One knows they’re in for a magical tale when it begins with the return of a son to his home. Hopefully that’s the case for the William and Mary men’s tennis team which saw alumnus Jeff Kader ’05 return to Williamsburg to take over the head coaching position for the new season.
This new hire comes after the departure of former head coach Peter Daub, who retired over the summer after 22 years with the Tribe. Kader played under Daub while a student. Kader becomes the College’s 17th coach for the team. In his time with the Tribe, he was part of the spring 2005 team that won the last men’s Colonial Athletic Association championship for the school before 2015’s title.
“I am incredibly excited to come back to Williamsburg and lead the program that I once represented as a student athlete,” Kader told Tribe Athletics.
Excitement is not the only thing Kader brings to the table; the former CAA champion brings extensive coaching experience. Prior to his hiring, Kader worked for five years at both North Carolina State and the University of Texas at San Antonio: from 2006-2010, Kader held an assistant coaching position at N.C. State, and from 2010-2015, he held the head coach spot at San Antonio.
During his time in Texas, he led his team to the 2012 Southland conference title and 2015 C-USA title and he was awarded Conference-USA Coach of the Year honors in 2015.
In Kader the College has found itself a passionate leader who has found a way to win at every level. Although he has big shoes to fill after Daub, he will aspire to continue his track record of success as he leads the Tribe this season.