Paul Assaiante

Paul Assaiante is the Men’s Squash and Tennis coach at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, professional speaker and author. Assaiante is a 1974 graduate of Springfield College and holds a master's degree from Long Island University ^[1]

Professional career

Assaiante was a squash professional at the Princeton Club of New York and director of racquet sports at the Baltimore Country Club, the Apawamis Club in Rye, N.Y., and the Bellevue Athletic Club in Seattle, Wash.^[1] He won the World Hardball Doubles Championship in 1988. He was one-half of the U.S. national doubles championship duo in 1994 and captured the USSRA 50-and-over men's squash title in 2004^[1]

Coaching career

Early on his coaching experience includes stints at the United States Military Academy and Williams College ^[1] For six years he was the coach of the Hartford Fox Force, a World TeamTennis championship team headed by Monica Seles and Mardy Fisch ^[2] From 1999-2003 and in 2010, Assaiante coached both the United States Squash Team, which competed in the Pan American Games, and the USA Men's Team, which played in the World Championships ^[1]

In Assaiante's 16 years as the Trinity College squash head coach, the Bantams have won 282 out of 292 matches including a collegiate record 224 consecutive victories and an unprecedented thirteen consecutive national championships ^[1]

He has also compiled a 154-63 record with NCAA appearances coaching the Men’s Tennis team 14 of the past 16 seasons ^[1]

Athletic development

Assaiante has served as the director of athletic development at Trinity College for six years, during which time the College has upgraded its athletic facilities. Assaiante led in the fund-raising efforts, which have helped to fund two new synthetic outdoor fields and a professional squash facility for the College. In all, more than $7 million has been raised with ongoing projects that include a new boathouse, baseball and softball diamonds, a community ice skating center ^[1] and most recently a new tennis center named in his honor.

Author

• Championship Tennis by the Experts: How to Play Championship Tennis, with Vic Braden (Human Kinetics Publishers, June 1981) ISBN 978-0-918438-23-2
• Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear with James Zug (Penguin Books, 2010) ISBN 978-1-59184-364-1

Awards

• Twice named the United States Olympic Committee Coach of the Year ^[1]
• United States Squash Racquets Association U.S. Squash President's Award in 2003-04 for his lifelong contribution to the sport ^[1]
• Connecticut's top sports coaches of the 20th century by The Hartford Courant ^[1]

Personal

Raised in New York, Assaiante is a parent of three children and currently resides in West Hartford, CT ^[2]

References