Coach Bobby Kielty is a first-year tennis coach at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) who played professional baseball for fourteen years and gradually transitioned into coaching tennis. His drive to coach tennis was ignited from his curiosity exploring other sports and the fact that his daughters were playing tennis at the time.
Once Kielty’s collegiate baseball career ended with the University of Mississippi, he signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1999 as an undrafted free agent. After four years with the Twins, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and played half a year with them before getting traded once again to the Oakland Athletics, where he played for four years. Kielty shared that he “had a lot of fun,” playing for the Oakland A’s and the program had a family-like atmosphere.
Following his tenure with the A’s, Kielty was traded to the Boston Red Sox, as the team needed “a right-hand hitter off the bench.” In the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies, Kielty only had one at-bat, but he hit the “winning RBI (runs batted in) of the entire World Series.” He shared, “I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and took advantage of my opportunity.”
Kielty has always had a passion for tennis; he “liked it from a young age [but] did not get to play much.” In his transition from baseball to tennis, Kielty took lessons for several years and eventually became a 5.0 Universal Tennis Rank (UTR) player, which is a big accomplishment in Southern California. After this, he began his coaching career as the junior program director at Canyon Lake Country Club, before becoming the program director. Later he coached high school tennis for some time and now, he is UCR’s tennis coach.
Kielty’s inspiration to coach college athletes derived from a desire to coach higher-level and advanced athletes. He expressed that it is very exciting to coach at the highest level, Division I, and that the Big West Conference is an incredible conference to coach in. Coaching at this level has always been something that has been “in the back of [his] mind.”
Playing professional baseball has undoubtedly impacted Kielty’s coaching style by influencing him to help athletes through the mental aspect of the sport. He has worked with “some of the best sports psychologists in the world,” and through this has learned techniques on how to deal with pressure situations and how to get through these scenarios. Tennis and baseball are different in many ways, but are similar on the mental side..
The biggest takeaway from Kielty’s first year coaching at UCR was how rigorous and challenging the Big West Conference truly is. He conveyed that there are many good players in the conference, and it takes intensive effort to get players to the level to win matches.
This year was challenging for both the men’s and women’s teams, and Kielty stated, “You learn a lot when you struggle and face adversity on a daily basis.”
A particular moment that stood out from the men’s season was when two of their doubles teams beat UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). This was a milestone accomplishment for the Highlanders as UCSB are a top fifty tennis program.
Kielty admired the perseverance and dedication of the women’s team. Although they faced adversity this season, many players were diligent in their matches. On paper, the Highlanders were the underdogs, but because of their hard work, they were able to walk out with victories.
The most rewarding part of coaching this specific group of athletes at UCR for Kielty has been “seeing the smiles on their faces when they’ve performed well.” Kielty shared, “You’ve got to take the positives and celebrate those.”
This past year, not only have the players learned from Kielty, but he has learned from them, too. He revealed that his players have taught him to work hard and persevere. “You can see how hard they work, watching them go out and battle continuously,” he shared. Kielty elaborated on how seeing the committed and resilient players brings back memories of when he played professional baseball.
Although the teams were not where they wanted to be on the scoreboard, their success this year can be seen through their UTR. Most of the team’s UTR was raised, showcasing the work they put in this season and the effects of Kielty’s coaching.
According to Kielty, a unique part of coaching at UCR is the long walk from the parking lot to the tennis courts. He reveals that it is around three-fourths of a mile to the courts. This, at times treacherous, walk gives him and the players time to reflect on what they want from a practice and their performances.
Under Kielty’s leadership, Highlanders should look forward to seeing their hard work pay off. He added that anyone who puts in the work will receive the reward. Kielty has taken a long walk to get to where he is today, and UCR’s tennis program will continue to evolve under his guidance.
