i saw they lost another match 5-2... why did Kraijicek not play in singles lineup..?

he played dbls but not singles

it was just a mistake in the press release, krajicek played both.

another tough loss against a good team, and it's not gonna get any easier until 2 and 3 dubs gets figured out.

What is wrong with Jerry? He was #5 in the country at one point as a freshman and now he's losing 0 and 2 at line 3. Is he injured?

IMO he's just ready to be done.

Cory- do you think our lack of indoor courts hurts our recruiting? Any thoughts on the new coach?




[This message has been edited by Aston04 (edited 3/2/2008 10:47p).]

i dont think indoor courts has any impact, it will be a huge plus when they do get them, but i don't think too many kids rule out a&m because they dont have indoor...

i do not think byrne did his due dilligence in this hire, in fact i heard he was not involved in all the interviews because he was out of town... the top 2 choices for the job declined and so they made a quick hire.. denton was a hell of a player and probably has one of the best playing resume's out there, but he did not have a lot of skins on the wall coaching, 4 yrs at corpus with one ncaa tourny bid and one year ranked in the top 30... plus, i know he has not immersed himself into the aggie culture, he still makes it known he is a horn at heart and just employed by a&m... from what i can tell he has brought in some top recruits, now he has to get them to become a team and play for each other

I have been around Steve on many occasions since becoming the coach and he has never acted like he "only works for ATM". He wants to win. He recruited two of the best juniors in the country.

Just exactly what do you mean when you say he has not gotten into the culture? Every time I have seen him at matches or tournaments he is head to toe in maroon.

he was my coach during high school in corpus and he is a great technical coach. he also built the program at a&m-corpus christi from absolutely nothing to a top-30 teams that teams in the top 5 are scared to play in only about 5 years.

give him time he will win at aTm

i mean in every other sport besides tennis, he is a horn fan and lets it be known... of course when he is out recruiting he is covered in a&m gear, and when on the court giving 100% for the ags to win..i just mean he will never consider himself an aggie, which most coaches when they go to a new school, try to immerse themselves in the culture a little bit and that school becomes their life...

i know steve has a great knowledge of the game and knows what he is doing, and the recruits he pulled are proof of that, but as we have seen in other sports (football, and now hoops) it takes a little something more than just recruiting and knowing the game, great coaches (top 2% - donovan - hoops, carrol- football, boland and tiley - tennis) have that charisma and something inside them that makes them different and more successful than the rest, and that is what i am waiting to see from denton... no doubt he has all the other credentials

Wait so is he missing the "something inside him" to make him successful or is he missing immersing himself in the Aggie culture to be successful?

I could care less if he roots for UT Football against A&M. His job is to make the Aggie tennis team successful. I know nothing about the guy, but I shudder to think where this team would be w/o his first recruiting class....

i disagree about rooting for tu against the ags... just think if you were a big donor to the athletic dept and would designate your contribution to the tennis team, and you go to the game and you see your coach rooting for the arch rival, would you want to continue to fund the program with your donation...

or

you're a big time recruit and looking at both texas and a&m, you are on visit to austin for the football game, and here you see the a&m coach rooting for the horns... wouldn't it be hard to sell the kid to choose a&m over texas when he sees you pulling for the horns.. obviously this hasnt happened yet with the great recruits he got this year, but its a possibility in the future

look at it from a corporate standpoint.. if you were employed by a company for many years, but then took a high paying executive job at its main competitor, you wouldnt want your old company to outperform your current employer that is paying your salary

before any one else continues, please understand i like steve and the recruits he has pulled look great so i think the program will improve with time

the two spring freshmen were mckinley's recruits. granted, denton has the final say and also pulls considerable weight when it comes to sealing the deal. with mckinley's stature in the world of junior and college tennis, along with the fact that denton was at the top of the game when a great number of current junior coaches were playing, these two guys will continute to bring in elite junior players as long as they are here.

So Cory you really think the fact that he hasn't "immersed himself" in all things Aggie will hinder his performance?

Props to McKinley if he was the key to getting these freshmen. Denton pretty smart to hire him as assistant if he has that kind of pull.

