Photo credit: Dane Sponberg, Raftermen
On August 9, Amy Bryant, founder of Bryant College Coaching, was inducted into the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame. In honor of her induction, the Georgia Tennis Foundation released this video detailing Bryant’s remarkable career. Over her 23 seasons as head coach at Emory University, she compiled a 428–116 record and led her teams to seven NCAA National Championships, qualifying for postseason play every year. Her players earned six NCAA singles titles, five NCAA doubles titles, and 18 UAA conference championships, with 103 student-athletes receiving All-American honors, seven Academic All-American awards, and five NCAA postgraduate scholarships.
As a player, Bryant was part of Emory Women’s Tennis’ first national championship team in 1996 and later became the first woman in NCAA history to win a national team championship as both a player and a coach. Her teams won three consecutive NCAA titles in 2003, 2004, and 2005, and she added a fourth in 2006. Bryant retired from coaching in 2022 and now works with student-athletes and families on the college recruitment process through Bryant College Coaching.
Family, former players, and mentors were in attendance to celebrate the occasion and see Bryant accept the honor.
Photo credit: Dane Sponberg, Raftermen
During the ceremony, she delivered the following speech, which reflected on her career, the people who shaped it, and the moments that made it meaningful:
Thank you to the Selection Committee for this meaningful recognition, and especially to Peter Howell who has been advocating for me to receive this honor for years. I also have to mention Darren Potkey (the best official in all of college tennis) who handled all the details of the event this year, and thanks to the rest of the committee as well.
To be honest, I don’t feel like I deserve to be in the company of these other members — you do know I coached Division III tennis, right???- but I always love to see Division 3 tennis get some attention, so I’m proud to be here today.
While I was reflecting on this honor and my entire coaching career, I naturally thought back to how it began. As a student at Emory, I was a soccer player and a tennis player, and I had always loved representing my college and playing for something bigger than myself. After I graduated, I attempted, in a very lackluster way, to work in the corporate world. When that didn’t pan out, the Athletics Director at Emory, Chuck Gordon, encouraged me to apply to be the assistant tennis coach, assistant soccer coach and the marketing intern all while getting my Masters at GA State. He saw something in me that I really didn’t see in myself and shortly thereafter hired me for my first full-time coaching position as the head women’s tennis coach. It was a big opportunity and a challenge for me to jump into. Chuck, thanks for your mentorship and your patience and encouragement which allowed me to spend two decades coaching student-athletes.
My parents are also here with me today. They always knew I loved being part of a team, so when combined with my strong personality and competitive nature, they saw coaching as a natural fit for me. They could clearly see that I was the most happy when I was on the soccer field or tennis court, so they supported me when I pursued coaching, even though it wasn’t the most lucrative career path. I’ve always been so lucky to have them in my corner.
I made many wonderful personal connections during my coaching years that have turned out to be lifelong bonds that I cherish. I’ve been able to share in so many of the big life events of players that I used to coach, and I feel so lucky to count them as friends. Bridget is here today – she was my player, then she was my assistant coach, and later she took over the head coaching position when I left. I know she’s going to put me to work soon as Auntie Amy because she’s expecting her first baby in November, and we live around the corner from each other.
Beyond the relationships with players I’ve coached, the opportunities to be mentored by women and mentor other women in a primarily male-dominated field shaped my career. Did you know that fewer than half of U.S. college women’s teams are coached by women? Many of us looked out for each other and shared advice.
Coaches need to remember to take care of their mental health throughout their careers, because it was so essential for me to prioritize that care for myself. Megan, my sports psychologist, is here. You helped me so much and it’s because of your support that I was able to remain sane all those years. The work you do is so vital to players and coaches.
Over the years, both through trial and error and from conversations with peers, I really grew into my confidence and developed my own style of being authoritative while still showing my vulnerability and human side. This can be a tough dichotomy to maintain, because there are so many different demands on coaches, but the need to stay balanced was obvious as the years went on.
