Articles by Marc

About Marc Lucero

Lucero is a former USTA Coach, working for USTA Player Development for four years. While with the USTA he was responsible for all aspects of the development of his assigned players. This included formulating developmental plans, planning/conducting daily practices, tournament scheduling, and coordinating fitness with the strength and conditioning staff. Lucero has coached Nicole Gibbs since 2010, and in 2012 Gibbs won the NCAA singles title and the Denver 50k Pro Circuit event, her first professional singles title at that level.

While with the USTA, Coach Lucero spent time assisting with many young pros, among them Sam Querrey and Ryan Harrison. He also traveled extensively to Regional Training Centers around the country, evaluating young players (ages 7-12), conducting regional camps, and teaching the USTA philosophy to parents and coaches. Prior to the USTA, Lucero was a traveling coach on the women's tour. Before that, he spent three years as the women's Assistant Coach at Princeton University.

He is USPTR certified and also holds USTA High Performance Coaching Education and USTA Sports Science certifications. Coach Lucero played Division I tennis at Boston College and graduated from the Carroll School of Management Honors Program with a degree in Economics.

25-Sep-2013
My Take on College Tennis
I want to start this piece by making one thing very clear so that there is no doubt about where I stand: I love college tennis. I have had a great experience as a player, coach, and now as a fan. That said, I think we need to be open to a change in the format in order to preserve the future of the sport in the changing landscape of college athletics.

30-Oct-2009
All-Americans vs. Futures
Marc Lucero takes a look at college tennis as an alternative to playing futures as a path to development.

3-Jul-2009
Liversage Prevails in Open Hard Court Championships
People like to say that tennis is the sport of a lifetime. Anyone who was at the Balboa Tennis Club June 8-14 would definitely testify to that as an eclectic cast of characters descended upon San Diego to compete in the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships. For the second straight year, Thomas Liversage found himself in a third set in the championship match, only this time he was facing a much younger player - rising high school senior, Zach Leslie.

11-May-2009
Ranking Redux, Part II
Marc Lucero takes a another look inside the junior rankings and how they correlate with performance in college.

28-Apr-2009
Pop Culture in College Tennis
The end of April. This is one of the most intense periods on the college tennis calendar - with conference tournaments just wrapping up, and the national championships just on the horizon. Marc Lucero keeps things light with a pop culture grid featuring several top college tennis players.

2-Apr-2009
Countdown: Nguyen - Blue Chip to Big Blue
Parents of junior players often call and ask for advice about the recruiting process; the answer is usually the same. Keep your options open, do not limit yourself early on, and gather as much information as you can. For Mimi Nguyen, opening herself up to options outside of her initial comfort zone helped her find the right place to attend school next fall. Today the Blue Chip athlete discusses her commitment to the University of Michigan.

13-Feb-2009
In a Perfect World: College TennisDay Schedule
With college football season just having wrapped up, the idea struck me that it would be an incredible opportunity for college tennis to put the spotlight on one dual match every weekend in the same way that ESPN's College GameDay does every week during the college football season. Maybe we can call it College TennisDay and do live pre-game show from the courts. Let's take a look at the premier matchups throughout the season for the College TennisDay roadshow!

16-Jan-2009
Smith Chooses the Anteaters
Location, location, location. This tireless real estate axiom is also very relevant during the college search and for many prospective students is one of the determining factors. Kristina Smith, a 5-star senior from Laguna Niguel, CA, has decided to play her college tennis at UC Irvine, in large part due to its proximity to home.

12-Jan-2009
Ranking Redux
Marc Lucero takes a look inside the junior rankings - and how they correlate with performance in college.

27-Nov-2008
De Simone Repeats as San Diego CIF Singles Champion
The fall means girls high school tennis in Southern California, and the San Diego Section of the California Interscholastic Federation held its singles championships from November 17-21 at the Barnes Tennis Center. Gabi De Simone, a Blue Chip sophomore at Cathedral Catholic High School and defending champion, won her second CIF singles championship 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) over Lacey Smyth, a Blue Chip junior at San Marcos High School.