Honestly what would you rather have? A former horn as an Aggie Tennis coach who competes for National Titles or a coach who is maroon through and through, but is #25 t0 #50 team. Its obviously a great thing if a coach can become part of the culture, but certainly not everything. You mentioned Brian Boland, what do you know about him that separates him from others so much. He is no doubt an unbelievable recruiter, but I question how technical he is. I competed against his teams when he was at Indiana State and he sat in a lawn chair about 50 yards from the courts and watched. His players were talented enough that his coaching wasnt really necessary. Matt Knoll, is he really know more then the next about tennis or is he just a great recruiter? I think the Mckinley hire was to help with the technical aspect, but much more importantly the connections and ties to top ranked american and international recruits. Ive rambled enough, so think what you want, but if he makes the Aggie tennis program a top 10 or top 5 program, I think he has done his job, regardless of who he cheers for on Saturdays in the Fall.

good point, but right now he is a coach that has had one team finish in the top 30 in 5 years of coaching regardless of who he cheers for...

as for boland, he is a great recruiter and runs a super organized program like a CEO... knoll is also knows how to bring in serious talent and relates to his players pretty well and they play hard for him and their teammates

I think Cassidy is a tough one to replace. I wouldn't want anyone else at A&M over him, I'd liked him that much.

I just hope complacency doesn't set in on the men's side as the women's has IMO.

only one top 30 team in 5 years, but that team was also Texas A&M Corpus Christi, who played as an independent until about 3 or 4 years ago and is a suitcase school in every sense of the world not an established school with any sort of history what so ever, so I think a one top 30 team is quite accomplisment considering the circumstances from which the program was built. He brought in two stud recruits and if he can continue that sort of recruiting his future bodes very well. If I was going to be critical on his coaching, I would be more inclined to go about his in ability to get makowski back into form. The fall off on that guy is just sad, I dont know him or know the story, but it looks like he has just lost motivation and drive. I could be wrong and it could be injury related, but that team would be scary good if you had the new freshman going along with pollock and mak and a tough #6 in Bain. Thats my view on this whole deal, but I think all and all he has done a very good job.

quote:

---

if he makes the Aggie tennis program a top 10 or top 5 program

---

how long does he get to do this?

Lets try to address a couple of things here.

Camden...McKinley was not the one who followed the two freshman all over Florida most of last summer. It was Denton. He told me he was on the road last summer something like 45 days straight recruiting the two mid term frosh.

As for who Steve roots for in Football, get real. When it comes to football he is as orangeblooded as they come. You can't change that , nor does his boss expect that. What he expects is for him to win tennis matches and compete for titles. He is in the Longhorn Hall of Honor but he works for ATM. Doesn't change how he does his job. He wants to win.

Finally, did you actually mean Cass instead of Cassity?

tennisrealist, Jerry M. reminds me of the guy who is nearing retirement age and looking forward to not going to work anymore.

I watched him in Houston at the Texas Cup Match and he looked better than he had in a while. However recent results indicate he has reverted to the decline.

Personal responsibility and motivation are the only things that make people work harder.

rik -

be careful about saying steve was on the road 45 days recruiting the two boys from florida... ncaa rules allow only so many evaluations and contacts with potential recruits... and 45 days is way over the limit

as usual, rocket horn has no clue what he is talking about.

dude, you can act like you are an integral part of the texas tennis program all you want. please stay away from texas a&m tennis. no one wants your (incorrect, by the way) input.

I think the guy deserves a little time. His first recruiting class was outstanding, give him another year of two with results like that and they should be in great shape. I cant imagine any of the above mentioned coaches could be doing any better at this point.

cory...as a former college coach you should know that you can be on the road a lot of days recruiting without direct contact. You can attend tournamets and watch all you want. Contact however has limitations. There was no intention on my part to insinuate anything like that. After all he is the coach of ATM. And as you know I am not an aggie.

camden...I enjoy your civility. You should post more.

realist...your evaluation is on target.

rocket horn, i have been here for a long time. you, of all people, should know about changing texags user names.

i've got no problem being civil with respectful people who know what they are talking about. you, unfortunately, do not fit into that category. you've been wrong three times in this thread alone.

texas has a good team this year, so just stick to riding those coat tails and refrain from speaking up when you don't know what you are talking about.

i'm done with this thread, assuming you don't make any more asinine comments.

