My Carolina Experience: Sam Paul
January 14, 2015 | Men's Tennis
My Carolina Experience: Sam Paul
By Zoya Johnson, GoHeels.com
After a quarter of a century at Carolina as the assistant and head coach of the men's tennis team, it makes sense that Sam Paul's career would come full circle.
The Tar Heels enjoyed a spectacular 2014 season under Paul's tutelage, a season which paralleled the 1992 team which coincided with Paul's third year as an assistant coach to Allen Morris.
“Last year's team reminded me a lot of the 1992 team with how competitive they were and how much fun they were able to have off the court,” says Paul. “They truly enjoyed being around each other. There were a lot of similarities between their personalities and accomplishments both on and off the court.
“For years my philosophy has been to pursue excellence in the sport of tennis and the life lessons that it can teach us,” Paul says. “The number one goal is to provide the best education for the players you have and for them to graduate.
“Number two is to do it the right way and to know that you're doing that at all times. Number three is to be the most competitive team that we can possibly be and to pursue ACC and NCAA championships. That really hasn't ever changed.
“In striving for excellence I think we've gotten a better idea of how to train, coach and recruit and provide the players better educational opportunities.”
Paul always knew he wanted to coach. He knew in his days as a player at Anderson College in South Carolina, where he played two years and received his Associate of Arts degree with a concentration in business. He knew coaching would be his passion during his days at Presbyterian College where Paul played his junior and senior seasons and received his Bachelor of Science in applied psychology.
“I always coached during the summers, working tennis camps while I was at Presbyterian and it was just kind of a natural fit for me. I always had a passion for the game. I started studying psychology because I thought it would help my tennis career. It all added up to me deciding to coach. I didn't necessarily think that as I was going to be a college coach, but it was an obvious move for me.”
After graduating from Presbyterian, Paul went on to assistant coaching positions at South Carolina and then Trinity University, a college tennis powerhouse at the time in San Antonio, Texas. He then went on to become the Director of Tennis as well as the head men's and women's coach at Richmond.
“I was really fortunate to have some great mentors along the way. I definitely paid my dues as an assistant coach for eight years. Finally, I was fortunate to come here and work with Allen Morris, who was a great man and teacher to me,” says Paul.
“When you're in your 20s, you're learning and soon thereafter you want to run your own show. Once I was here I just loved being a part of the University of North Carolina. It was like I had found the best place in the world, and I've been happy to be here as an assistant and in the last 22 years as a head coach.”
In those 22 years, Paul's career has continued to speak for itself through players who have seen great success on and off the court, as well as a record that more than justifies his methodology.
With his 363 overall wins and 135 ACC regular season victories, Paul is the winningest active coach in the ACC in both categories.
Paul has coach 20 First Team All-Americas during his tenure at UNC since 1989, starting when he was an assistant coach. Five players tutored by Paul have ascended to the Top 500 of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings and many of his former players have gone on to tremendous success at the professional level.
Don Johnson, captain of the 1990 ACC championship team and a former UNC assistant coach under Paul, won the 2001 Wimbledon doubles championship and is a former No. 1-ranked doubles player in the world. Paul's former players have reached the semifinals of every Grand Slam event, won 25 ATP events and captured more than 35 Challengers.
During his tenure as the head and assistant coach at North Carolina, the Tar Heels have won seven ACC championships, including the 1990, 1992 and 2002 tournament titles and the 1991, 1992, 1996 and 2004 regular-season championships. The Tar Heels have earned NCAA Tournament bids in 21 of the past 23 seasons and the Heels have advanced to the national tournament in 19 of the 21 years in which Paul has been the head coach.
“As a coach, you've got to strive to be the best. You can't ever be satisfied because you can always continue to learn and improve.”
After a long period of sustained success, Paul faced the challenge of coaching the least experienced team of his tenure in 2013. That team also faced serious injury problems and Carolina finished with its first losing record in 14 years. Paul says he learned a lot from that year and last year's team confirmed his assessment. UNC went on to post one of its best seasons in history, setting the school record for wins in a season and advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in 22 years. Coming off last year's tremendous success, Paul looks to lift the Tar Heels to greater heights in 2015.