Tennis runs through LSU assistant tennis coach Danny Bryan’s veins.
With one look at the New Orleans native’s family history, it wouldn’t have been hard to tell from an early age what the future might hold.
Bryan’s father and three uncles played collegiate tennis and his grandfather played on the professional circuit. His mother is also a tennis coach and his sister played the sport for Ohio State.
After graduating from Brother Martin High School, Bryan made a smooth transition to the college game when he found a spot in the starting lineup at LSU as a freshman in 2003.
LSU coach Jeff Brown attributed Bryan’s early success to his maturity level that came from learning the game from his father and grandfather.
“When [Bryan] was a player on the team, he exhibited a lot of the qualities that you would want your son to have,” Brown said.
Bryan proved to be a valuable asset to the Tigers both on and off the court during his college career. During his junior and senior year, Bryan served as a co-captain while ranking No. 14 in LSU history in career singles wins with 84.
Before finishing his playing career, Bryan left the courts on a high note, ranking No. 40 in singles and earning a nod to the first-team All-Southeastern Conference squad. Bryan and partner Colt Gaston had a solid doubles season, and the pair finished No. 6 and earned All-American honors.
“I feel like I had such a good experience with all the opportunities that LSU made available to me,” Bryan said. “I think I was put in a position to be an example to other people.”
Bryan was recognized after his senior year for his dedication to the program when he received the 2007 ITA National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. The University also recognized him for his involvement outside of tennis, naming him the 2007 LSU Male Volunteer of the Year.
With one semester remaining before graduation, the former Tiger star gave the professional route a chance before returning to LSU in 2008 to earn his degree in general studies. Upon his return to Baton Rouge, Bryan took on the role of volunteer assistant coach with the LSU tennis team.
“I decided I was going to go back to finish school and [volunteer coach] and then after that, decide if I was going to play again,” Bryan said. “I thought volunteering was a good idea because it was going to give me five months to decide.”
A window of opportunity opened as Bryan was volunteering when long-time LSU assistant Mark Booras took the head coaching job at Tulane. In 2009, Bryan officially joined the staff as an assistant coach.
So far, Bryan says his favorite part of the job is seeing the progression of the players through the years and the passion they have for LSU.
“We bring in a lot of kids that are not LSU fans to start and we have a lot of guys that are from different countries that never heard of LSU before they came here,” Bryan said. “I think it’s cool when they buy into the whole culture of Louisiana.”
Only time will tell what the future holds for the Tigers’ assistant.
“I really wanted to do college coaching, because I felt like that’s such a big time you could impact people’s lives, from that 18-22 age range, so that’s what really inspired me to get into coaching,” Bryan said. “I think I want to stay in [coaching], but I don’t know so I’m just taking it day by day with what is ultimately going to happen.”
 
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Contact Ian Fontenot at [email protected]