[This message has been edited by camden creek (edited 2/28/2008 12:34a).]

camden, happy Thursday!!!!! Have a nice day!!!!!

rik-

as a horn insider, i wanted to ask about rook... i have known him for a long time and worked with him some... he was always a very hard worker in the juniors but i am suprised he has not seen any playing time.. i know texas is stacked, but i have seen weigand get some playing time, and rook used to be much better than weigand... is rook working hard, do the coaches like him, is he injured..?

I think Bobby and Denton will be just fine given some time. The program had frankly fallen off some in Cass's last couple of years. The current recruiting class has some of the very top US players that were availble. We're may be one top foreign player away from getting back into the top 10. I could care less who Denton cheers for in football as long as he gets A&M back in the hunt for a national championship. And as for Rocket Horn, I always appreciate his insight and comments on the college tennis scene. He's forgotten more college tennis lore than most of us know...and if you ever meet him and talk tennis with him in person you'll find he's an ok guy.

From the responses I have read on here, it sounds like some are just upset or unwillingly to give Denton a honest chance. Obviously he wasnt the first choice, but A&M got turned down for some reason. He was a quick hire and although he might not be the favorite of many of you, he is your coach now. He seems to have done a good job to this point. "cory hub" you obviously have collegiate coaching experience judging by your response, so I would think you would be a little more understanding of the situation. You were extremely quick to point out he only had one top 30 team in five years, but I know you know what kind of program a&m corpus christi is and how much of an accomplishment that is. It seems your arguements are more of a personal nature then from a professional perspective. He isnt coach cass obviously and he is going to do things differently. "cory hub," Im sure through your travels you also understand that recruiting is far more important then player development at the college level. To compete at the national level you must bring in stud recruits from the beginning. 4 years isnt enough time to completely revamp a players game in my mind. You can tweak and make minor changes, but ultimately the players success is going to be based on his heart and character more then the changes you will make to his forehand, serve, etc. Im sure you can tell, by the last few national championship teams, that the players on these teams were studs when they got there, the coaches cant take that much credit for the players, playing ability. These coaches are more Directors of a program, rather then coaches. I dont know Denton, but from the outside looking in he seems to be doing a fine job and laying the groundwork to be successful. His alma mater aside, he is still the coach of Texas A&M Tennis and needs to be given a chance just like any other hire they would have made. Cass didnt turn the program around overnight, it takes time and each coach has his own way. Oh well, hope that makes sense. I like this topic by the way, very entertaining.

[This message has been edited by tennisrealist (edited 2/28/2008 5:19p).]

Watched tu and Rice Sunday in Houston. tu is
loaded at 1-5. Really not sure who head coach
is, but he seems fairly young.
Actually with that talent I might be able to
coach them successfully.
Their no.1 bombed Rice's Bruno Rosa who is
pretty darn good. Looking forward to Ags
playing Rice in April at Rice. Rice is very
good.

rocket horn if you spent as much time running as you doing worry about the ags you might weigh less than your good pal steve

cory...rook is progressing well. He is a big strong kid who is a hard worker and will do well. The Longhorns have a lot of talent and everyone gets better when you compete everyday aganist each other.

SA68ag...thanks for the kind words. I hope all is well and you are able to come to town when we play ATM later in the season. How is Mandy? She was a tremendous help when she was at Texas. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

bemer...You are correct. Rice has a very good team. Demi's match versus Rosa was clinic on how to attack a very good player.

8507...you are funny. Is that the best you can do? Working on the road takes its toll on the diet. Im working on it.

Rocket Horn - She worked in the athletic department at Stanford as the senior events manager for several years ; got out of sports and picked up a gradute degree and now works at NYU. Doesn't play any tennis anymore but still plays a mean game of hoops at various rec centers in the South Bronx and Brooklyn.

Funny sips boast about a coach who didn't even graduate from UT...how ironic. Oh and rikochet do you still do the announcing at the matches? Do you've a clean tracksuit for this season?

[This message has been edited by hendecagon ag (edited 3/17/2008 10:27p).]

wow!!!