SBCC’s new tennis coach Ken Thomas
Ken Thomas, a two-time national champion, entrepreneur and Internet tennis commentator, has been named head coach of the SBCC women?s tennis team.
Thomas was a two-time Michigan high school singles champion and a three-time All-Big 10 Conference selection during his college days. He won the Big 10 individual title in 1978 and was runner-up in 1980.
Thomas is No. 2 at Wisconsin in all-time singles wins (70) and winning percentage (.727).
He was ranked No. 1 by the United States Tennis Association in Men?s National 35 Doubles in 1994 and captured USTA Grass Court Doubles titles in 1994 and ?95.
?Winning happens through preparation, mental strength and character,? said Thomas, who played pro tennis for a few years in France and Germany. ?A player needs to take responsibility for their game. Run down every ball and exploit your opponents? weakness. Don’t ever quit … don’t ever give up.
?When it’s over, shake your opponent?s hand with your head held high and get ready for the next challenge that lies ahead.?
Thomas has been an assistant coach for two seasons, coaching men?s tennis at Wisconsin in 1981 and women at Cal State L.A. in 2010.
?He is going to be a dynamic leader,? said SBCC athletic director Ryan Byrne. ?His unique background and understanding of the importance of success on and off the court will have a tremendous impact on our student-athletes.?
Thomas was a highly successful businessman in the world of automobile advertising, managing accounts for Mazda, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. He spent 17 years with Lexus, holding national positions in advertising, media management, auto shows and event marketing.
Thomas was the driving force behind Lexus? sponsorship of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
In 2003, he created RadioTennis.com and has been broadcasting pro tennis tournaments to a world-wide audience on live streaming audio on the Internet. According to the New York Times, Thomas traveled more than 58,560 miles by car and airplane in a 14-month period ending last May to describe nearly 200 tennis matches.
Thomas is the CEO of Tennis Telecom Inc., which also features TennisWorldRankings.com and LiveTennisChat.com.
Thomas has a sharp sense of humor as evidenced in his comments after losing to John McEnroe in a national junior tournament in 1975.
?That gave John the confidence to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time,? he said. ?I know this for a fact, because after the match he told me that if he would have lost to me, he would have quit tennis.”
Thomas replaces Debbie Ekola, who resigned as SBCC?s coach in July after four years at the helm. The Vaqueros went 13-3 last year and finished second in the Western State Conference with a 6-2 record.
The Vaqueros are 33-10 over the last three years and finished second in the WSC each year.
Thomas hopes to build on that success.
?We are going to recruit talented players and then we are going to take these players and truly develop them,? he stated. ?They are going to be fit, they are going to work on their weaknesses, and they are going to play an aggressive professional style of game.
?Our goal is to prepare our young women to transfer to the next level and compete for a state championship.?