15-Nov-2008
Fall Signing Week '08: Sundling to Fight On at USC
J.T. Sundling was in the position that tons of people would love to be in. The Thousand Oaks, Calif. blue-chipper was one of the most heavily recruited high school seniors and had all the big boys coming after him. Ultimately the University of Southern California was able to convince Sundling to stay close to home, as he has decided to be a Trojan.

14-Oct-2008
Countdown: Huskies Pick Up McMorrow
Kyle McMorrow knew what he was looking for. He knew what he wanted out of a college tennis program and when he saw it he did not need to see anything else. Today the Blue Chip recruit from Thousand Oaks, Calif. discusses his commitment to the University of Washington.

3-Oct-2008
Talking with UNC-W Coach Jennifer Garrity
People often measure the quality of a coach by the amount of success her team achieves. This is a little skewed because not all coaches start with players of equal caliber. A better metric is measuring how much players on her team improve. The UNC Wilmington women's team is one such program. Head Coach Jenny Garrity has quietly turned this program around from one that was well under 0.500 to one that has had six winning seasons in a row.

24-Sep-2008
Tayler Davis's Choice is Golden
No matter the sport, college coaches know that their success is largely based on recruiting. You often hear coaches talk about their commitment to recruiting and having a strategy where they want to "build a fence" around their state with the idea of keeping the top players in their area local. Coach Amanda Augustus of the California Bears has executed this strategy with Tayler Davis of San Jose, Calif. Today she announces her commitment to play for Cal.

13-Aug-2008
Girls 16s Wrap-up
The word of the week at the USTA Girls 16s Nationals in San Diego was upset. The semifinals only featured one of the top four seeds, and the finals saw #12 seed Lauren Davis defeat #11 Monica Turewicz by a score of 6-2, 6-1.

8-Aug-2008
Training Talk with Paul Pisani
What do Ashley Harkleroad, Amer Delic, Robby Ginepri, Sam Querrey, and Justin Gimelstob have in common? They all have worked with fitness trainer Paul Pisani. Pisani has developed a niche working with up-and-coming American players, helping them reach their fitness and tennis potential. Marc Lucero chatted with Pisani about his strategies and experiences.

20-Jun-2008
Jones and Liversage Win Hard Court Championships in San Diego
One of the better kept secrets in tennis is the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships in sunny San Diego, CA, held at the Balboa Tennis Club July 9-15. Not many tournaments offer the triple crown of possible prizes: USTA Pro Circuit Wild Cards, gold/silver/bronze balls, and decent prize money. These three things combine to bring in an attractive field made up of current college players, some juniors, and a strong contingent of very good local former college players still in their 20s.

16-Apr-2008
NCAA Women's Tournament Bracketology
As we pass by Tax Day, the college tennis regular season is drawing to a close. Conference races are wrapping up, and post-season tournaments are coming up quickly. Marc Lucero identifies some of the D1 women's tennis teams who are "on the bubble" - identifying how they can help themselves down the stretch.

25-Mar-2008
Countdown: Ramos A Trojan for Another Four Years
Joining Coach Richard Gallien's Women of Troy this fall will be Alison Ramos. Ramos, of course, attended Troy High School in Fullerton, California. With this sort of coincidence did any other school really stand a chance?

25-Feb-2008
Applying a Little Scholarship to the Tennis World: 2 Nagging Questions
Marc Lucero tackles two intriguing questions: (1) Is there a more effective way for coaches to evaluate talent? (2) Is the USTA deserving of the public's criticism that it receives for not producing champions?

21-Sep-2007
2007-08 College Preview and Freshman Women to Watch
The US Open is over, student-athletes are back in school, and the leaves are just starting to change colors. At least I assume they are changing colors somewhere; the only colors we see in San Diego are green (grass), blue (the Pacific Ocean), and red (the mercury in the thermometer from the September heat waves). Anyway, what all this means for college tennis players, coaches, parents, and fans from Wazzu to The U is that the fall tennis season is upon us.