The GreatBase Tennis Podcast

On the 82nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis (GBT) podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Cole Reeves. Cole's story is admirable, he wants to develop players in the state where he has grown up. Coach Reeves is based in Arkansas and has been following the GBT tennis content for over ten years. One significant point is that Cole has primarily learned the GBT pathway via the Internet...

On the 81st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Karla Navarro Wojcik. Steve and Karla have known each other nearly forty years. At the age of seventeen, with basically just being able to say hello in English, Karla started out as a student in the academic program Steve ran of career-minded tennis teaching professionals. Karla's first days in tennis sta...

The 80th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast is a special treat; it's a three-hour trip down memory lane. Carlos Goffi has a story to tell, his amazing life in tennis. The Brazilian tennis player from yesteryear touches upon topics from A2Z.  In the mid-80s, he wrote his best-selling tennis book (Tournament Tough). For over thirty years, Carlos ran his "Tournament Tough" tennis...

On the 79th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with an assistant tennis professional.  Gino Octa works at a club outside of Toronto that has supported the GreatBase Tennis curriculum since the late 1980's. Steve and Gino touch upon numerous points pertaining to player and character development.  We are confident that our listeners will find value hearing t...

On the 78th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Mike McLaughlin. Mike does an excellent job taking us back in time talking about a person who was always way ahead of his own time.  Our conversation is based on Vic Braden and his contributions to the great sport of tennis. We hope you find this episode as intriguing and entertaining as we did.

On the 77th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan discuss specialty shots and emergency shots.  We are confident that our listeners will be enlightened by the minor details pertaining to each shot, and will acquire a higher level of understanding for acquiring the insights into hitting all the shots required to be a complete player.

On the 76th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Dr. Domagoj Lausic. The main topic of their conversation focuses on sport psychology. Domagoj, a native of Croatia, has so much to share.  We are confident that this edition of our podcast will spark the intellectual curiosity of our listeners. 

On the 75th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan have a conversation with Mark Walpole. He is a tennis coach from Great Britain who has resided in Southern California for over thirty years. As a compliment, we have labeled Mark as a trench pro. He is opposed to the assembly line found at most tennis academies as well as recruiting the kid who can already play. ...

On the 74th episode of The GreatBase Tennis Podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview one of the best teachers of character that our game has ever known. Our three hour discussion, in my opinion, should become a mandatory assignment for anyone connected to player development. Just the sayings from Chuck Kris's late mother are worth their weight in gold. A wide range of topics are co...

On the 73rd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith interviews Raleigh Grossbaum who is the assistant men's tennis coach at Dartmouth. Raleigh earned his opportunity to coach at one of the country's most highly acclaimed colleges by simply paying his dues. We would like to think that we put Raleigh through the School of Hard Knocks and, along with his other diversified exper...

On the 72nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Dave Anderson. Dave, a long-time associate of Steve's, leads the instruction at ClubCorp's flagship facility (Brookhaven Country Club) in Dallas. Dave and his team of coaches have developed nearly 500 collegiate tennis players. Dave is the first guest on our podcast to conduct a second intervi...

The title of the 71st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast sounds like a movie. Steve Smith has a lengthy conversation with Fergus O'Rourke of Dublin, Ireland. Those who listen to the entire podcast will be treated to the sound of a true Irishman singing. As always, we hope those trying to make sense of the weird, wacky, and wonderful world of tennis teaching are finding value by tuning in...

On the 70th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan have a tennis conversation with Ed Krass. From hanging out with Mr. Harry Hopman to coaching at Harvard, Ed has an extremely diversified background. His number one project is promoting the game of One-on-One Doubles. We certainly appreciate tennis enthusiasts and tennis experts listening to Ed because his efforts...

Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan discuss different types of male tennis-teaching pros on the 69th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast.  Steve is proud that his number one mentor, Vic Braden, called him the Observer's Observer. Throughout a career that spans nearly 50 years, Steve has observed literally thousands of would-be, could-be, should-be tennis-teaching professionals. We hope our l...

In this episode, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Doug Verdieck.  Doug has an extremely impressive background in tennis as a player, coach, and tennis director.  He is the eldest son of the late legendary coach Jim Verdieck.  Doug reads a letter that his father sent to incoming freshmen.  Just the letter alone will let the listeners know why tennis people held Coach Verdieck in such high...

On the 67th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan discuss the King Richard movie.  Overall, Steve and Brandon thought the movie was excellent.  The movie is not a documentary and for the purpose of dramatizing the story Vic Braden, unfortunately, was totally misrepresented.

On the 66th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Manny Diaz. Manny is in his 40th year as the coach of the University of Georgia. The primary focus of their discussion is the work of Welby Van Horn. Manny grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico under the tutelage of Welby, who many consider one of the best teachers in the history of tennis.

In episode #65, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan touch upon tennis history. The topics discussed are based on the interior design of the new FM Tennis Performance Center in Boynton Beach, Florida.

On the 64th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Brandon Flanagan interview Steve Roberts. Steve, who is a graduate of Ferris State's Professional Management Program, is the Tennis Director at the Brookside Tennis Club in Saratoga, California. During the podcast, Steve shares his thoughts on using the GreatBase Tennis curriculum with juniors and adult players. Find out mor...

In episode 63 of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Brandon Flanagan is introduced. Currently, Brandon Flanagan and his partner, Allington Mutimer, own and operate FM Tennis. Their headquarters is in Boynton Beach, Florida. In addition to providing tennis programming and instruction at multiple sites, FM Tennis now has a 6200 square foot performance center.  In upcoming podcasts, we plan on interviewin...

On the 62nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and one of his students, Malhar Patel, share information, ideas and insights to help develop a healthy and productive tennis culture.  The inside-language of GreatBase teaching and training is based on hundreds, if not thousands, of sayings and expressions that are referred to as mind vitamins.

In this episode, Steve Smith shares notes he has from talks conducted by the late Don Meyer. Steve states that one of his favorite lectures is one presented by Coach Meyer. The title of the talk, "The Best Things I Have Seen In Sports." Don Meyer was a small college basketball coach who touched the lives of thousands. Steve emphatically suggests that young coaches should explore the inte...

In this episode, Steve Smith and Andy Fitzell had the honor of interviewing Dr. Jim Loehr. Previously, Steve and Andy had dedicated an entire podcast to Dr. Loehr's contributions as a leading sports psychologist. Throughout the 1980s, Steve and his students immersed themselves into the work Dr. Loehr shared with the tennis world. Jim was a pioneer in his field and a vast majority of mental to...

In this episode, Steve Smith and Andy Fitzell discuss ideas for tennis leadership. Each speaker zeroes in on one point.  Andy suggests the overall improvement of tennis teaching and Steve suggests a concept called a Form Tournament.  The educational content shared by Smith and Fitzell is based on an in-depth study of tennis teaching masters. Enthusiasts to experts and families to federations can b...

In this episode, Steve Smith and Andy Fitzell interview Dr. Jack Groppel.  Jack is one of the most prolific speakers in tennis and he can cover topics from A to Z. By formal study, he is a bio-mechanist. By informal study, he is a nutritionist, motivator, business consultant, and life coach.  Jack has and continues to make a major impact on the tennis industry as a leading educator. To make an und...