After spending 25 years coaching tennis at Coe and rolling up more than 700 victories, Eric Rodgers can offer his players valuable advice for all aspects of their life.

He’s learned a lot over the past 25 years and said that while much has changed during his time at Coe, one thing stands out.

“Me. My hair. It used to be shoulder length and now it’s non-existent,” he said.

All joking aside, Rodgers does double duty at Coe, serving as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams.

“There are slight differences in how a coach coaches each gender and the hardest thing is when we have back-to-back practices and I have to switch gears,” he said.

Sophomore Riley Galbraith played tennis at Cedar Rapids Kennedy before coming to Coe and working with Rodgers on a full-time basis.

“I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know Coach Rodgers,” he said. “He has a really great outlook on things. I think that’s kind of the best thing about him.”

Going into each practice, Rodgers does not have a specific mindset or agenda for the players. “I have to gauge their mindset and adjust our workload and the attitude that I’m going to have in practice depending on how they are that day,” he said.

Although he does not have a strict regime, sophomore Diannah Watson from Frisco, Texas, gave some insight into how Rodgers runs a practice.

“Coach is always reading these articles about what makes you a better athlete,” she said. “He always has some kind of quote or some tidbit of knowledge for us to kind of munch on.”

Rodgers has played tennis and been involved with it for 36 years. “I found out that I was a far better coach/instructor than I was a player, so I kept doing it,” he said.

He attributes part of his decision to be at Coe to the facilities. “When we say we have a 3:30 practice we have a 3:30 practice, whether it’s raining or snowing, or the sun is shining. So we can have a much more professional, thorough approach to playing tennis,” he said.

More important than the indoor and outdoor courts at the Clark Racquet Center, however, Rodgers puts a lot of the credit on the players. “I think in general the thing that I enjoy the most is watching the players grow as people and obviously as tennis players over their four years here at Coe,” he said.

While Rodgers has had his fair share of success, being named Iowa Conference Coach of the Year 10 times during his time at Coe, he remains centered on the students.

“I don’t know how you define success,” he said. “I mean we win a bit, butquite a bit of that, virtually all of that, has to do with the people swinging the tennis racket, and that’s the players.”

Galbraith had a hard time narrowing down what he’s learned from Rodgers.

“He’s taught me so many things,” he said. “He’s always been an influential part of my life and my tennis life.”

“He just kind of beams energy,” Watson said. “He always has something constructive to say.”

Rodgers said his dedication to the team and to the sport of tennis is easy to explain. “I honestly believe tennis is the ultimate sport,” he said. “It’s the ultimate way to find out about yourself.”

That idea has allowed Rodgers to have close working relationships with his players as well as build a successful program.

“I feel comfortable here,” Galbraith said. “I feel like this is my homemore than any other place.”