Athletic Insider Interview Series: Coach Alan Heverly (Women’s Tennis)
Coach Alan Heverly is one of the freshest faces at SUNY Geneseo—this academic year marks the beginning of Heverly’s time as the women’s tennis coach, a role that he is more than qualified for; he has served as the coach of Lehigh University, an NCAA Division I program, and Moravian University, a Division III program. With countless accolades and many years of experience, Heverly will prove to be an asset to the program. He has told himself that he will remain to coach for at least five seasons, but the Geneseo community would love to see him stay for longer.
Despite what one may expect, tennis was not always Heverly’s passion—only after playing football and baseball in high school, and even racing cars, did Heverly begin playing tennis. His love for the game led him to play tennis at the collegiate level at Moravian University, where he studied psychology. While playing at Moravian, Heverly accumulated an impressive singles record of 21-8, and even played in national tournaments. His playing career proved to be so impressive, that in 2008, Heverly was inducted into the Moravian University Hall of Fame.
Aside from coaching at the collegiate level, he has also spent time teaching private lessons, where he has taken average players and made them great. Not just anyone can be great at the sport, but Heverly has advice for aspiring players: “Don’t fall into dogma, be realistic, and you have to love the game,” he said. As a coach, the ability to recruit is one that he has mastered—when asked what he looks for in a recruit, he said, “If you want to be an elite player, you have to start with hard work and dedication. It’s about how well they play under pressure.”
It takes a great coach to find when a player has what it takes to be successful, but decades of experience make it easier. While he strives to make every athlete a phenomenal tennis player, Heverly stated, “I don’t care how good you get, as long as you get to be the best you can be.” Spoken like a true coach.
With so many years of experience, his achievements have built up. Heverly states that his biggest achievement was watching one of his players participate in the U.S. Open. In a near-devastating turn of events, he arrived at the tournament with a fellow coach, only to learn that their passes to get in had been forgotten. To make a long story short, Heverly and his other coach had to sneak into one of the biggest sporting events in the nation. But even a story as crazy as that seemed just par for the course with the excitement his life has held.
Coach Heverly has been using his psychology background in the way he coaches; he is a huge believer that the mental part of the game is just as important as the physical aspect, if not more. When asked what changes he would like to see in sports, Heverly said, “I’d like to see coaches more open to the psychological part of the game. It can make a difference for certain players.” This view on coaching is what has led to his many successes in the sport, both as a player and as a coach. He also thanks his players for what they have taught him over the years. His commitment to the sport, his players, and the university are extremely admirable, and SUNY Geneseo is honored to call him a Knight.