STATESBORO – Georgia Southern head women's tennis coach Sean McCaffrey reached the ultimate goal of leading by example this past weekend as he crossed the stage to receive his master's of science in kinesiology and coaching, the same degree graduate assistant Sidnay Huck received this past summer.
 
For McCaffrey, achieving the degree was very important for him to show his team the value of education and the ability to balance athletics and academics.
 
"I did not walk when I received my associate's or bachelor's degrees due to tennis duties, so it was really nice to actually cross the stage for the first time," McCaffrey said. "It was also special to walk with one of our former athletes (Emilia Bujan) and to be able to share that experience with her."
 
McCaffrey actually started his master's journey 10 years ago but decided it was time to finish and set an example to the team.
 
"The program was highly praised, and I was really excited about the possibility to complete my degree. I talk to the team a lot about trying to develop one's self. I think this was my way of demonstrating to the women that you can still achieve something like this even after you've been coaching for many years."
 
Coach McCaffrey joined the Georgia Southern athletics department in June 2017 as the head women's tennis coach after three highly successful seasons as head men's and women's tennis coach for Armstrong State University in Savannah. In the 2019 season, the Eagles pulled off a dramatic run to the 2019 Sun Belt Conference tournament finals, directing the eighth-seeded Eagles to upsets of top-seeded Appalachian State and fourth-seeded UT Arlington to earn just the second conference tournament finals berth in school history. With the upset, McCaffrey became only the second coach to knock off the top seed as an eight seed in an NCAA division I women's conference championship tournament and the first to do so since 2003.
 
This past summer, Huck graduated from the same program and is now pursuing a second master's degree in sport management.
 
"The combination of both my degrees will ultimately help me pursue a career in either coaching or sports fashion," Huck said. "I'm looking forward to graduating in the summer and discovering new career opportunities."
 
"College athletics have taught me many value tools such as time management, communication and leadership skills. I am very thankful I get the opportunity to help mentor and support the girls on the team on and off the court."
 
"I aspire to help motive and encourage other young student athlete as much as my coaches and family has for me."
 
Huck came to Georgia Southern from Toledo where she received ITA-Scholar Athlete Honors from 2016-2018 and Academic All-MAC 2015-2018. She was also selected to the MAC All-Tournament team in her senior year, never dropping a match in the postseason.
 
"It was great having Sidnay in the program with me and we worked on some of the material together," McCaffrey said. "She is such an amazing coach and having her go through this with me made it extra special. She is going to make a great coach whenever she gets out on the market. I think it sends a message to the team that both of their coaches are trying to better themselves."    
 
Coach McCaffrey is now planning to pursue a doctorial degree in sports administration.