SEASON PREVIEW: ETBU Men's & Women's Tennis

TENNIS: MARSHALL, Texas (1/31/13) – Entering the second year of a brand new program the East Texas Baptist University tennis teams start the 2013 spring season on Saturday in West Texas. Head coach Joe Vann’s teams will be competing to try and make the ASC Tournament this year with new talent.

Below is a question and answer with coach Vann on his teams this year:

AL: Adam P. Ledyard (ETBU Director of Sports Information)

JV: Joe Vann (Head Coach)

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AL: Talk about the process of starting a new program and what you are excited about heading into year two of this new program at ETBU?

JV: Starting a new program is always a fun process. It is a chance to build a team from the ground up with your own flare on every aspect that the job entails, from player development and recruiting, to all the little daily procedures. The most exciting thing about year two is seeing the first class I had last year taking the experience of what they learned on the court and sharing it, and stepping into that leadership role.

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AL: How have your athletes improved from year one to year two and how have you gotten them ready for ASC competition?

JV: I think that the athletes that we have from last year’s team know what the competition in the ASC is like, and they have a better understanding of the work that they needed to put into their game to compete at the college level. As far as getting them ready, we are working really hard in practice on helping them learn and study the game of tennis. This way they understand how to build points to give them the highest percentages to win points and position themselves to win matches.

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AL: Are you looking forward to the spring break trip to Florida and playing teams outside of Texas?

JV: We are always looking to expand the player’s competition. Playing different teams from around the country and traveling on spring break is a great way for the players to see different types of play, and enjoy the travel. The point of the big spring break trip is to help players get everything straight in their game and bond as a team before we start the big end of season divisional push to try and make the playoffs.

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AL: How are your teams, both men and women, shaping up in year two?

JV: Both teams are looking good. We are still really young on both sides as far as collegiate tennis experience goes. They are learning and improving every practice, and I think that as the spring season moves on we will continue moving in the correct direction that both programs need to go to have a successful future.

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AL: Why would a tennis player want to come play for you and be a part of your program at ETBU?

JV: Future prospects would want to come to ETBU because of the philosophies and classes that our ETBU academics and campus life can provide for them. When they come here to compete in tennis as well, our coaching staff will maximize their playing potential and improving their tennis IQ’s in developing points, as well as, they would have access to a great experience in traveling, the excellent competition of ASC play and national play, and receiving all of the things that they need to succeed both on and off of the court.

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AL: How has your playing experience in the ASC and coaching experience at NCAA Division I and III helped in coaching the athletes here at ETBU?

JV: I have been fortunate to play in this conference and experience success in my early coaching career, and study with some great tennis coaches at different levels. All of this knowledge that has been passed down to me has helped in a great many ways in understanding the game of tennis, the development of players, and developing my own philosophy of tennis. Applying this philosophy to the way I coach and passing it on to the players to help the players achieve their goals, both on and off of the court, is the greatest part of being a coach.