Jerry Thor has announced his resignation as head coach of the Iowa Central tennis program.
This past spring, Thor led the Tritons to Top-10 finishes at nationals for the first time ever. He went 94-34 in his career to become the winningest tennis head coach at Iowa Central.
The program earned eight NJCAA all-academic team honors and 31 NJCAA all-academic awards, six ITA all-academic teams and 34 ITA scholar-athletes, the most in the country during his span. The Tritons also had 84 ICCAC all-academic region selections.
"Jerry did a marvelous job of building both our men's & women's tennis programs into Top-10 NJCAA prominence," said Kevin Twait, Iowa Central Director of Athletics. "His recruiting efforts and coaching expertise were bright spots for our entire athletic program. He also started our esports program, which currently has 45 squad members and has been a wonderful addition to our campus community.
"We wish Jerry and Veronica nothing but the best as they transition to other professional opportunities."
A total of 16 players were honored with the Triton Excellence Award and both the men's and women's teams won back-to-back ITA National Community Service and Outreach Awards.
"I'm glad I decided to take on the challenge here because I met wonderful people in the process," Thor said. "I had great support from athletic directors Rick Sandquist and Kevin Twait, and college president Dan Kinney was tremendous. I take with me many memorable experiences and valuable relationships with over 100 players that I had the opportunity to work with. I'm so proud of how far these programs have come and I'm excited to see their continued growth."
Along with his role as tennis head coach, Thor also pioneered the first junior college esports program in 2018. Triton esports has grown into a national power and founding member of the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) and the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE).
As a speaker at the 2019 NACE National Convention, he shared best practices in growing a new program, team organization, and player development. He has served as a founding member on the NJCAAE Equity & Inclusion Committee where he works on the national level to expand opportunities and ensure all students feel welcome in collegiate esports. In September 2020, the college opened the Triton Esports Arena designed to support the rapidly growing program.
-By Dana Becker