A change in leadership of the Hope College women's tennis program has been announced with the appointment of Adam Ford as head coach. He succeeds Nate Price who has stepped down to concentrate on new professional and family obligations.
A change in leadership of the Hope College women's tennis program has been announced with the appointment of Adam Ford as head coach. He succeeds Nate Price who has stepped down to concentrate on new professional and family obligations.
"Nate was a terrific coach for our womens' program for three years in the wake of coach Karen Page's untimely death in 2009," said co-athletic director Eva Dean Folkert. "For the ways he stabilized a grieving program while maintaining a high level of competitive achievement that culminated in a MIAA championship in 2012, we will always be grateful and wish him the very best."
Ford is no stranger to Hope tennis. He has been employed at the college's DeWitt Tennis Center since 2005 and has served as the facility's head pro since 2010.
"Adam Ford is highly capable, well-respected and an energetic young coach who will seamlessly continue the tradition of excellence in Hope College women's tennis," said Folkert. "He is already quite familiar with the program and its goals. Additionally, his experience in the professional coaching and teaching world of tennis is already substantial. We are now grateful that he is bringing those talents and professionalism to our program."
Ford echoed Folkert's comments about Price, noting he will inherit a team of accomplished players. The 2011-12 squad, which did not have a senior on the roster, won the regular MIAA championship, the conference tournament and competed in the NCAA Division III championships. "I know we have players that will step up to continue this tradition of excellence," he said. "I am looking forward to bringing my own flavor and philosophy of coaching to the program."
Ford was a two-time state champion at Forest Hills Central High School. He played
tennis for four years at Division I Northern Illinois University where he graduated
with a bachelor of science in
communication studies degree. He and a doubles partner were ranked as high as 33rd
nationally among Division I players.
His teaching prowess was recognized by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) which named him the 2011 Michigan Tennis Pro of the Year. He is a USPTA P1 Tennis Professional, a PTR Professional and United States Tennis Association (USTA) High Performance Tennis Coach.
He is the owner of Baseline Video LLC which creates videos for on-court training and schools of the USTA, as well as the Professional Tennis Registry and TennisDrills.tv.