Oliver Tarvet / Contributor

   Alex Funkhouser is the USD men’s tennis assistant coach since the fall of 2022. His time working for the men’s tennis team has seen continued progress with the team notably being ranked No. 13 on Feb. 22 ITA rankings.

    Funkhouser   was   born   and raised in a small town in Virginia from middle-class America. He looked up to his dad greatly, growing up and wanting to follow in his footsteps, which ultimately led him to discover his passion for sports.

   “My  dad was my hero, so I just wanted to copy everything that my dad did. My dad played baseball and tennis growing up, so I decided to play both as well,” Funkhouser explained.

     However, Funkhouser eventually made the tough decision of deciding between the two, realizing that he couldn’t do both simultaneously.

  “I  gravitated  toward  the  individuality of tennis. I still love baseball, but I appreciated certain things in tennis that baseball  couldn’t provide, such as the  problem solving and competitiveness that you had to do internally that team sports didn’t provide,” Funkhouser stated.  

  This desire for individuality and everything that came with it paid dividends as Funkhouser got recruited to play at Old Dominion University, where he reached a career high singles ranking of No. 28 and doubles ranking of No. 9. 

    Following his success in college, Funkhouser was introduced to the professional tour where he first got into coaching. He initially only intended to coach to help his time on tour, but he quickly realized it gave it so much more than that.

  “You have to find ways of supporting yourself a little so you can afford those travel plans, coaches and meals… I learned a lot about myself  through being fortunate  to coach some high-performance players who went on to play at the University of North Carolina and Duke that I found more purpose in coaching than I did in playing, so that’s why I gravitated toward it,” Funkhouser explained.

   Funkhouser gained numerous coaching experiences from the commencement of his  career  forward as the head coach of the collegiate team at the United States Tennis Association. He was involved with and traveled with many players who have become household  names, such as McKenzie McDonald, Chris Eubanks and JJ Wolf.

      “I was there being a facilitative voice from their more permanent coaches…  being   involved  with   their team, development and scheduling really  reiterated  how  much  detail   it  requires  to be at  the top of your sport,” Funkhouser stated.

  With the experience gained from his position at the USTA, Funkhouser was eager to get back into college tennis.

     “I love the camaraderie of being in a team, the road trips, the hotels and meals and I wanted to relive this experience from a coaching perspective,” Funkhouser said.

  Funkhouser got a position as the Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at Cornell, a top Ivy League program at the time. 

      “It   was  a  great  first  collegiate job, if  you can get with one   of    the  top Ivy  League  programs  that  are  out there, then  you’re in  a  pretty  good position,” Funkhouser explained.

  Funkhouser continued to gain valuable   experiences  as  the assistant coach, through  coaching numerous   talented  players who  were constantly being  pushed against  the best competition  in the  country.

   “We got to see a lot of top competition too… outside of the Ivy league as well by playing collegiate events against USC and Michigan and being able to go to Oklahoma and Oklahoma state when both were top 15 in the nation,” Funkhouser said.

   Being an Ivy League coach did provide challenges, such as having to recruit individuals who value academics just as much as they do tennis, which makes the process very selective.

   “You’ve got to quickly find out who those individuals are who value academics and athletics equally or else Harvard, Princeton and Yale are going to recruit those guys right from underneath you,” Funkhouser exclaimed.  

   After four years of positive experiences at Cornell, Funkhouser sought to transfer to another collegiate coaching position. He ultimately decided upon the University of San Diego, not only because it allows student-athletes to be more athletic oriented instead of academic, but also because he was going to be learning from Ryan Keckley the head coach of men’s tennis at USD. 

   “I felt like I was learning from really one of the top five coaches in college tennis… and I know a lot of coaches maybe get more credit because they’re winning national championships, but I have no doubt Ryan would also win numerous national championships   if   he   was   in their position,” Funkhouser stated.

 Since joining the Toreros, Funkhouser  has  been  a  crucial  factor in the team’s continual climb up the rankings, but he attributes this success to everyone involved.

  “I think everyone from Ryan Keckley, the team, to everyone else involved is brought into the same philosophy. It [the philosophy] being that everyone knows that the name on the front of the shirt is bigger than their name on the back. This ultimately fosters the team culture that maximizes each day as everyone wants the best for each other and holds everyone accountable,” Funkhouser explained.

    Funkhouser’s transfer to USD has brought value, recalling numerous memories. Among them, the highlight of going to battle with the team and completing a personal milestone for his coaching career.

   “It’s funny because just in a year and a half there have already been so many, but I have to give the edge to beating Arizona… It was my first top 10 win as a coach, but it’s more than that. It’s knowing what it takes to overcome that hurdle and to beat a team like Arizona just because of who they are competitively and how much respect we have for them because of it,” Funkhouser exclaimed.

  Funkhouser shared his high aspirations for the rest of the 2024 spring season and his hopes of hitting milestones with the team during NCAA’s in May.

   “I would love to be a part of the first time USD has hosted NCAA’s, especially as we’ve seen over the course of the season how hard it is for outside teams to win here,” Funkhouser said.

 However,   Funkhouser’s aspirations go beyond just hosting as he feels the continual hard work over the duration of the year can make the team part of the Elite Eight, which will be held this year in Stillwater, Oklahoma. 

    “I  just think  it  would  be a heck of a good experience to see you guys at Stillwater for the elite eight… Not only because I really want all of you guys to experience it firsthand, but also because you’re deserving, you’ve worked for it and you’ve worked in the right way,” Funkhouser stated.

      Funkhouser   has    accomplished much during his time at USD thus far, impressing himself and the rest of the coaching staff. This has brought excitement amongst the team about moving forward with the hopes of a bright future.

Funkhouser found his way to USD where he carries out his love for tennis. Photo courtesy of  Alex Funkhouser