Central coach Tyler in tennis spotlight as player
Central College
PELLA—Summer isn’t an off-season for Central College men’s and women’s tennis coach Steve Tyler. Summer is his chance to exchange the whistle for a racket and to see if he can practice what he preaches.
Tyler competed in seven doubles tournaments this summer, most recently finishing in the quarterfinals at the United States Tennis Association father-daughter grass court championship earlier this month at the Longwood Cricket Club in Massachusetts.
Tyler and his daughter Hilary, an assistant women’s tennis coach at Rutgers Univ. (N.J.), won two rounds before being topped by the No. 2 seed and eventual champion, a pair from Maryland that included a two-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference honoree.
“It was great fun to be out there with Hilary competing on a national basis,” Tyler said. “It’s always fun to win a couple rounds and it’s just terrific good luck to be able to play with my daughter.”
Previously ranked the No. 1 father-daughter team in Colorado, the Tylers had not played together in more than five years and it was their first time competing at the national level. The tournament would have also been their first on grass but matches were moved to clay and hard courts because of rain. The club, one of the oldest in the world, holds the championship each year and has over 900 members and 44 courts.
“There were lots of good players and it would have been interesting to see how we’d compete on grass,” Tyler said. “But it was an exciting event at a remarkable facility where all kinds of tennis legends have performed. I look forward to doing it again with Hilary.”
Tyler doesn’t show favorites—he competed in six doubles tournaments across Iowa and Illinois this summer with his son Matt, the men’s and women’s tennis coach at Wartburg. The duo claimed runner-up honors at the Quad States Open in Moline, Ill., and also at the Hawkeye Open in Des Moines.
“It’s a pleasure to play with both of my kids,” Tyler said. “I’m proud of them and they’ve turned out to be pretty good tennis players who have to be stuck with their Dad.”
Tyler isn’t losing steam as a competitor. He’s won numerous honors competing in sectional and national tournaments and he received the 2010 Men’s 55 and Over Player of the Year award in the Missouri Valley Division of the United States Professional Tennis Association. The award recognizes certified professionals who have had excellent results in competitive tournaments and are also involved outside of coaching and competition.
Tyler cherishes the opportunity to get off the sidelines.
“I love to compete,” Tyler said. “I love walking onto the court ready to play. I also love the fun of preparing for the tournaments—figuring out all the logistics and staying in shape.”
He believes playing is helpful for his coaching.
“I go through the same emotions as the players,” Tyler said. “I take the same risks going out there. I understand the pressure to perform, which is also part of the fun. And playing reminds me how important mental drills are to prepare for competition.”
Tyler does his best to stay on the court year-round.
“I like to be moving and to be a part of the drills,” Tyler said. “That’s why I like practices better than matches. You can only interact verbally in a match. I like to be able to show them what to do more than tell them what to do.”
He won’t completely ditch the racket, but he’ll pick up the whistle again Thursday, when the women’s tennis squad arrives for preseason training. The Dutch are slated to begin their fall campaign Sept. 3, tackling Coe and Cornell in a triangular at Cedar Rapids.
