HAMILTON – Head tennis coach Bobby Pennington recently traveled to Clemson to talk about coach-athlete relationships in Professor John Spinda's sports communications course.

The course Professor Spinda is teaching focuses on the fundamentals of communicating in a sports environment. It includes the basics of communicating for multiple news outlets and also covers ethical considerations and the role of sports in American Culture.

Pennington focused on the player-coach relationship in his lecture, while also talking about relationships with the parents of the players. He talked about his coaching techniques at the college level and also the way he communicates with his players on and off the court.

"I had a phenomenal experience lecturing at Clemson," Pennington said. "Professor Spinda gave me the opportunity to talk with his undergrad Sports Communications class. I shared some of my experiences and coaching/leadership philosophy at Colgate, involving many outstanding student/athletes and parents I have been blessed enough to work with."

Pennington has been the head coach of Colgate's men's and women's tennis programs since the summer of 2006. He has had 21 players earn all-league selections and seven have been named players of the month for the Patriot League. He is the second winningest women's coach and third men's coach in Colgate tennis history.

He is a 2001 graduate of Kalamazoo College, where he helped the Hornets to four NCAA Tournaments. He was an All-American in doubles at Kalamazoo and was part of teams that finished third and second in country. In addition to his coaching duties, he is the Director of Nike Camps at Colgate.