Amanda Augustus' cell phone keeps cutting out.

Every few minutes, the connection fails and the Cal women's tennis coach disappears. Either her phone or the cell phone tower near her hotel is suspect-she's across the country coaching the USTA Summer Collegiate Team-because although she apparently has full bars of service, the six or seven dropped calls tell a different story.

"I'm ruining your interview," she says after the third time, sounding genuinely distressed. She tries using her earpiece and that seems to do the trick. Ten minutes later, though, the call gets dropped again.

"We were going so well for a while there," Augustus sighs when she calls back. "What was I saying?"

It's hard not to like Augustus. She exudes sincerity mingled with an endearing kind of shy awkwardness. Everything about her is youthful, from her big, earnest eyes to the sporty convertible she drives. When you talk to her, you sometimes feel like you're talking to one of her teenaged players-although it really wasn't so long ago that she won back-to-back national championships in doubles as a player at Cal.

Something in our library of stereotypes tells us that this is wrong. An elite coach should be stoic and intense. Augustus is anything but when she's chatting about how much she loves Oski or her favorite European destination. (Sweden, if you were wondering.) But when you ask her why she won't take credit for all she has achieved, something clicks in the elite coach part of her brain.

"When we finally win our first national title," she says, "maybe I'll finally be able to say that we're starting to get to where I want to see this program be."

It's the classic dissatisfaction of a perfectionist, one of those ties that bind great coaches. Augustus places a meaningful emphasis on the word 'finally,' as if she's been working toward a national championship at Cal for decades and she's tired of coming up short.

The thing is, she's only been there for two years.

In the 29 years before Augustus took the helm, there was one name in Cal women's tennis: Jan Brogan.

Brogan took the Bears to the postseason 25 times and coached 58 All-Americans. She had over 500 wins by the time she retired and most people expected her to add 100 more to that number.

"The running joke among all her former players was that she was never going to retire. She was going to finish it off on the court," Augustus says. "When she mentioned to me that she was retiring … I was like, 'Whatever, Jan.'"

After years of debating, Brogan officially retired in 2007. When Augustus heard the news, she was the coach of the Michigan women's tennis team. With her stellar playing credentials-four Grand Slam appearances on the professional tour after her championship years at Cal-combined with a burgeoning talent for coaching that was evident in the Wolverines' 17-8 record in her first year, Augustus was primed to make a bid for the job.

She flew out to California for the interview-skipping the campus tour that was offered to the other candidates-and two months after Brogan announced her retirement, Augustus took the reins of the program that had developed her.

She didn't waste time enjoying the scenery. In one year, she accomplished what Brogan couldn't do in 29. The Bears, seeded eighth going into the NCAA tournament, surged through each round to make their first-ever appearance in the final. They lost, but Augustus had emphatically proclaimed her presence to the coaching world.

But you will never hear that sentiment come from her. Modest is one way to describe Augustus. Painfully self-effacing is another.

Augustus doesn't like to talk about herself. Sometimes she talks about her team as if she's a bystander. They do this, they do that.

"The team has to commit if they really want to win an NCAA title. I can't do it for them," she says. "They're the ones that actually have to do it and I'm just there to guide them."

So when will Augustus take some credit for her historic achievements?

"Maybe I could be a little more cocky when I have 20 national titles like (Cal rugby coach) Jack Clark," she says.

She laughs, and you laugh along with her. But deep down, you know that it might just take 20 national championships before Augustus even considers getting cocky.

At the end of the interview, Augustus asks how things are back in Berkeley. Right now, her tennis courts are overrun with tiny tennis players as Cal hosts summer camps for children. Her camp was hosted two weeks ago, but the men's camp is still going on now. She enjoys them because she likes spreading tennis to the masses and because she likes seeing the kids wearing blue and gold. Get them hooked early.

She muses about how little they are. Some have rackets that are bigger than them. So can you tell if you're in the presence of the next Roger Federer when they're that young?

"You can tell obviously if someone has a gift for it, but tennis is a sport you really have to work at," she says. "There's a couple prodigies here or there, but they still don't become really great players without a lot of hard work."

Hard work is one of Augustus' key phrases. She uses it constantly. When she recites the schedule of her players, it's hour after hour of hard work. Early morning conditioning, class, one-on-one training with Augustus, three hour afternoon team practice. You don't play for Augustus if you like free time, a robust social life or naps.

But all the hard work has a payoff, and according to Augustus, it's more than just the hardware in her office.

"The single most overriding thing I really try to impress upon on the girls is that if they work for it, they really can have it all," she says. "They can get a degree from one of the greatest universities in the world, they can be an NCAA champion in singles, doubles and team ... They can have everything they want."

Augustus is proof.

Tags: CAL WOMEN'S TENNIS, AMANDA AUGUSTUS