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College tennis teams vary in their coaching structure. Some schools have a single coach for both the men's and women's teams, while others have two or three coaches for each program. College tennis involves a huge amount of responsibility on the part of the coaching staff - from player development and game strategy to leadership and academic support... from administration and recruiting to player conditioning and practice sessions.

With so many areas of responsibility, there are many strategies for dividing responsibilities among coaches. Today, we put the question to our panel of coaches...

Q) As a college tennis head coach, how are responsibilities divided among coaches on your staff?

Andy Christodoulou, head coach, Siena Women

No matter how many coaches a team has, their main job function is to move the team forward, guide, teach, and help the team maintain focus to accomplish the team's goals - as well as the individual goals of each player on and off the court.

My assistant and I are responsible for the women's tennis team only. We work together, and we both do everything. We organize daily and weekly tennis practice sessions, conduct prospect evaluations, and recruit prospective student-athletes. We hold team meetings and attend department meetings. I believe if we both know all aspects of the job then everything will run the same, regardless of who is there working with the team or on some other project. Constant communication between the two of us and staying focused on the goals is the key, just like in any other job. We maintain consistency so the student-athletes do not receive mixed messages.

Tennis is just like any other academic class at Siena College, and we are just like any other professor on campus - without the credentials, of course. We communicate, teach, and challenge the student athletes to become better tennis players. More importantly, we help them become well-rounded individuals that can handle adversity and make smart decisions.