Raised in Alabama, new men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton was instilled with the simple southern values he has kept with him all of his life.
“I appreciate opening up the door to somebody,” Shelton said. “I appreciate showing respect to everybody. I like that about the south. I just feel very comfortable in this environment.”
Shelton played tennis at Georgia Tech for four years and coached the Yellow Jackets’ women’s team for 13 years, which included a national championship in 2007.
He left Georgia Tech as the winningest tennis coach in school history.
With ties dating back to his college years and the perfect location, only one or two schools could lure Shelton away.
“Florida was one of those schools I always put at the top of the list,” Shelton said with a smile.
Shelton believes Florida is one of few programs that can supply him with the assets he needs to build a successful team.
Florida enters the year ranked No. 12, but the Gators have not been able to get over the hump the past few years.
UF has competed in the NCAA Tournament every year since 1997, but they have not advanced past the Sweet 16 since the 2004-05 campaign.
Shelton knows some changes will have to be made for his team to accomplish its goals.
“You’ve got to instill your own values and your own standards into the program,” Shelton said. “There’s going to be some changes when you have turnover.”
Junior Mike Alford has already seen the difference with Shelton at the helm.
“Practices are a little bit different. You know, it’s kind of exciting to come to practice now,” Alford said. “The coaches are enthusiastic, and we all like them.”
The chance to take Florida’s program from great to elite was one of the selling points that attracted Shelton to the job.
“There’s a lot of things that drew me here,” Shelton said, “Knowing there is opportunity to move this program forward, that we’re not at the top yet, and that we can make an impact in doing some things that have never been done here before is certainly attractive.”
Florida competes in the Bedford Cup today through Monday at Linder Stadium. This will be a chance for the team to work on one of Shelton’s two goals for this season, which is getting better every day.
The second is simple, too: Win the Southeastern Conference championship.
“We want it all; we’re greedy. We want championships,” Shelton said. “That’s our aim, and that’s what we are shooting for.”
