Lee Walker has served as the Head Women’s Tennis Coach at TCU since 2014 where his team reached a high of #14 in the country. Prior to this, he spent 7 years as the Head Coach at Memphis and 5 years as their assistant coach. Lee competed for Memphis where he was ranked as high as number 12 in the country in doubles and is in the Memphis Club Hall of Fame.

In this conversation, you are going to hear about:

• His struggles as a college athlete and where he turned in his lowest moment
• How as a D1 coach he was drowning in activity that lead to complete physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion
• The fundamentals he prioritized to rebuild his life, family, and coaching
• And much, much more!!

This is Episode 8 of our 8 episode series sharing faith-filled stories of elite college tennis coaches.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Resources Lee highlighted:

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

Mark is the Head Men’s Coach at Tulane where in 2008, he was tasked with rebuilding a program that was discontinued for four years as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, Mark has orchestrated the program’s improbable return to national prominence as a top-25 team in the country. Before that, Mark spent 10 years as an Assistant and then Associate HC at LSU. Mark was a top 20 player at West Virginia and went on to reach 267 in the world in doubles.

Mark is known around the country for his joy and the way he treats people. But in this conversation, you are going to hear:

• How his faith has impacted his life and coaching
• The prayer he prayed before taking the Tulane job
• What it was like inside the hospital room the moments before and after his heart transplant in May of 2023
• And much, much more!!

This is Episode 7 of our 8 episode series sharing faith-filled stories of elite college tennis coaches.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

More details on Mark's health battle with the ITA Podcast.

Mark's GoFundMe Page.

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

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EPISODE 6

Nathan is in his 1st season as the Assistant Women’s Tennis Coach at Princeton. Nathan competed on the pro tour from 2005-2010 reaching a career high of number 356. Before that, he was an NCAA All-American at Clemson. Nathan also has had coaching stops at Clemson and D2 Southern Wesleyan along with working at the Junior Tennis Champions Center where he worked with players like Mitchell Frank and Francis Tiafoe.

In this conversation with Chad, you will hear:

• What Nathan learned from his time playing for the legendary Chuck Kriese,
• How he wandered from his faith during college
• About a major adversity that he and his wife have journeyed through
• And much, much more!

This is Episode 6 of our 8 episode series sharing faith-filled stories of elite college tennis coaches.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

Derek is in his 7th year as the Head Coach at Liberty. He led the team to a number 39 national team ranking in 2021 and won the inaugural 2023 Universal Tennis NIT Title.

Before that, he spent five seasons as the Assistant Coach at Georgia Tech where he was instrumental in recruiting and developing Chris Eubanks who recently reached 31 in the world after making the quarterfinals last year at Wimbledon. Derek also had coaching stops at Fresno State and the University of Virginia.

Derek is nationally known for being strategic, a master problem solver, and a developer of talent. But in this episode you are going to hear:

• What was really going on behind the scenes as he was rising the coaching ranks
• What he learned from the legendary Coach Brian Boland and Tony Bresky
• How four men stepped into Derek’s life at Georgia Tech, completely transforming Derek and the trajectory or his life
• And much, much more!

This is episode 5 of our 8 episode series sharing faith filled stories of elite college tennis coaches. Join us for the entire series!

Derek shared about how the story of Unbroken impacted his life. Here is a link to the book. A slight warning to young readers, this book is quite heavy and contains language. Read with wisdom and caution. But it truly is an unbelievable story of perseverance and how God transforms lives.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

In 2016, Matt took on the task to reinstate Arizona State’s Men’s Tennis team where he quickly brought them back to national prominence. Prior to that, Matt spent 4 seasons as the Head Coach at South Florida where his team reached as high as #13 in the nation. He’s also had coaching stops at Mississippi State and Alabama.

Matt is known around the country for being a strong leader, innovator, and visionary. But in this conversation with Chad, you are going to hear:

• How Matt’s faith has shaped who he is and the way he coaches
• How he responded at age 19 to a cancer battle
• The ways he aims to build community outside the tennis court

This is Episode 4 of our 8 episode series sharing faith filled stories of elite college tennis coaches.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

Shelley is in her 1st season as the Head Coach at the University of Kentucky. Prior to that, Shelley had 9 years as a Division 1 Head Coach with the last 5 being at James Madison where she led her team to a national tournament berth in 2021. She has also coached at Middle Tennessee State, Michigan State, and Alabama where she was 3-time team captain.

In this episode with Chad, you will hear:

• How she is building the FAMILY team culture at Kentucky
• What it's like to be a mom and a Power 5 Head Coach
• How she responded to being let go at Alabama in April of 2018
• And much, much more!

Subscribe now and listen to our 8 episode podcast series to hear elite level college tennis coaches share their story so you can be encouraged to take YOUR NEXT STEP in your faith journey.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Support Kentucky's Women's tennis team on their mission trip to the Dominican Republic! Click the link above!

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

Free Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/GKuALt

Jamie Hunt is in his 7th season as the Associate Head Men's Tennis Coach at the University of Georgia. Prior to that Jamie spent 7 years as the Associate Head Coach at Vanderbilt.

Jamie is the only player in history to win the Easter Bowl Doubles title in the 14s, 16s, and 18s and he rose to as high as #2 in the ITF Junior doubles rankings. He was an All-American at the University of Georgia and was on the National Championship teams in 2007 and 2008.

Jamie shares about:

• How his faith was impacted by AIA while he was an athlete at UGA
• His goals in coaching
• 2 simple ways he slows down to combat the coaching grind
• And much, much more!

Subscribe now and listen to our 8 episode podcast series to hear elite level college tennis coaches share their story so you can be encouraged to take YOUR NEXT STEP in your faith journey.

Connect:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

Free Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/GKuALt

EPISODE 1

Tom Rees is the Associate Head Tennis Coach at Clemson University. In this episode, he shares with Chad about his journey from England to the US, his calling into coaching, how one tragic day in February of 2021 changed his life forever, and much much more!

Listen to our 8 episode podcast series to hear elite level college tennis coaches share their story so you can be encouraged to take YOUR NEXT STEP in your faith journey.

Subscribe Now!

Join our community:

IG - @aiatennis

Email - chad.simpson@athletesinaction.org

Book Referenced:

More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell

Track: "The Rebel Flagship"

Music provided by https://slip.stream

Free Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/GKuALt