Farhad Roshanaie joined the Vikings coaching staff as the volunteer assistant for the women’s tennis program in January 2014.
"It's a tremendous pleasure to have Farhad join our program and coaching staff," Sterling said. "We are grateful to have him here volunteering his time with us, and we look forward to working together to give our players the best coaching and player support possible. He's played a high level of tennis, and he understands what it takes to commit and compete at the elite level we are trying to elevate to."
In his first season with the program, Roshanaie helped lead the Vikings to their first-ever berth into the Big Sky Championships, where they made the semifinals against top-seeded Montana.
A decorated youth player in his native Iran, Roshanaie was the No. 1-ranked player in Iran for the majority of his junior career (through the 12's, 14's, 16's and 18's), and achieved an ITF singles ranking of 660 as well as an ITF doubles ranking of 475. Additionally, Roshanaie competed in international Futures Tour events and Satellite Tour events from 1999-2003, and never fell out of the top 10 in the Iranian men's open division during that time, rising as high as No. 6.
As a coach, Roshanaie began his career in Iran in 2000, and continued coaching tennis while pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering at the prestigious Technical University Ilmenau in Ilmenau, Germany. After graduating, Roshanaie moved to the United States and coached youth players in the Seattle area from 2010-13. In that time, Roshanaie served as the head coach for JV tennis at Mountlake Terrace High School, Holy Names Academy, and O'Deay High School. He also worked for and grew the USTA's Quick Start Tennis program for the city of Kirkland Parks and Services Department in Kirkland, Wash., and volunteered time at the Sports Medicine Clinic and the University of Washington Medical Clinic in Seattle. Most recently, Roshanaie served as the tennis instructor at Seattle Central Community College in Seattle, Wash., in the winter and spring of 2013, and led private summer tennis camps at Portland's Reed College in the summer of 2013.
“In spite of my international junior and professional playing career I have limited college coaching experience in the United State, so it has been very difficult to get into college coaching," Roshanaie said. "I am sincerely appreciative of the opportunity that Jay has given to me, and I feel that this is the first step to fulfilling my dream of one day becoming a head coach at the NCAA DI level. This will be a great opportunity to work with college athletes and coaches, and to continue pushing my tennis knowledge.”
"I am excited to be working with the quality players that we have here on our team, and I'm looking forward to utilizing my competitive tennis club and tour experiences to help our team advance both technically and psychologically as tennis players. I take a lot of pleasure and pride in working with players given their potentials and enthusiasm for tennis."
Roshanaie is certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association USPTA as an Elite Professional (the highest tested level), and recently obtained his certification of sports science through the USTA as his initial step to obtaining the USTA High Performance Coaching Certificate. In addition, he is currently pursuing certification as an NCCPT Certified Personal Trainer.
Roshanaie is certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association USPTA as an Elite Professional. He was selected as one of 72 to attend the prestigious USTA High Performance Coaching Program, a program only open to USPTA Elite Coaches with a competitive playing background who work with distinguished students and have received their certification in Sports Science (Level 1). Roshanaie is currently pursuing certification as an NCCPT Certified Personal Trainer.
"Farhad is an extremely genuine, thoughtful and intelligent person with an amazing energy and enthusiasm for the game of tennis," Sterling said. "There is no doubt that he'll be a great asset and example for our team."
As part of his role as the Vikings' volunteer assistant, Roshanaie will also serve at the instructor for the tennis PE classes offered through the physical activity/exercise department at Portland State University.
