Wofford men’s tennis coach Rod Ray’s first book “Hard Comes First” is an Amazon Best Seller.
The book, published June 1 by Game Changer Publishing, contains stories from his coaching career and his life as a father of a child with autism. It ranks in the top 100 titles on Amazon’s Personal Success and Spirituality, Men’s Inspirational Spirituality and Men’s Personal Growth lists.
“It is crazy,” says Ray, who has coached tennis at Wofford for 25 years. “I have read a lot of sports books. Typically, they are about how someone achieved massive success like winning the Super Bowl or the World Cup … That is not my story. That is not this book. … This book is about how life can be hard, but you can have a great time in the midst of those struggles.”
Throughout the book, Ray uses personal anecdotes, practical advice and insightful reflections to communicate how embracing and overcoming challenges is essential for personal growth and achieving success, both on the court and in life.
“There is a statistic in the book that says the divorce rate for families with autism is 80%,” Ray says. “I would say my marriage is better because of autism. … Has it been easy? No. But the good stuff is in the struggle.”
Ray’s interest in writing a book began a few years ago. He decided to pursue it further after student-athlete Mark Endler ’25, a promising tennis talent, collapsed on the court and nearly died during a match in 2022. Ray writes about this experience extensively in the book.
“After that, I was like ‘I am definitely doing this!’” he says. “I realized that there was never going to be a perfect time to write the book. I work 70 hours a week. I have my family and the team. Doing anything worthwhile is never convenient… but I had a purpose.”
Ray writes affectionately about his time at Wofford, discussing faith and the challenges of building cohesion among student-athletes from diverse backgrounds. He also shares how he and his wife, Merritt, along with their youngest son, Ashe, 22, who graduated from Wofford in May, navigated their eldest son Cole’s autism.
Writing the book enabled Ray to reflect on his own life experiences, challenges and growth.
“Life has not gotten easier, but I’ve gotten better at dealing with life, which has been a gift,” Ray says.
Learn more about Ray and the book at www.hardcomesfirst.com.