With Boise State set to face ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ this week in the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament's opening round for the second consecutive season, Alexander Free remembers what it was like being in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ last year as the Broncos and Wildcats took the court.
He was a Boise State at that time, just a few years removed from his 2018-20 string as a volunteer assistant coach at the UA.Ìý
“You get to see a lot of the guys, like Jonas Ziverts and Nick (Lagaev), guys that you coached," Free said. "and it was my first time seeing them."
When Free left ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in 2020, it was during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, so he didn’t get to say a formal “goodbye†to the team.
“That was really cool," he said of his Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ return last year at this time. "It felt like a culmination of hard work to do that with Boise State.
People are also reading…
"I didn’t love taking the loss," he added; the Broncos were swept by the Wildcats in that 2023 first round matchup. "But it was super cool to see how much people had invested in this program and how much it had built up.â€
As it turns out, Boise State — and Free, too — are back again at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on the UA campus this week; the Broncos face the Wildcats at 1 p.m. Friday.Ìý
But Free isn't representing Boise's orange and blue this year; he's back in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s cardinal and navy as the Wildcats' associate head coach.
“(ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ head coach Clancy Shields) said, ‘Hey, this is an opening that we have and we’d like to bring you home’ and for me, it was a no-brainer,†Free said of his return as a UA assistant coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. “This is a program I care so much about, a person I love working with, the culture here that I take a ton of pride in and something I wanted to be part of again. I love ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, so it was easy to come back.â€
When Free left ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ back in 2020 to take on the head coaching position at Idaho State, he had to completely rebuild that program. It started in year one for him where the Bengals advanced to their first Big Sky Conference Tournament championship match since 2004. The following season, Idaho State won 12 matches —its highest win total in close to 10 years.
It was those two years at Idaho State where Free was able to take what he learned under ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach Clancy Shields and apply it to his own program.
“That was a huge learning experience taking over a program that was one of the worst in the country and feeling like we left it a lot better than we found it,†Free said.
Free left Idaho State after that second season, though, jumping to an assistant post at Boise State on the staff of Broncos head coach Luke Shields, Clancy Shields' brother.
After one season as a BSU assistant — a campaign that included that ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ NCAA appearance — Free returned to Clancy Shields' UA staff in the offseason.
When asked what it meant to have Free back with his team, Clancy Shields remembered a story from when Free was originally with ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Shields urged Free to keep moving his career forward.
“I remember talking to him one time. He was like, “Coach, I have eight dollars in my bank account. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this,’ and I just said to stay with it, we’ll find you some work and get some things for you,†Shields said.
Fast forward some time, and that eventually led to Free running his own program, and just two years later being in the No. 2 role at one of the nation's top programs.
Shields acknowledged that when Free returned to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ after being a head coach for two years, he came back as a “totally different†coach.
“It has been so fun having him here. I love the loyalty of people who put in their time, put that sweat equity in your program and now he is here and helping us be Top-10 in the country and having one of our best seasons.â€
Shields also mentioned Free as one of the top recruiters in the country.
There weren’t many players on the current team who were with the program when Free previously was outside of Lagaev, but senior Gustaf Strom was on his visit with him right before he left the program.
“He has provided a different style than Bryce (Warren, the Associate Head Coach last year), and I especially think he is a really good person on the court,†Strom said. “He provides a lot of energy on the court to the guys and I’ve had him in some big moments in my matches ... He makes you not feel nervous.â€