Austin Hale Set to Coach Against His Father, Kendell Hale, On Saturday

Leavenworth, Kan.- The University of Saint Mary Women's Tennis program opens their spring campaign this weekend against UMKC in Merriam, Kansas. However, only a few coaches get to open their season against their dad, but Austin Hale, head coach of the Spires, does get that opportunity. 

Austin was hired as the men's and women's head coach for Saint Mary in June of 2022. At Missouri Baptist, Hale was part of a 2016 team that won the conference championship and made a run in the NAIA national tournament. After graduating from Missouri Baptist in December 2018, Hale coached as an assistant at McKendree University and UMKC before returning to MBU. Coach Hale will get to coach against his father and Roos' head coach, Kendell Hale, on Saturday. 

Here is what Coach Austin said about coaching against his dad, "It is extraordinary to be able to coach against my dad. To be in the same sport and the same profession is extremely unique. Watching many seasons of his coaching and now getting to have a match against him as a coach is pretty surreal. We have always been super competitive with one another, so I am excited to compete against him for the first time as a coach."

Kendell Hale has been a collegiate coach for the last 29 years, 16 of which have been at UMKC. Since Kendell Hale took over the Roo's tennis program, he has led them to five conference regular season titles, seven conference tournament crowns, and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. He has also been named the 2010 USTPA National Coach of the Year for turning around the program, as well as 2009 USPTA Missouri Valley College Coach of the Year, the 2011 Summit League Men's Coach of the Year, 2013 Summit League Women's Coach of the Year, and 2018 WAC Men's Coach of the Year.  

When asked about the match, Kendell Hale said, "This is a super rare thing in the world of sports.  There are coaching trees that get a lot of discussion, but in my over 30 years of coaching, I have never seen or heard about Father and Son coaching against each other in our sport. I have seen how much Austin has worked at creating two inaugural teams for Saint Mary.  This is no easy feat, something I would not even attempt.   I love how he has taken all his experiences at various universities and created his own culture." 

Hale also said that the feeling he gets most from this match is "just one of being proud" and of this "full circle moment" that will be remembered by both of them forever. 

Kendell Hale has coached 36 all-league honorees on the men's side and 29 all-league selections on the women's side. He's also coached four conference players of the Year and five league newcomers of the Year.

In 2023, the Roo's were picked to finish in sixth place at the end of the regular season. In a season that exceeded expectations, they managed a second-place regular season finish and a qualification to the Summit League Semifinals. 

Finally, when asked about the strategy and actual playing of Saturday's match, Coach Kendell Hale said, "I'm super proud and excited about where the programs at Saint Mary are going, but little does Austin know that I still have some tricks up my sleeve that I haven't taught him yet!"