My work-life balance was always a challenge. I owe so much to my husband Wes for taking on the bulk of the parenting load when my job demanded that I be away for long hours or even days or weeks at a time. It was so hard when I couldn’t be with my boys, Kimball and Miles, and I hated that sometimes I had to miss major milestones. I wasn’t there for some of their first steps, and, in particular, I’ll always remember when Wes scurried off to get Kimball his first haircut when I was out of town… I was so frustrated that I wasn’t there to keep those baby curls from getting cut off!
Being a coach, just like being an athlete, truly does require a high level of sacrifice, and that’s been a key component on this ride from day one. There are times I had to make tough decisions, like when I was a senior, playing tennis nationals at Kalamazoo, and had to miss my college graduation. We brought my cap and gown to the hotel, so I had a little ceremony in the hotel room instead, and of course my family was there to celebrate the moment with me. I tell Miles, my younger son, about the importance of making sacrifices when you’re a high performing athlete or coach – you might miss out on some fun things but it’s inevitable if you’re trying to be the best.
Sometimes I got lucky with timing, like in 2007 when I gave birth to Kimball, my oldest, it was the only year in my career that the team didn’t make the final 8. Since I was past my due date and couldn’t travel, my assistant coach coached my athletes in the individual tournament that year. She recently reminded me that I actually called one of the players, to brief her on tactics for playing her next opponent… while I was in the hospital! I wonder how many coaches can say that they were actively coaching players while in labor.
It wasn’t all challenges and sacrifices – I have so many moments of joy to reflect on in my coaching career. Of course, many of them were good old-fashioned victories, or otherwise I probably wouldn’t be standing here accepting this honor. There is a lot of pride in winning when you’re the best, like when both our 2003 and 2004 teams won the triple crown – doubles, singles and team. There was no one who could touch us, and in 2004 we won the team competition with a score of 5-0. Those years, we had our not-so-secret weapon in Mary Ellen Gordon, who is here today. Mary Ellen, you’re truly Emory Women’s Tennis’ Greatest of all Time. THE GOAT. None of us were surprised when you were inducted into the Women’s Tennis College Hall of Fame, one of only a handful of Division 3 players.
In 2006, when our team was not the best on paper, they surprised me by stepping up to beat Washington & Lee in the finals. It was another kind of joy, because we were the underdog that year.
In 2014, we won the national championship for the first time since 2006 which felt like an eternity. I had an incredibly positive assistant coach that year, Christy Lynch, who I can thank for making me believe that it was actually possible to win, because I had truly forgotten how. We also had Kevin Ye on the staff that year, who helped me upped my doubles coaching game and continued to work with the team for many years after. I’ve always been lucky to have coaches who taught me more than I taught them.
And in 2016, we beat Williams for the first time after having a 13 match losing streak to them dating back to 2006. I really enjoyed getting that monkey off my back. To add icing to the cake, we also beat them in the national championship final that year!
After our 2020 season was cancelled because of COVID, 2021 was the first tournament back. We had to endure a shortened season with testing every week and limited travel. When we won nationals, it really felt like I finally understood what it meant to control what you could control.
Then there were also all the 2nd place finishes, where we came so close but just couldn’t pull it off. We lost in 6 finals… each one of those was agonizing, but we always got through it as a team by leaning on each other.
Beyond any wins and losses, the memories that stick with me the most were the fun trips and humorous moments with the women on my teams. The international trips we were able to take together were amazing – Australia, Thailand (twice), Brazil, South Africa, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. Truly memories that I will never forget. We prioritized planning for those experiences, and we had to fundraise for them ourselves. I’m proud to have established an endowment for the women’s tennis team that continues to support the players to this day.
Photo credit: Dane Sponberg, Raftermen
In my work as a college sports counselor now, I find it extremely rewarding to help guide families in their search for universities where their student-athletes will thrive not only in their sport but also in their academics and the overall college experience. I get to see the excitement and connections from a wider vantage point while prioritizing the holistic development of each student.
I want to close with a final acknowledgement of my family. They had to endure my professional highs and lows and love me through it all. Like my top players, I always had a fire in my belly that was sometimes hard to live with, but they know that it’s just part of who I am. Coaching was a big part of my career but being a mom is my number one accomplishment and, to my boys, I’m so proud to watch you follow your passions. And just a final reminder: always be nice to your coaches!
Thanks to everyone who is here with me today, and thank you again for this tremendous honor.
