For me, coaching has always been more than just wins and losses.

You're obviously pushing every single day to be competitive and win as many matches as possible, no doubt, but my passion goes much deeper than that.

I often think about all of the sacrifices these young men make. The six-day workout weeks or late-night travels—they give so much of their time and life to this sport, it sometimes goes unnoticed.

When they graduate and would be willing to do it all over again without any hesitation, I'd say I've done my job.

That has been my philosophy ever since I got into coaching.

Just giving these student-athletes the opportunities and resources to help prepare them for life is one of the most rewarding challenges I've ever faced. So no, it isn't just about wins and losses.

I'm in the business of developing people.
 
For the love of the game

In all honesty, I can't even say I grew up wanting to be a head coach, but I did grow up wanting to be around the sport of tennis. My dad was this 'weekend warrior' type of player who always played tennis after work with his friends. They didn't even keep score or anything, but you could feel how much they all loved to be out there.

Eventually, they tossed me a few balls and I got to hit my first ones.

I was instantly hooked to the point where I would just want to be out there all day long. Seriously, if you tossed me 1,000 balls, I would hit 1,000 balls.

I turned out to be a pretty good junior player, but I didn't have a tremendous amount of national success.

But none of that mattered to me.

Whenever I stepped onto a court, it was like my dad and his friends playing without keeping score. I just loved the game of tennis, period.

I decided to go to college at UCLA and was ready to put my competitive playing days behind me. I enrolled in school as a normal student.

But just a few months in, I was already missing the game.

That's when I approached the UCLA head coach and asked if I could volunteer to help out with the team. That was back in February 2001.

20 years later, I'm still coaching.

It was an incredible journey, working my way through a multitude of different roles from student manager to director of operations—from men's assistant coach to associate head coach.

UCLA has always been one of the top-ranked teams in the country. Just being constantly surrounded by the best of the best teaches you a lot of things.

In my last season with the Bruins, we placed third nationally.

I was ready to go on a nice vacation after the NCAA tournament—next thing you know, I was in Dallas, preparing for my new position as the head coach of the men's tennis program.
 
Bearing fruit

In full transparency, I never planned on leaving UCLA. After all, this was my home for such a long time.

However, if it was going to happen, I knew it had to take a particular university, athletic department, and athletic director. It had to be the right opportunity. Just like when I'm recruiting student-athletes to join my team—it had to be the perfect fit.

When SMU called and offered me the position, I had this exact feeling. It wasn't just an exciting opportunity. I truly believed it was the perfect fit.

Now, three seasons into my role here at SMU, I can say my feeling was right. This new adventure has been so much fun.

Every year, our team keeps improving, and I'm confident we can raise the bar and do some really special things at SMU. But rebuilding takes time, and these things don't happen overnight. Little victories here and there will eventually lead to bigger victories.

A win for me is seeing these guys develop and mature as players. You see a young freshman come into the program and become a veteran senior and your team captain. In my eyes, as a coach, that's one of the most rewarding experiences.

Just seeing the fruits of our labor start to appear from the foundation we've established a couple years back has been incredible.

Moments like that are why I started coaching.

I started out as a volunteer in hopes of paying it forward and making an impact on these young men. That process never changed in my transition to a role as a head coach. It's my way of leading by example.
 
Leading by example

And leading by example is easier when you're surrounded by so many great people.

There's a connection and bond within the SMU community that's hard to put into words. When I first got hired here, all sorts of people reached out to me and welcomed me to SMU and the Dallas area. That sense of community is really special.

I felt all of it immediately when I interviewed for the coaching job. It felt like home—like that place you've always wanted to be. I think that's something my wife and I gravitated towards when we decided to come here.

Looking back, I'm just so grateful for having found this huge passion early on in my life.

I'm glad I got the opportunity to tag along and fall in love with such a wonderful sport. I'm glad UCLA said yes to me helping out as an assistant over 20 years ago. I'm glad SMU picked up the phone and offered me a head coaching job.

Deep down, I'm still that same kid willing to hit 1,000 balls a day if it means getting one player across the finish line.

I can't promise a particular win-loss record, but I can promise you that my staff and I will never stop trying to turn SMU tennis into one of the top programs in the country.

As long as I'm your head coach, I'll do whatever it takes to help you develop as a player and man, and succeed in life beyond college.

Go Mustangs!