Game, set… whoa, new coach? This shocking news might have come across some tennis players’ minds at Wittenberg University when they hired a new graduate assistant coach for the program.
Jeremy Mokry accepted the of Assistant Coach position in early August of this academic school year. Mokry grew up in Columbus, OH, before he left to work in various tennis academies. He graduated from Ohio Dominican University, a NCAA Division II school.
Mokry touches on topics ranging from his coaching techniques, his favorite tennis player, his favorite tennis grand slam, the matches he has watched on both television and in real life and advice he would give to his younger self.
Q: What techniques do you use as a tennis coach to help tennis players be their best?
A: Tennis, being an individual sport, requires a lot of style, and every single player has a certain style. Every single player has unique styles, so depending upon what any physical attributes they have. Some are shorter, some are very, very tall, some are great athletes [and] some are not. I try to tail my approaches to what they are very, very specifically as players. The universal things I try to hammer into each player is to develop really, really good technique. After that, being very, very constant.
Q: What inspired you to be a tennis coach?
A: Being a tennis player, to be brutally honest. I played a whole bunch of sports as a kid, and tennis was the one thing that stuck.
Q: Who is your favorite tennis player and why?
A: Novak Djokovic, I would say primarily, because he’s one of those players that show everything he’s accomplished that I think is completely teachable.
Q: What is your favorite tennis grand slam?
A: I really like the U.S. Open just because of the format that was done. They are really good at organizing their primetime matches.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self?
A: I would say just bust your butt off a lot harder and have a much better work ethic.
