Arizona's Clancy Shields on Competitiveness, Strong Leadership and Being The Junkyard Dog (Ep. 32)

University of Arizona Men's Tennis Head Coach Clancy Shields joins the pod to talk about his compelling junior tennis story that ended up getting him featured in a movie, how competitiveness has made him so successful as both a player and coach and a whole lot more! We get into his coaching philosophy that's built around a love for the game, enthusiasm, hard work and positivity and having guys on his teams that are energy givers rather than energy takers. We also discuss how to build he uses a developmental plan for his players to help them stay focused on the process each and every day.

Clancy was a blue chip recruit as a junior player before his successful playing career at Boise State University. Playing with his brother Luke and under legendary head coach Greg Patton, he achieved a top 20 national ranking in both singles and doubles, led his team to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament and was named the WAC Player of the Year his senior season.

He began his coaching career as Greg Patton's assistant coach at Boise State before taking the head men's coach position at Utah State, a perennial last place finisher in the Mountain West conference at the time. By just his third season the program had arguably their best year ever - winning the conference title, setting a dual match win record and achieving the highest NCAA team national ranking in school history two seasons in a row.

Clancy then went on to accept the University of Arizona head coaching position where he is today, and not surprisingly has helped turn that program around as well. Last season the team posted their most dual match wins this decade and this season they've already achieved a ranking as high as #21 in the country.

This was an awesome conversation with one of the best young coaches in college tennis. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

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