John Cayton begins his second season as Head Tennis Coach at Emporia State. His first season saw the huge improvement in the Hornet Men's Tennis program. After a 1-17 record in 2005, the men posted a 7-15 record in 2006.
The Hornet women had a stellar 2006 making the NCAA Nationals for the 2nd straight year, only falling short of the Sweet 16 by a single match. Most recently Cayton coached the women to both singles and doubles titles at the 2006 ITA NCAA DII North Central Region Tournament, and first ever appearances at the 2006 ITA National Small College Championships in Florida.They posted an overall 19-9 record. The ESU women's team is currently nationally ranked #32 by the ITA, and boast the #42 ranked singles player and #21 ranked doubles team.
Cayton coached two 1st team All-MIAA selections, four All-MIAA second team, and All-MIAA four honorable mention. Three Hornet Student-Athletes were named ITA All Scholar-Athletes in 2006, and four were named to the all-MIAA Honor Roll.
Cayton's coaching philosophy involves motiviating student-athletes through positive reinforcement and daily self-discipline. He believes that tennis is a team sport made up by individuals, so he strives to individualize each athlete's training program throughout each season. John's coaching style allows for personal self-expression coupled with personal responsibility to God, family, coach, and teammates. Hornet student athletes in varsity tennis give over 50 hours of community service, and fundraising projects each year.
Prior to joining the Hornet Athletics Coaching Staff, John coached at the NAIA level (Bethel College in KS) for one year, and has taught tennis and/or coached tennis in nearly every setting including country club, high school, public park, schools, resort. Cayton also worked for the USTA for eight years coordinating junior competition, and promoting/developing the growth of tennis throughout IA, IL, KS, MO, NE, and OK. Coach Cayton has trained over 2,500 high school coaches and physical educators at 63 workshops or clinics. He has a published full page tennis tip in May 1996 issue of Tennis Magazine. He is certified by the USPTA (P1) since 1993, and is a member of the USTA, and currently serves as Executive Director of the USTA Kansas District. He is married and has three children, all of whom participate in youth sports.
Coach Cayton's accomplishments as a Coach at ESU are listed below: -Won MIAA Conference Women's Title in 2007 -Men qualified as a team for the NCAA DII National Tennis Tournament for the first time in school history -Men's team achieved the most NCAA DII wins in a single season school history (10) in 2007 -The women's team reached the round of 32 in 2006 and the "Sweet 16" in 2007 at the NCAA DII National Tennis Tournament -The women's team were ranked #24 in the nation in NCAA DII in 2007 -The women's team was ranked #1 in the North Central Region in 2007 -Coached Marcela Bayon to the ITA North Central Region Women's Singles Title in 2006 -Coached two different doubles teams to the ITA North Central Region Women's Doubles Titles in 2006 & 2007 -Coached four different women players to MIAA Conference 1st team selections -Women's team achieved a 3.4 GPA, Men's team achieved a 3.2 GPA -Coach Cayton's overall dual record is a combined 52-29 for his 1st two years -Two MIAA Conference Presidential Scholars, and six All-MIAA Academic Team -Two ITA All-Scholar Athletes -One man and one woman player be named ITA/Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award -The men's and women's tennis teams annual perform over 50 hours of community service
