Whether it be captaining an NCAA National Championship team, playing doubles with Arthur Ashe, or representing his home country of New Zealand, St. Joe’s men’s and women’s tennis Head Coach Ian Crookenden uses his experience as a way to approach coaching on Hawk Hill.
This spring, Crookenden will return for his 11th year at St. Joe’s, hoping to continue to lead the Hawks’ climb towards the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
In order to pass on his knowledge of the game, Crookenden draws from his playing career.
“At the end of [my professional tennis career], I had accomplished the three things I had wanted from my involvement in playing tennis,” Crookenden said. “I had traveled the world, I had represented my country in international competition and I had played tennis at the highest level.”
Senior Andre Fick said Crookenden is extremely wise in terms of his knowledge of the game.
“Everything that he teaches us is rooted through his experience at the collegiate level and at the professional level,” Fick said. “I’m fiery on the court and coach has been there, so he’s always so level-headed and there to calm me and get me in the right mindset.”
His career at the University of California Los Angeles yielded a National Championship and two national doubles titles. He was also named a three time All-American.
He began his tennis career as an ameteur from New Zealand, competing in some of the world’s largest tournaments. He said in those few short years, the game of tennis had already given him more than he could ask for.
After his two and a half years on the ameteur circuit, Crookenden’s play had garnered him attention from many of the top collegiate programs.
Crookenden said that at the time, a future in professional tennis was not too lucrative, so he decided to take an offer from UCLA. Not only was it one of the top tennis programs in the country, but it was as close as he could get to his home country of New Zealand. Before arriving at UCLA, Crookenden had never been to America.
“My image of the country was that it was a melting pot,” Crookenden said. “Tennis was the way that I assimilated. I had some great teammates that helped me with that and helped me just enjoy college.”
“Great teammates” may be an understatement, as both of Crookenden’s national doubles titles came alongside players that would go on to be ranked number one in the country.
His title in 1966 was alongside the number one ranked tennis player in the U.S. at the time, Charlie Pasarell.
In his first national doubles title in 1965, his partner was Arthur Ashe, who reached a world number one ranking two years later.
Ashe’s outspokenness about his struggle with racial discrimination and AIDS, coupled with his on court talent have made for one of the most storied legacies in all of sports.
Crookenden however, began to create a legacy in his own right in the tennis world. After graduating college, he went on to play professionally, competing at some of the most celebrated venues in sports, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the French Open. The times were a little different though, according to Crookenden.
“What’s interesting to me is that I’ve seen the changes not only in the game, but in the sport,” Crookenden said. “When I was playing Wimbledon, everything was on film, video and television hadn’t picked up its coverage the way it is now. So one of the highlights of my career was my doubles match made the match of the week and it was shown every night of the week. It was cool to turn on the television and see your match.”
Crookenden has been able to witness the game of tennis changing through his long career, and all of these experiences across the globe that tennis has brought him have contributed to his ability to pass along the game to younger generations.
“I see him as a role model,” senior captain Daniel Tan said. “The competition he’s been in in college and what he saw when he was touring, he tries to instill that upon us, especially in doubles.”
Crookenden said that through his experience, he’s made an effort to push the Hawk tennis program forward.
“Tennis didn’t always have the spotlight that it has now at St. Joe’s,” Crookenden said. “When I was hired, I tried to discuss how I would use my previous experience to develop a program. I’ve been enjoying it ever since. I’ve really enjoyed the growth and development of the program.”
