Simpson College men’s tennis has not gotten the attention it deserves in years past, but the program is trending up. With help from students and athletics, Simpson could rise to a top-four spot in the conference.
Over the past couple years, I have been playing tennis at Simpson. Coming from Estherville, a small town in northwest Iowa, I had high hopes for the tennis program here. I assumed Simpson would have better funding for equipment and facilities and some recognition compared to my high school. Within my first few weeks here, I realized I was wrong.
The tennis program at this school was in the dumps for a while. In the 64 years of team history, we never secured a spot above third place in the conference. The team has not secured a spot in fourth place since the 2003-2004 season.
Many factors came into play for the lack of success in this program. Some significant areas the athletics department ignored included outdoor surfaces, coaching, workouts, indoor facilities, recruiting and offseason training.
Buxton Tennis Complex has been a trustworthy resource for the team, but the court’s conditions have worsened in the last few years. The six courts in the complex are covered in cracks and dead spots. When a ball bounces off these spots, it will either misdirect itself or not bounce at all, throwing players off their balance.
The team has only one part-time coach, Matt Price. Price has done wonders for the team on and off the court. In his four years of playing for the Storm, from 1998-2001, Price set the school record for most wins in a career, with 53.
In 2017, Price returned as a coach for the team in hopes of bringing them closer to success. However, without help from the school or athletic department, Price has not reached a fifth placement or better in the conference tournament.
Many negatives came with having only one part-time coach. The team was not allowed to schedule time in the weight room, practices didn’t happen until 5:30 p.m. or later, and players had no other coaches to receive feedback from.
The team lacked the time or energy to work out independently, and there were no scheduled team workouts in the weight room. Some players had busy schedules, and others failed to try to go. A lack of aspiration or motivation may have caused this issue, but it was hard for some players to dedicate their time to a program, knowing they lacked the help they deserved.
Another reason the program failed to train players and recruit prospects was indoor facilities. Simpson does not provide the tennis team with facilities between seasons. Once the fall season ends and the weather begins to turn cold, players know they won’t be able to practice until mid-January.
When looking at the top three teams in the conference, Luther, Coe and Central, it’s easy to see a trend in their resources. They all have indoor facilities and large rosters, reaching upwards of 20 players per team compared to the five Simpson had last season.
Obviously, the past couple of seasons have been rough for the team, losing 13-4 and 13-1, but the program is looking to skyrocket in the next few years. We picked up three new first-year students and one sophomore this fall and hired a new director of tennis, Nicole Berger.
Regarding facilities, the tennis complex is looking to resurface the courts this summer. The team was provided memberships to Life Time in Urbandale for the spring season, and practice increased to four times a week.
This fall, the team officially began training in the weight room with scheduled lifts and personalized workouts. Not only will this improve the team physically, but it will open the path to further conditioning and nutritional benefits.
There will still be issues that may arise over the next couple of years, but all in all, the program has made great strides toward building a solid foundation. I look forward to playing out the rest of my career and seeing where the program ends up.