David Slater, the current tennis director for the Tamarack Country Club, was named head men's tennis coach at Fordham it was announced today by Fordham director of tennis Michael Sowter.
This is Slater's second collegiate head coaching position as he served as head men's and women's tennis coach at Manhattanville College from 2010-2012 where he was responsible for running all aspects of the men's and women's NCAA division III tennis program. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at the school, teaching the in-class aspects of the college's Professional Tennis Management (PTM) Program and overseeing a Senior Evaluation class that involves a tennis internship at a local tennis facility.
Slater, who has established a reputation of being one of the top teaching pros in the area, also currently serves Tennis Director here at Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, a position he has held since 2018. He runs all aspects of the tennis program at Tamarack including all tennis related lessons and activities, including social tennis events, as well as all sales and merchandise associated with a tennis shop.
Aside from his position at Tamarack, Slater is also the Senior Tennis Pro at the Armonk Indoor Tennis Center in Armonk, N.Y., a position he's held since 2019. He works with the academy director during indoor season with all aspects of the academy, including lesson plans and teaches a number of academy players on an individual basis.
Originally from St. Albans in England, Slater has also served as first assistant to the tennis director at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., from 2016-2019.
Before entering the country club world, Slater spent three years as the Director of Tennis at the Tennis Club of Hastings. In his first year at TCH David oversaw the re-emergence of the club after Hurricane Sandy, helping grow the adult program and annual membership as well as overseeing the growth of the junior program to over 180 children ranging in ages from 4-17. A little-known fact about David is that he was also a fully qualified British tennis official and officiated at Wimbledon for five years from 1999-2003.
A 2003 graduate of Marist College, Slater led the Red Foxes to a pair of MAAC Conference Championships and back-to-back NCAA Div. I Tournament appearances in his junior and senior years. He captained the squad his senior season and also posted a stellar 23-3 mark at third singles in his first year with the team in 2001-02. His freshman and sophomore years were spent at Division II Texas Wesleyan University, where he helped the team to a pair of NCAA Div. II Tournament appearances as a freshman and sophomore and captained the team in his second season.
Slater previously served as an assistant coach with the Southeastern Louisiana University women's tennis team in 2003, where he was entirely responsible for enhancing all aspects of the Division I program.
Slater, who earned a master's degree in sports business management from Manhattanville in 2012, is also a fully qualified British tennis official and has officiated at several ATP Tour and WTA Tour events as well as at Wimbledon for five consecutive seasons from 1999-2003.
