MISSION HILLS, Kan. - UMKC tennis head coach Kendell Hale was recently named the 2016 men's Missouri Valley Coach of the Year from the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). He was honored at a banquet at the Kansas City Country Club. This marks the seventh time in Hale's career that he has received the honor.
“I am very humbled and honored to be selected as Coach of the Year, but of course, all the credit goes to the amazing players that I have with their hard work and discipline,†Hale said.
In 2016, Hale led the Roos to a 17-8 record, which included the Western Athletic Conference regular season championship. UMKC sophomore Airam Castellano (Gran Canaria, Spain) earned WAC Player of the Year honors, which led to an invite to the Oracle Masters series, where he represented the WAC in singles play. Hale led four first-team All-WAC players last year. Castellano and Uldis Gaismins (Riga, Latvia) received the accolades in singles and doubles while Mike Psarros (Athens, Greece) and Amaury Navette (Paris, France) earned the honors in doubles.
Hale is involved in the continuing education offered by the USPTA as a guest speaker for area high school coaches at conventions in the Missouri Valley region. He is the USPTA tester in Kansas City for those aspiring to become tennis professionals.