Clancy Shields knew what he was getting into when he was hired to coach the UA men鈥檚 tennis team three years ago.
The Wildcats had won only six conference matches in 10 years, and none in the previous two years.
Under Shields, 蜜柚直播鈥檚 improvement was slow 鈥 it would take the UA three years to claim one victory in Pac-12 play 鈥 but steady. The Wildcats won two more conference matches within seven days of their first one.
On Friday, 蜜柚直播 鈥 riding the momentum of a breakout season 鈥 will take on No. 21 Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, held in College Station, Texas. If the Wildcats win, they鈥檒l play Saturday against the winner of Texas A&M鈥檚 match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
There are a number of reasons for 蜜柚直播鈥檚 turnaround. One of them: A narrow focus each week, regardless of the opponent. Shields said the coaching staff laid out 鈥渓ittle bread crumbs鈥 for players to chase. It was a way to keep the team improving, even when the win totals weren鈥檛 there.
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鈥淭hey just knocked out on a task and we laid another bread crumb, another task 鈥 try to go after that. So they didn鈥檛 get caught up in going to the NCAA Tournament; they got caught up in, 鈥榳hat we are trying to achieve this week?鈥欌 he said.
鈥淢aybe it was, 鈥楪uys, I just want to have a great week of practice. Can we all just dig in and have a great week of practice?鈥 And that was the goal. And we did, and 鈥極h, we knocked off a good team.鈥 Or this week, 鈥業 want to have great energy in practice.鈥 And we did, and 鈥極h, we knocked off a great team.鈥
鈥淥r going into the Blue-Gray Tournament, I told the guys, 鈥業 just want you all to be thinking and saying we鈥檙e doing it all week.鈥 And it was like every minute you heard, 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing it, we鈥檙e doing it.鈥 And in the matches, the guys were saying, 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing it.鈥 And I鈥檒l tell you how empowering it is to hear them saying, 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing it.鈥 It鈥檚 a pretty powerful phrase. And we did it.
鈥淚 want to challenge the guys and my staff to keep putting challenges up and knock them off. And that鈥檚 the way we鈥檙e going to do it.鈥
Playing in the Pac-12 against perennial top teams like USC, UCLA and Stanford is tough. Recruiting against them is even tougher. Shields knew he had to focus in areas where 蜜柚直播 stands out.
鈥淲e have to be honest with what we can recruit,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e probably are not going to out-recruit some of these California schools. And recruiting is tough, but we have to be the very best at developing our players.
鈥淲e have to be the very best at having a culture of tough kids who, they are just a little bit grittier than the California schools. They are a little bit tougher. That鈥檚 why I like 蜜柚直播. You are in the desert, it鈥檚 windy, it鈥檚 hot. I think it breeds tough kids. These kids have been out in the 100-degree weather. They are tough.
鈥淲e really just built our culture around trying to excel in the areas we can be better than other teams. That was in our culture, in our work ethic, in how we go about training every day.鈥
The Wildcats stand out in other ways, too. During matches, they cheer on their teammates 鈥 chanting, singing and yelling like fans a soccer match. Fans notice them 鈥 and the UA takes note of opponents who seem less interested in supporting their teammates.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been really empowering when we go play teams and we look across the net and we don鈥檛 see them supporting each other like we do,鈥 said Shields.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 see them playing as hard as we do for each other. I think that togetherness and that team, that camaraderie, that band of brothers 鈥 it鈥檚 so much different than other programs. It really empowers our guys to believe they can do something special.鈥
This year, Shields said on one of his podcasts that his type of player is a 鈥渏unkyard dog.鈥 Now whenever someone makes an effort play, it鈥檚 a 鈥渏unkyard dog鈥 play.
The plan for the Wildcats is to give it their all and have no regrets on Friday. And the latest bread crumb?
鈥淚 think a powerful thing for our team is asking if they want it to end today,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ecause when you鈥檝e been on one of the most incredible rides of my life and their lives 鈥 I think it鈥檚 very simple. You ask them, 鈥楧o you want it to end this week? Do you want it to end today?鈥 I think those guys will say 鈥楬eck no, there鈥檚 no way we want it to end today.鈥
鈥淚 want to stir what鈥檚 inside of them, but at the same time keep a really keen focus on what we鈥檙e going to have to do. We鈥檙e going to have to play our best tennis to go out and knock off Oklahoma and, if possible, Texas A&M.鈥
Notable
- The Wildcats will play this week for their one senior, Jonas Maier, 鈥渁nd he means a heck of a lot to these guys,鈥 Shields said. 鈥淚 just say, 鈥楪o out and play for our senior,鈥 and that鈥檚 going to get our guys all lit up and ready to go.鈥
- Shields said Swedish freshman Jonas Ziverts, the UA鈥檚 No. 1 singles player, is the most talented player he has ever coached. To help take him to the next level, Shields has had to find different ways to connect. One of those ways is through humor. Shields started calling him 鈥淜ing Ziverts,鈥 because of the way he 鈥渟at on his throne鈥 in practice.
鈥淚 also pulled him aside and said, 鈥楲ook, I鈥檓 calling you this because I think you are the best player in college tennis and I think you can beat any of those players,鈥欌 Shields said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e playing at the Pac-12 Championships and he鈥檚 playing the No. 12 guy in the country, former No. 1 junior player in the world (Stanford鈥檚 Axel Geller), and he has a match point and squanders his winning moment. And he digs back down and turns the match around and finds a way to win. After the match, I asked him how he turned it around. He鈥檚 like, 鈥業 just thought about what you said that I鈥檓 the king out here and I deserve to win this match.鈥 It鈥檚 those little things that maybe we don鈥檛 think about as coaches, how we have that impact. But in that moment, somewhere deep down inside of him, he found that inspiration to win.鈥
- Sophomore Filip Malbasic, another Swede, is ranked No. 69 in singles and has won 18 matches this season.
