Todd Doebler Staff

Todd Doebler, the 2004 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year, is in his fourth year at Notre Dame – his first as the program[apos]s first-ever associate head coach – after serving the previous two seasons as an assistant at Pepperdine University. He has chosen to pass up several Division I head coaching jobs in order to become and remain an Irish assistant.

His responsibilities at Notre Dame include serving as recruiting coordinator and as liaison to Notre Dame[apos]s strength and conditioning coaches. He also handles on-court and individual coaching and various administrative duties. His recruiting prowess is evidenced in Notre Dame landing one of its top two recruiting classes under 18-year head coach Bob Bayliss, in 2003, as well as another strong group in `04.

Over the past three seasons, Doebler has been a key factor in the development of a number of young, talented players who are poised to have breakthrough seasons in 2005-06.

The fall of `05 already saw the Irish advance two players to the final of the ITA Midwest Championships for the first time ever, return to
the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships, and be one of just two schools with multiple players among the final 16 in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Doebler handled the lion[apos]s share of on-court coaching in all three instances.

Last year, he helped Notre Dame earn its 1,000th all-time victory (an upset of #18 North Carolina) and return to the national top 20, peaking at 16th. The Irish won back-to-back BIG EAST titles for the first time and were one of the deepest teams in the country. Notre Dame was the only squad to finish the season ranked among the national top 45 without boasting either a top-100 singles player or a nationally-ranked doubles squad.

ND was ranked 49th in the preseason of the 2003-04 campaign, but the Irish moved all the way up to 26th before ending the season at 33rd. The Irish improved throughout the campaign, eventually beating rivals Miami and Virginia Tech – both of whom had dealt Notre Dame regular-season defeats – to claim the BIG EAST championship and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament. The season was capped off by senior Luis Haddock gaining an invitation to the NCAA Singles Championship, and Doebler was tabbed the top assistant in the ITA[apos]s Midwest Region.

Doebler, a 1996 graduate of Bloomsburg (Pa.) University, came to Notre Dame with a proven record of success. During his time at Pepperdine, the Waves compiled a 43-14 (.754) mark. In 2001, Pepperdine won the West Coast Conference title, advanced to the NCAA round of 16 and finished 18th in the nation. The following year, the Waves were 25-6, reached the NCAA quarterfinals, and finished with a #5 national ranking. Doebler coached three All-Americans at Pepperdine, including Al Garland, who was ranked #1 in the nation for a time in 2002.

For the Waves, Doebler assisted head coach Peter Smith with all aspects of the program including serving as recruiting coordinator, handling on-court and individual coaching, and coordinating conditioning and weight programs, fundraising and travel arrangements.

Prior to his tenure at Pepperdine, Doebler served as head coach for men[apos]s and women[apos]s tennis and men[apos]s and women[apos]s squash at Connecticut College from 1998-2000. He was responsible for all aspects of each program and also served as coordinator of the tennis and squash facilities. Doebler created and supervised an off-season training program at Connecticut College and led both the men[apos]s and women[apos]s squash teams to their respective national championship tournaments. He also taught each year in an annual camp for local children.

Doebler[apos]s coaching career began at Trinity (Conn.) College, where he was an assistant from 1997-98, aiding the head coach in all aspects of one of the top-ranked Division III.

In addition to his collegiate experience, Doebler has taught tennis at the camp, club and professional levels. In the summer of 2000, he was an assistant coach of World Team Tennis[apos] Hartford Foxforce, which featured players such as Monica Seles, James Blake, and Murphy Jensen. Doebler[apos]s responsibilities included on-court coaching and organizing, as well as and conducting promotional clinics and pro-ams and overseeing community involvement.

Upon graduation from college, Doebler was an assistant tennis professional at Farmington Field Club (Conn.) in the summers of 1997 and [apos]98 while pursuing graduate work. He had previously held the same position at the Lehigh Country Club (Pa.) in the summers of [apos]93 and [apos]94. Doebler also served as assistant camp director at summer camps at Pepperdine, Notre Dame, Bloomsburg, and Williams College from 1999-2002.

Doebler has extensive experience in tournament planning. He served as assistant tournament director in 2000 and `01 of a $15,000 USTA professional futures tournament held at Pepperdine, assisting in all aspects of the tournament including the main responsibility of fundraising and promotional events. Also at Pepperdine, Doebler twice helped direct the ITA fall regional championships and was the tournament director of the Nike Junior Tour tournament on two occasions.

Doebler also was an assistant tournament director of the 1999 U.S. Five-Man Team Squash National Championships, held in Hartford, Conn., and the `97 Trinity College Junior National Squash Tournament.

Bloomsburg was a top-20 team in Division II during Doebler[apos]s playing years. He won Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference doubles and team championships in 1994 and `95 and also was the conference singles champion in `95. Doebler earnecd a bachelor[apos]s degree in psychology in 1996 and went on to earn a master[apos]s degree in the same field from the University of Hartford in 1998.

Doebler is single and lives in South Bend.