncan talks about how he got his start into college tennis and how he has navigated the last few seasons. He has had a lot of success in his short career and he brought forth some great discussion about the college tennis landscape and what direction he thinks it is heading. 

Alec sits down with legendary women's tennis coach at West Virginia State University, John Simms. Coach Simms has been the tennis coach at WVSU since the early 2000's and talks about his transition from a high level player, to a high level juniors coach, to his current destination as a college coach. He goes in depth about his early hurdles taking over a struggling program and how he was able to turn them into a perennial champion in just a few seasons. Simms has won at least a share of the MEC tennis championship ever since the conference's inception in 2013, so click play and dive into the perspective and philosophy of a coach with championship DNA. 

Alec catches up with a close friend and former coach at Davis and Elkins College, Jay Evans. Coach Evans dives into how he transitioned from high school to college tennis and his experience moving from Tampa, Fl to Elkins, WV. A popular topic in the college tennis scene, Americans vs International players, Jay gives his perspective on the matter and how he kept a balanced roster at his former school. Finally, Alec asks the question we are all wanting to know: "What does the future look like for Coach Jay Evans and is there a comeback tour?" Find out all of this and much more on Episode 3 of College Tennis Talk.

Shifting gears from Episode 1, Alec finds himself in an interview with an up-and-coming JUCO Head Coach, Jonathan Becker. Coach Becker, a Tyler Junior College graduate and former teaching pro, has been the head guy over at Jacksonville College for the last two seasons and shares some fantastic thoughts about the junior college landscape and about the culture he is building for his team. Becker is also a college minister and finds interesting ways to tie that into his college tennis coaching role. 

Inspired by an unsuspected quarantine and a cancelled season, a young coach, Alec Moran, sets off on his journey to talk to other coaches about college tennis and how they began their journey. The first guest, Coach Terry Deremer, has a storied history and a tale unlike anything you've ever heard: From being drafted by the New York Mets, to winning Atlantic 10 championships as the Head men's tennis coach at West Virginia University, Terry has had a storied history as an athlete and as a coach. Click play to find out more about Coach TD's history and his current status as Head men's tennis coach at Fairmont State!