By Braden Weinel
Tennis coach Patrick Barber resigned Thursday, Aug 25 after less than three months on the job.
Barber was hired in June as a part-time head tennis coach for both the men’s program and the women’s program, stepping into a position that had been vacant during the 2022 spring season.
Barber said that he, as well as his two newly hired assistant coaches, Rebecca McKnight and Steve Maleson, decided to step down following a disagreement with Director of Athletics Susan Kolb and Associate Director of Athletics Jack Mehl.
The disagreement regarded the style of communication used in an email chain between Kolb and the tennis coaching staff. Kolb did not comment on the matter.
Barber said that he did not see eye-to-eye with Kolb and Mehl.
According to Barber, his primary goal was to build the players on the tennis team as men and women even more so than tennis players.
“I’ve made it my mission to put them [the student-athletes] first,” Barber said.
Barber said that, after accepting the job at Hood, he was quickly informed by the players that the tennis team was treated worse than any other athletic program on campus. He wanted to change that.
Although Barber was able to get a budget increase for the team, he said he was restricted in how he could use that budget.
Barber said that he felt like he would not be able to properly build the program if he was not able to use the budget how he saw fit.
The tennis team travels to away matches in vans driven by the coaches. According to Barber, the team also has outdated uniforms, no tennis bags and inadequate courts.
“Tennis is an afterthought at Hood,” Barber said.
Barber was a Division I college tennis player at West Virginia University. He coached at Middletown High School for seven years before accepting the job at Hood.
The tennis program has had a lot of turnover in coaching staff in the past. Since 2003, there have been eight head coaches and one season with no designated head coach.
Sports Information Director Geoff Goyne said that it is not uncommon to see a part-time head coach resign earlier than a full-time head coach because part-time coaches often have to balance another job.
Goyne said that he was a little surprised to see Barber resign so early since both he and members of the athletics department seemed very happy upon his hiring.
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