Geoff young is one of our own here at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he serves as the head coach for the Men’s Tennis team. As we embark on this journey Geoff Young explains how he got introduced to tennis and why he has decided to be a coach. With his dedication and impressive coaching skills Geoff has managed to make the Men’s tennis team one of the premier teams in the Big Ten Conference.
Challenging but also an adventure
I grew up in Ohio in a smaller town from birth to eighteen. Then, I went to (1) college in Chicago and lived there for nearly five um six years and then I got my first coaching job at the University of Alabama. I was there for three years and then got a head coaching job at Denver Colorado. I was there for seven years and I’ve been here.. this is my tenth year I’m in Minnesota. It's exciting but it's also hard every time getting into a new routine and meeting a lot of new people and figuring out how to fit in; That can be challenging but also an adventure.
I got started with it [tennis] as a child. I had two older brothers nine and ten years older than me, so I got tagged along to do whatever family activity they were doing. I was just Kinda watching and they played tennis a fair amount so I got introduced to the game at that time at four - five years old. When I got a little bit older I started playing a lot of different sports mostly team sports and um when and I started playing tennis as well I like tennis because it was only me and I got to hit all the balls (laughs). I didn't have to wait in line and wait for my turn so um I really liked that. And I feel like there is more opportunity to actually play the sport so that's how I got started .
I've had injuries before that always comes up. I had them as a kid when I was playing tennis but I stopped really playing tennis competitively after college. I had a problem with my arm when I first moved here it was really bad. Doctors told me that I’d never play tennis ever again. I had three surgeries and the first surgery was a mistake by the doctor. It was a lot of pain so bad I couldn’t carry my car keys or my phone with my right arm. So it took me...three surgeries in two years and that was really awful. I just had a big desire to be able to have use my arm again,so you know I kept looking for other doctors and I overcame that since then it's really been about the coaching. What initially helped me get into the industry was probably because I played tennis. But to be a great coach you don’t necessarily have to be a great player I don’t think.
It’s kind of like you have your own company
It's my livelihood… my job, and as I get older and older I love that I'm still learning about it and there's so many different- so many parallels with sports and life and I like to apply and compare the two. The job of coaching versus playing a tennis match they're different. Different things different challenges but um what goes into the job of coaching tennis it's just a very different process. I'd say the biggest obstacle is learning how to become self-aware so that you're aware of the areas that you need to improve and I've always been someone that excellence was really important to me. It's difficult to continue and improve so you have to look at yourself closely and be self-critical so you can um...at some point you're gonna have to face your fears and really overcome areas that you aren't comfortable with. The best thing about being a coach I think is that it's up to me to set the culture and to set the tone so it's kind of like you have your own company you can shape and mold and make it however you want, that's probably the best thing.
That is just crazy,don’t have three kids
Having three kids was huge I never thought that I would have three kids ever. That is just crazy, don’t have three kids! Two kids was crazy and then to have a third is just really tough. When you have children it changes your life because I remember when I was a kid my parents would tell me like that they cared about me more than themselves. I couldn't understand that. How can you care about anyone more than yourself? When you have kids you understand that. How has it changed my life...? How..? These are easy questions but these are hard questions at the same time (laughs)...It's extremely rewarding and it is a lot of hard work. It's taught me how important it is to be aware of your values and taught me that you have to be self-aware. The more self-aware I am the more of what I want to be and what I want to try and do. I try my best to stick to that because you're faced with decisions and challenges every day that are tempting not to do and it's really when you have a family that you really care. It gives you more power of sorts to make those tough decisions that maybe you'd like to do in the short-term but you really know it's not what you want to be doing in the long run.
