Huron grad Conley has built Tiffin tennis into a winner

Phil Conley loves the feeling of every year feeling like the first. Conley is entering is 17th season as the head tennis coach at Tiffin University, but the 2004 Huron graduate knows the grind of a long day makes for rewarding success. Not only does Conley coach the women's team, but he also coaches the men's team. Sometimes that turns into six or eight hours of coaching a day. "Coaching in college is very time consuming, especially with two programs," Conley said. "You must be passionate about people and working long hours. That is a must to be successful. You need to communicate, have passion and be willing to work with young adults. In addition to practice, we travel often, do community service, fundraise, administrative work, and advise students not only in tennis, but in academics and developing as a young adult. "The amount of time away from family and friends is very real, but I've been fortunate my children often come to matches and practice, so it really has a way of working out." Prior to taking over for the Dragons, Conley taught tennis at Baywinds — now Court 1 — in Sandusky. He was also a coach at a tennis academy in Boston. Conley continued the strong tennis tradition at TU in 2022-23, winning Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular season championships in both men's and women's tennis. The men's team also won the G-MAC championship. He earned Coach of the Year honors for both the men's and women's teams, leading both teams to NCAA regional berths. The women's team has six regional berths, while the men have been selected two consecutive seasons. Conley has earned nine total Coach of the Year honors, six with the women's program. "I knew that Tiffin being my alma mater, I had high hopes to be here to see the university and my plans for a collegiate team come to fruition," Conley said. "I'm very lucky to have started collegiate coaching at 21. Our athletic director at this time, Lonny Allen, I really appreciate him giving this opportunity to a young man with big goals. Lonny really moved Tiffin Athletics after we transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division II and really paved the way for Tiffin Athletics." Conley graduated from Tiffin University. He holds a Master's in Education, Master's in Business, and Bachelor's Degree in Business. Conley played No. 1 singles during his collegiate career at Tiffin and was an All-American Mideast Conference recipient three years in a row for singles and 2007 semifinalist at the Midwest ITA Regional at the NAIA level. "I've been offered opportunities to coach other programs, but the vision and commitment Tiffin has to students and student-athletes is second to none," Conley said. "My first season coaching, we only had four members on the team and unfortunately did not have a win that season. We have won eight conference championships, had 13 NCAA Championship appearances, three All-Americans, and many more individual accomplishments from over the last 17 years. "I had hoped the program would reach this success and it was not one person that helped move this program to where it is today. It is the community, the student-athletes and the administration at Tiffin." Tiffin competes in one of the strongest regions in the nation. There are eight regions with the Midwest typically being in the top-3 when it comes to strength. The G-MAC, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Great Lakes Valley Conference make up the Midwest region. "Often times, players think Division II is a lower level, which is absolutely not true," Conley said. "Findlay and Tiffin, both G-MAC members, have often beat Division I programs. Findlay last year beat BGSU in dominating fashion, which many might not know. We have had great battles with Findlay. "We lost in season for the first time in a while; however we did beat them in our conference championship to secure a bid to nationals when they were No. 12 in the nation. The GMAC conference has many strong schools in tennis and makes every year very challenging." Conley, 39, is still active in the sport. Just recently, he finished runner-up in the men's singles division at the Bloor/Ortner tournament in Sandusky. He won three matches over college players before losing in the finals to Joe Gilman, who Conley used to coach. "Tennis is an unique sport," Conley said. "It's expected that the coach can play, perform drills and be in the heat a long time. I play very often, especially when working with students. I play pretty well and love the player-coach perspective it gives me. It is definitely not easy. Tennis is physical at all levels, but the more you improve and can sustain points, the more physical it becomes on the body. "I am blessed to still play, compete and more importantly, coach a sport I love. I am thankful to my dad for getting me started in this sport, spend time with me and motivate me." Conley said he gets to see a lot of high school play and tournaments. He's always looking for good talent locally and emphasizes all players have the opportunity to play at the next level. "Commit to yourself with showing up, working hard and being coachable," said Conley of advice he would give to high school players hoping to play in college. "Show up on your bad days. I feel that is very important to be successful in anything. It is hot out? Go practice. It is cold out? Go practice. You are tired? Go practice. "I strongly urge players to be multi-sport athletes. It is important for development, but you must play even when in season with other sports to continue to improve. It is a 12-month commitment, not a six-month commitment. Professional tennis is a 52-week schedule, not a six-month schedule, and this is how you develop in this sport." Conley said there's a home for every student-athlete, whether Division I, Division II, Division II, JUCO or NAIA. "I do encourage players not to look at division," Conley said. "There are many strong Division III schools that are better than Division I programs. While the power 5 are incredible, outside of that, many Division II and Division III programs are as good as many mid-major schools. "Tennis is one of the biggest sports in the world. You can play it for the rest of your life and develop long-term friendships through this sport. I love all sports, but with tennis, having the ability to play your whole life and not needing a large group to play, it makes for the perfect sport. Get out and play."