Gators coach Bryan Shelton led the Gators to the regular-season SEC title this season. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Shelton's Leadership Style a Winner for Gators
Thursday, May 20, 2021 | Men's Tennis, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The desk calendar at the office offered this bit of insight for May 20 as I flipped the page on Thursday: We need to focus on us, on changing our own attitudes and accountability.
The motivational diary is one that went mainstream a few years ago and can be reused year after year, produced by former Bucs and Colts head coach Tony Dungy. I don't know if Gators men's tennis coach Bryan Shelton has ever flipped through "Quiet Strength – The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life" as a morning mentor to get the day started, but when you listen to Shelton discuss what he has done over the past nine seasons to build the Gators into a national championship contender, it's easy to glean Shelton has a lot in common with Dungy in the way he leads.
Shelton talks a lot about character, teamwork, accountability, treating people the way you want to be treated. He stresses the details such as being on time, greeting someone with eye contact and a hand shake, showing respect to everyone you encounter.
And then he tries to live by example.
"As coaches, make sure we model that type of behavior to make sure they want to follow our lead,'' he said.
Shelton is in Orlando this week at the USTA National Campus, where the No. 1-seed Gators swept Illinois on Monday and beat Texas A&M on Thursday night to advance to the national semifinals on Friday. The Gators will face Texas in a Final Four rematch from 2019.
Two years ago, Florida advanced to the Final Four for the first time under Shelton, where it lost to Texas on a hot and humid afternoon. They had a team built for another run in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic struck. A year later, the Gators are back in the hunt and got here the way Shelton envisioned.
They did it with talent, hard work and class.
"Ultimately, that's what I'd like. I'd like to have a program that's sustainable. That year after year, we can be one of those top three or four teams in the nation and be able to compete for championships like this,'' Shelton said this week in preparation for the matchup with Texas A&M. "But to be able to do it in a first-class way. Not be the bad guys out there, but be the good guys that are also successful out on the court."
If you spend any time around Shelton, you are instantly struck by the way he thoughtfully interacts with his players, staff and others who enter his orbit.
He joked this week that former UF athletic director Jeremy Foley, who hired Shelton in 2013 to reboot the program, calls him "The Tortoise" for Shelton's slow and steady approach to leadership. It's worked and Shelton's not changing.
He led the Georgia Tech women's program for 13 seasons prior to coming to Florida, including a national championship in 2007. Now, nearly a decade into his Florida tenure, Shelton has a program that appears in full bloom.
The only thing missing is a national championship trophy.
"It took some time. It's a process,'' Shelton said. "There's no quick-fixes."
As Shelton discussed his Gators journey, he sat next to UF junior Sam Riffice.
Riffice could be a poster boy for Shelton's program. Excellent player. Those who know him say better person. He was raised right and the type of high-character person Shelton seeks when he is on the recruiting trail. If a recruit wants to play the recruiting game, Shelton usually moves on quickly. Shelton could see Riffice was about the right things when he recruited him.
Besides his gifts on the court, Riffice was polite, mature, interacted with his parents and others in a respectful way.
"Start building around them," Shelton said of his blueprint for success. "You can look at each one of our players and say similar things."
The Gators are where they want to be in late May, competing for a national championship. Maybe this is the year. Maybe the wait continues.
Whatever happens, you can be sure the Gators will do it with class.
"They have done a great job of recruiting the right guys,'' Riffice said of Shelton and associate head coach Tanner Stump. "Everyone that comes in is a great guy."
It all starts at the top.
Dungy needed several years to reach the mountaintop as a coach, but eventually he made it. Maybe this is the year "The Tortoise" finally makes it back there.
The motivational diary is one that went mainstream a few years ago and can be reused year after year, produced by former Bucs and Colts head coach Tony Dungy. I don't know if Gators men's tennis coach Bryan Shelton has ever flipped through "Quiet Strength – The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life" as a morning mentor to get the day started, but when you listen to Shelton discuss what he has done over the past nine seasons to build the Gators into a national championship contender, it's easy to glean Shelton has a lot in common with Dungy in the way he leads.
Shelton talks a lot about character, teamwork, accountability, treating people the way you want to be treated. He stresses the details such as being on time, greeting someone with eye contact and a hand shake, showing respect to everyone you encounter.
And then he tries to live by example.
"As coaches, make sure we model that type of behavior to make sure they want to follow our lead,'' he said.
Shelton is in Orlando this week at the USTA National Campus, where the No. 1-seed Gators swept Illinois on Monday and beat Texas A&M on Thursday night to advance to the national semifinals on Friday. The Gators will face Texas in a Final Four rematch from 2019.
No doubles point, no problem for Florida!@GatorsMTN rallied back before the match was eventually clinched by Duarte Vale.
— USTA (@usta) May 21, 2021
📹: @TennisChannel pic.twitter.com/MGkDAtN6ee
Two years ago, Florida advanced to the Final Four for the first time under Shelton, where it lost to Texas on a hot and humid afternoon. They had a team built for another run in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic struck. A year later, the Gators are back in the hunt and got here the way Shelton envisioned.
They did it with talent, hard work and class.
"Ultimately, that's what I'd like. I'd like to have a program that's sustainable. That year after year, we can be one of those top three or four teams in the nation and be able to compete for championships like this,'' Shelton said this week in preparation for the matchup with Texas A&M. "But to be able to do it in a first-class way. Not be the bad guys out there, but be the good guys that are also successful out on the court."
If you spend any time around Shelton, you are instantly struck by the way he thoughtfully interacts with his players, staff and others who enter his orbit.
He joked this week that former UF athletic director Jeremy Foley, who hired Shelton in 2013 to reboot the program, calls him "The Tortoise" for Shelton's slow and steady approach to leadership. It's worked and Shelton's not changing.
He led the Georgia Tech women's program for 13 seasons prior to coming to Florida, including a national championship in 2007. Now, nearly a decade into his Florida tenure, Shelton has a program that appears in full bloom.
The only thing missing is a national championship trophy.
"It took some time. It's a process,'' Shelton said. "There's no quick-fixes."
As Shelton discussed his Gators journey, he sat next to UF junior Sam Riffice.
Riffice could be a poster boy for Shelton's program. Excellent player. Those who know him say better person. He was raised right and the type of high-character person Shelton seeks when he is on the recruiting trail. If a recruit wants to play the recruiting game, Shelton usually moves on quickly. Shelton could see Riffice was about the right things when he recruited him.
Besides his gifts on the court, Riffice was polite, mature, interacted with his parents and others in a respectful way.
"Start building around them," Shelton said of his blueprint for success. "You can look at each one of our players and say similar things."
The Gators are where they want to be in late May, competing for a national championship. Maybe this is the year. Maybe the wait continues.
Whatever happens, you can be sure the Gators will do it with class.
"They have done a great job of recruiting the right guys,'' Riffice said of Shelton and associate head coach Tanner Stump. "Everyone that comes in is a great guy."
It all starts at the top.
Dungy needed several years to reach the mountaintop as a coach, but eventually he made it. Maybe this is the year "The Tortoise" finally makes it back there.
Players Mentioned
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