Collin Daniels is still in college, but that did not stop him from becoming a professional.

Daniels is a Cyclone, Iowa born and bred, with a passion for the sport of tennis and the art of coaching that burned too bright to be contained until his education at Iowa State was complete.

Daniels is a senior majoring in mathematics with a secondary education certificate, and this past June he was hired as the boys head tennis coach at the newly formed Ankeny Centennial High School in Ankeny, Iowa.

The process by which Daniels found himself hired as a head tennis coach while still in college began with a simple conversation between him and his father, the head coach of Ankeny High School’s tennis team.

“One day we were just shooting the breeze,” Randy Daniels said.” I said to Collin, ‘you are probably as qualified as anyone [Centennial] is looking at. You should give it a shot.'”

Collin thought about the opportunity for a while and figured it was worth taking a chance and applying.

“Me and my dad talked about it and he asked me if I’d be interested,” Collin said. “At first I was shocked at the idea, being a college student. I did not even think they would consider me, but as a future teacher the chance to interview seemed like a good opportunity. The worst that could happen would be they could say no.”

But they did not say no.

The committee to hire a new tennis coach for Ankeny Centennial’s inaugural year included the newly hired athletic director, Tom Kinseth, two principles, a couple of current players and one parent.

“Collin was the [candidate] we kept coming back to,” Kinseth said. “His knowledge and enthusiasm for the game and being around someone like his dad were good assets.”

Kinseth said Collin is mature for his age and that the energy he brings played a big role in taking a gamble on a head coach who is only a few years older than his players.

“I am new to Ankeny as well,” Kinseth said. “Collin was my first hire as a head coach as all the other head coaches were already here before I got here. I have jokingly told him not to screw it up.”

The joke works because both Collin and his father said Collin’s sense of responsibility makes potential failure an outlying possibility, if even one at all.

That sense of responsibility can be traced back to Collin’s inspiration to get into coaching in the first place, his former high school tennis coach at Ankeny High, the late Dennis Hoefle.

“Coach Hoefle had a big impact on both my dad and myself,” Collin said. “He was someone I was really close with and one of the main reasons I do this. He spent so much time working with me and showing me he cared. I really look forward to this opportunity and I feel a responsibility to pass that on.”

The ties Collin has are not solely to coach Hoefle, but to the Ankeny area as a whole.

Collin grew up there and played tennis there. He also helped coach the summer camps with his father and coach Hoefle throughout his time in high school. Collin has also served as his father’s assistant at Ankeny the past two years since Hoefle’s passing in late 2011.

When Ankeny High School split, it sent many of its students to Ankeny Centennial. Collin received word that roughly 25 players he had either played with while in high school and/or coached with his father over the last two seasons would be joining him at the new school.

Collin’s experience, combined with his age and familiarity with the players he was hired to guide, are part of what he said makes him a logical and successful choice to fill his new position.

“Between being excited about the game and being ready to share my love for it, and the relationship I had with the players prior, it all made for a less hectic switch,” Collin said. “The relationship I had with the players was probably the biggest aspect that got me the job.”

Andrew SmithC, a senior at Ankeny Centennial, is one of the players who knew Collin from his high school days.

“We lived on the same street, so we kind of grew up together,” Smith said. “He was a senior when I was a freshman, so we played on the same squad, then he coached me as an assistant for two years.”

Smith said the dynamic is interesting and reiterated the words energy and enthusiasm, that everyone from Collin’s family to the administration at Ankeny Centennial to his players commonly use to describe him.

Smith said that the biggest advantage to having a coach so close in age is that the players know that Collin understands exactly what they are going through and that they can rely on him.

However, the proximity of age and familiarity with the players also has the potential to cause some problems.

Collin joked that the first of such issues can be solved by making sure he wears a different uniform from his players, so that spectators are aware that he is a coach and not a member of the team.

Smith said that there is a second problem Collin may run into that might not have such an easy fix.

“There could be an issue in the future where if Collin needs to crack the whip, there will be guys who think they know as much or more about tennis than he does because of his age,” Smith said. “I could [see] that happening, but I do not think it will.”

Collin is aware of this possibility as well, but said he will avoid it by staying mindful that it exists.

“I draw a clear line,” Collin said. “There is a time [the players and I] can joke around and be friends, and there is a time when I need respect to be able to accomplish what I want to accomplish as a coach.”

Collin said his age is not his biggest concern. The time constraints of a college education in conjunction with a head coaching position are what provide the greatest challenge.

“The biggest thing is giving each aspect of my life the time and effort it deserves,” Collin said. “When I am at school, I am focused on school and improving myself as a student. When I am coaching, I am focused on my players and their improvement. That is what they deserve as players.”

Working 30-35 hours per week as a head coach in a town thirty minutes away has changed Collin’s schedule, but he said it has not hurt him academically.

Collin said instead of getting things done early, as he is accustomed to doing, he is now forced to do some last minute homework the night before it is due. It is a trade off that he said he is happy to make.

“I am proud that I can make an impact on a lot of people while I am still in school,” Collin said. “Sometimes in college you just worry about yourself, but I feel like I can build on this experience and will be able to better affect lives as a teacher and a coach [later on].”