July 19, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. –
by Cory Walton
Notre Dame head men’s tennis coach Bob Bayliss had been to London. Twice. He’d seen Big Ben, shopped at Harrods, visited St. Peter’s church and pretty much done all of what he calls the “touristy things” there are to do.
So why would a busy man like Bayliss take time off from guiding the Fighting Irish tennis program to make his third visit to Europe’s largest city?
“The opportunity to go to Wimbledon,” he says. “I never made it as a player, and I wanted to make it there somehow.”
The third time proved to be the charm for the fourth-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I tennis. Bayliss and 14 other American coaches spent six days at The All England Lawn Tennis Club as part of the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) High Performance Program.
From June 17-22, Bayliss and his American counterparts met with other coaches from around the world to exchange ideas and work toward the fulfillment of the High Performance program’s ultimate goal – to develop world-class American champions.
“It’s basically a week-long series of classes and seminars that covers everything from (the USTA’s) perspective,” Bayliss says. “It’s held through the coaching part of the USTA, as opposed to the recreational – which means it’s for people who coach pro players and top junior players. Once you’re in the program and certified, they have continuing education classes, and this year’s was probably the best one.”
The first part of the program placed the group at London’s Bisham Abbey Training Center for a conference, jointly hosted by the Lawn Tennis Association and the British Tennis Coaches Association, entitled “Developing Players in the Teenage Years and Beyond.”
For two days, the program participants interacted with some of the top coaches from countries around the world. The conference agenda featured on-court demonstrations, off-court discussions, question and answer sessions and, according to Bayliss, an open forum for the exchange of ideas.
“I think I got the most out of the interaction with the British and Swedish coaches, but there were a lot of other interesting people there as well,” he says. “It was great getting to meet a lot of people and interact with some pretty bright minds.”
At the conclusion of the Bisham Abbey sessions, the program shifted focus to its main event, The Championships Wimbledon. Once the tournament started, each participant’s inner-coach was set free on the sport’s grandest scale, as all were given the charge of observing matches and reporting on their findings.
“We had discussions every morning from nine to 11, and play didn’t start until noon,” Bayliss says. “We would break off around 11:15 and walk across the street to where the matches were being played.”
“We had access to some of the coaches that had players at Wimbledon, and we’d talk to them about things like the game plan for a particular match or what we should watch for that day. Then, we’d go watch the matches. Afterwards, we’d meet back up to compare notes and talk about what we’d seen that day.”
Each member of the group was credentialed with full-access privileges, which, Bayliss says, got them into practice sessions, players’ areas and the international viewing boxes on Centre Court.
“Overall, it was a great experience,” he says. “I got to meet a lot of people and hear a lot of good ideas. I found myself constantly thinking about how I could apply what I was learning to our situation (at Notre Dame). We’re already doing a lot of things, but it was interesting to see the little wrinkles that the pro guys had worked into their routines.”
For Bayliss, however, the journey didn’t end when the High Performance program did, a fact he attributes to his Notre Dame connection.
“I was able to get in touch with (Notre Dame senior associate athletic director) John (Heisler), and he put me in touch with (NBC Vice President of Affiliate Services) Rich Hussey, who works for NBC,” he says.
“NBC broadcasts Wimbledon here in the States, and, of course, it broadcasts Notre Dame football games. I knew Rich from back when I was at Navy, and he worked with the East Coast Athletic Conference. We remembered each other from back in those days, and he mailed me tickets for Thursday, and I was able to stay an extra day and watch some tennis.”
While his Irish connection earned him the opportunity to watch the likes of eventual champion Roger Federer grace the grass courts of the All-England Club, Bayliss is quick to note that his Notre Dame ties afforded him much more than good tickets.
“There were people over there who didn’t know a lot about Notre Dame and didn’t know a lot about our program,” he says. “I got the chance to talk to those people, not only about our program, but also about the university and what the school is all about. I was able to make some good contacts and put the Notre Dame program in the minds of a few of the top junior coaches.”
So Bob Bayliss, the head coach of Notre Dame men’s tennis and a self-proclaimed tennis junkie, went back to London. He brought back more than jet lag, though. This time he finally made it to Wimbledon.
But did he do anything while he was there, other than talk and watch tennis?
“Yeah,” Bayliss says. “I did all the `touristy things.’ I shopped at Harrods, saw big Ben and visited St. Peter’s. Other than that it was pretty much all business.”