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Men's
Tennis
Coach: Philip Hopkins
Contact: Men's Tennis
Philip
Hopkins returns to San Diego City College as the head men's tennis
coach. Hopkins coached the City netters in the early 90's and was
rehired in the fall of 2002 to re-develop a reputable program that will
be competitive in the Pacific Coast Conference.
Since 1992, Hopkins serves as the head tennis professional for the City
of Coronado and is deeply involved with junior development programs.
Recently, he personally coached his own children who earned two
consecutive San Diego Section CIF individual championship awards.
In addition to his current City Tennis Professional position with the
City of Coronado, he is an adjunct instructor at San Diego City College
teaching tennis, individual conditioning, and weight training classes.
Prior to his tenure at San Diego City College and the City of Coronado,
Hopkins held several tennis teaching and coaching positions in New York,
Massachusetts, and Hawaii. At Springfield College in Massachusetts, he
served as the assistant coach to the men's soccer and men's tennis
programs. In Westchester County of New York, Hopkins served as the
tennis director/professional for both the Pelham Tennis Center and
Pelham Country Club in Pelham Manor. In Hawaii, Hopkins taught physics,
chemistry, and coached the tennis team of a small private girls school
in Honolulu to a Hawaii state tennis championship title in doubles.
Coach Hopkins feels very strongly about proper stroke mechanics. Hopkins
proclaims, "A player will never reach his potential if his game is built
on faulty mechanics." He believes in spending the time required to
polish a player's strokes to perfection before getting too involved in
point strategy. He adds, "If a player does not have the strokes it will
be a waste of time trying to develop a point." He believes that after a
player develops a satisfactory stroke, the game of tennis becomes fairly
simple. Hopkins said, "If a player shows up with a full arsenal of
strokes, implementing a game plan which can be individually tailored
will be the easy part to winning tennis matches."
Recruiting top student-athletes is a priority for Hopkins. He is
interested in working with student-athletes who have a serious desire to
move their tennis game to a higher level and also have intentions of
continuing both tennis and scholastic pursuits at a 4-year university.
Hopkins believes that San Diego City College offers an accommodating
environment for students from across the world to study and play tennis
year round. As a member of the San Diego Community College District, San
Diego City College is a part of the second largest community college
system in the State of California. With diverse programs and transfer
agreements with the University of California and California State
University systems, San Diego City College provides a myriad of academic
options for student-athletes. Hopkins also believes that the City of San
Diego offers a temperate climate and California life-style conducive for
tennis training comparable to none.
Hopkins was born in upstate New York and has taught and coached tennis
for 26 years. He earned a M.S. degree from Springfield College,
Springfield, Massachusetts in physical education with an emphasis in
sport biomechanics; and a B.A. degree from Marietta College, Marietta,
OH in physical education. He is actively certified and rated Pro 1 with
the USPTA. He and his wife
Paulette have 3 children and live in Coronado.
Check
back for upcoming announcements concerning the San Diego City College
men's tennis team.
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