Having three kids was huge I never thought that I would have three kids ever. That is just crazy, don’t have three kids! Two kids was crazy and then to have a third is just really tough. When you have children it changes your life because I remember when I was a kid my parents would tell me like that they cared about me more than themselves. I couldn't understand that. How can you care about anyone more than yourself? When you have kids you understand that. How has it changed my life...? How..? These are easy questions but these are hard questions at the same time (laughs)...It's extremely rewarding and it is a lot of hard work. It's taught me how important it is to be aware of your values and taught me that you have to be self-aware. The more self-aware I am the more of what I want to be and what I want to try and do. I try my best to stick to that because you're faced with decisions and challenges every day that are tempting not to do and it's really when you have a family that you really care. It gives you more power of sorts to make those tough decisions that maybe you'd like to do in the short-term but you really know it's not what you want to be doing in the long run.
I think i've learned a lot about how to be a leader and a communicator through my job and with my children. Being a good communicator is very important and how you manage your emotions is incredibly important. I teach my team when something bad happens to them on the court if you just react, get angry and let your emotions get the best of you then you start making decisions that aren’t consistent with how you want to be. And the same when you have you know kids then you are tested with that all the time. Your patience is tested so you don’t want to be emotionally reactive and then you start doing things that you’re not proud of later.
My role as the Coach is to define the Culture
What my role as the coach is to define the culture and to help the players identify what is most important to them and support them in their...daily quest to try to be how they want to be. And Often times without realizing it people will behave in a way that is not consistent with how they want to be and that's where the coach can really help. It’s so rewarding when a player kinda looks back and they thanks me for something that has helped them or sometimes I can get to see how I have helped them.
That’s extremely rewarding anytime that happens is really awesome because you feel like you helped make a difference. But of course like sometimes when we get a result a win or if you win a title or something like that that's extremely rewarding. Thats an indicator that you are doing something right and it's an obvious indicator. Being on a team and my experience with college tennis was really good. The teammates that I had and the relationships I developed with my teammates and coaches is probably the big reason why I coach today. I really like what I am doing now and I have a twelve year old son who is a tennis player and I like to think about having him on the team. I also have an assistant coach who has been with me for a long time who I really enjoy working with him so if I could coach with him through when my son goes through the program if he wants to come here (laughs) then you know after maybe it would be fun to try something else.
Working with this age person keeps me young
I was recruiting once uh identical twins and they were both really good players and the same level player and they were from Slovenia actually. I only had enough scholarship for one of them which was fine with them cause they wanted to go to separate schools. So I recruited them concurrently and they said ok yeah one of us we want to come. I am like ok great. They’re like scholarship is good ok. So I had to like call them and ask them which one is coming which is so weird (laughs) and they said well we don't. They were still working on finding another school so this is what they said they were gonna play for it and play a set and whoever won got to come here and then whoever lost had to go somewhere else. They both turned out to be great players in college.
I like working with this age person, it keeps me young and I like the schedule it is pretty flexible. It’s a big challenge; I think just being a good (2) communicator is such a practical and extremely important skill to have. But it’s really hard and everyone is different so it’s my job to really understand the needs of each of my guys cause they’re all different and try to teach them how to get what they want.
Six or seven years ago I started seeing a someone who helped me a lot
Six or seven years ago I started seeing someone who helped me a lot, he is consultant, he is a psychologist, he is hired by companies management teams by large banks, also he works with professional athletes. He taught me how to become more effective leader. That is one of my favorite parts being here in Minnesota. Before I started seeing him I was coaching but I didn’t know what was I doing, I thought that I knew. He is really like a huge part of me understanding a how to be effective leader and what I am doing.
Six or seven years ago I started seeing someone who helped me a lot, he is consultant, he is a psychologist, he is hired by companies management teams by large banks, also he works with professional athletes. He taught me how to become more effective leader. That is one of my favorite parts being here in Minnesota. Before I started seeing him I was coaching but I didn’t know what was I doing, I thought that I knew. He is really like a huge part of me understanding a how to be effective leader and what I am doing.
Footnotes
- Geoff went to Northwestern University in Chicago
- Geoff majored in Psychology in college but only found a passion for it after college
Story Facilitators: Marian Ahmed, Eliza Turnock, Marino Alpeza
No comments:
Post a Comment