The GreatBase Tennis Podcast

On the 133rd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith's guest is Jacob Hansen. The two tennis teaching professionals discuss the life and career of the late Peter Burwash.  Jacob worked for  Peter Burwash International (PBI) for ten years.  The native of California currently leads a junior development program in Utah and is in the process of building a tennis club near Salt Lake....

On the 132nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Andres Quijada. The Venezuelan is the director of the high-performance players at the Brookhaven Tennis Academy in Dallas. Prior to joining the private sector, Andres and his wife, the former Stephanie Wooten, spent years coaching college tennis. Andres grew up in Caracas under the tutelage of his father, a t...

On the 131st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Andres Barbosa discuss the 2023 Australian Open men's final. Perhaps Novak Djokovic was not 100% because of his injury. Perhaps Stefanos Tsitsipas could have played the one set point he earned in a different manner.  Perhaps this and perhaps that was discussed for students of the game to wonder and ponder. As the final anal...

On the 130th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Ilja Semjonovs. Steve compliments his guest by calling him a total package coach; meaning Ilja can cover all four components of the game with extremely high levels of competency.  Ilja, a native of Latvia, added to the GreatBase curriculum by designing a metronome system. He synchronized the checkpoints of al...

On the 129th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a tennis conversation with Casey Curtis. Coach Curtis is a veteran tennis coach; the Californian native spent nearly forty years developing junior players in Canada. His most successful student, a player he worked with from age eight to seventeen, reached the Wimbledon final and a world ranking of #3. Casey covers a vast number...

On the 128th episode of the GreatBase podcast, Steve Smith interviews Bud Schultz. The session covers a tennis story that must be heard. Bud, who never played a junior tournament, climbed to #39 on the ATP Tour. His story is truly inspirational and is an in-depth lesson in numerous ways for players, parents, and coaches. 

On the 127th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith's guest is Johann Frühling, who plans on making fitness and wellness his life's work. The native of Hamburg, Germany has completed sport science studies at the undergraduate level at the University of Leipzig and plans on completing his masters in the US. Johann conducts running courses for his university and works for Bla...

On the 125th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith interviews Andrew Rueb, the head men's tennis coach at Harvard University. We are confident that our listeners will thoroughly enjoy learning about Andrew's journey in tennis.  During the podcast, Andrew's delightful personality shines through, along with a deep, well-thought-out philosophy on how to best impact stude...

On the 124th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith wishes the listeners all the best for the new year. He also reviews the history and educational merit of the GreatBase Tennis curriculum.

On the 123rd episode of the GreatBase Tennis Podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Cole Reeves and Gino Octa. The two tennis teaching professionals were visiting the sunshine state for the annual Orange Bowl, one of the most prestigious junior tennis tournaments in the world. A number of key points were covered with the purpose of helping families better navigate their journeys in tennis. H...

On the 122nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith had a conversation with Julian Krinsky and his wife, Tina.  Starting in the late 70's, Julian founded the Julian Krinsky School of Tennis (JKST) in Philadelphia. JKST evolved into Julian Krinsky Camps and Programs (JKCP); which became one of the largest and most diversified summer camps in the US. Julian's  tennis business...

On the 121st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith interviews Ty Tucker. Ty is the head men's tennis coach at Ohio State and also oversees the women's team as their director.  He was twice an All-American for his beloved Buckeyes and, while playing on the ATP tour, he had wins over Tim Henman and Jimmy Arias (two top ten players). Ty returned to his alma mater as an assist...

Interview with Brian Clark On the 120th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith interviews Brian Clark. Brian certainly has many stories and lessons to share. His father, a former athlete, was instrumental in building an eight indoor tennis facility in Cincinnati; which Brian now owns and operates with his brother. Brian also was an athlete having captained his high school football te...

Group Dynamics In the 119th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with his long time associate, Richard Hernandez. Their topic was group dynamics. Richard, who is originally from Trinidad, lives in Toronto, Canada. Richard would like to see Tennis Ontario and Tennis Canada train tennis teachers to work with twenty or more beginners on one tennis court. The court i...

A Rainy Day Review On the 118th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith reviews routines for goal-oriented players to consider doing everyday.  He shares points he covered with a group of players on recent rainy day in sunny Florida.  The messages regarding non-required practice time are powerful and parents should consider having their juniors listen to the podcast as they drive to a...

Nick White On the 117th episode to the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Nick White. Nick was recently appointed as the Head Men's Tennis Coach at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. For a young man, Nick has a long history in tennis. He played junior and college tennis. Following his college days, he played Future events and during that time he started...

 Interview with Mike Carter On the 116th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Mike Carter.  Mike spent five years studying tennis with Steve back in the 1980's and has spent the last thirty years working for USTA:Texas.  The third time is the charm applies to Mike Carter's journey in tennis. His dream job in tennis was living in his beloved Austin...

An Interview with George Goldhoff On the 115th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with George Goldhoff. Steve's guest is twenty-seven years young and has a number of meaningful and worthwhile experiences to share. George was a top nationally ranked junior and played for the University of Texas Longhorns. He also coached at Baylor University when the team r...

On the 114th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Caleb Hyatt. Steve's guest has worked as a junior, high school and college coach. Caleb served as a member of the tennis teaching staff at the USTA National Campus and also served as a massage therapist at the IMG athletic compound. Caleb recently spent two weeks shadowing Steve. Caleb presents notes, qu...

On the 113th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Jim Klein. He is the Director of Tennis of the Doylestown Tennis Club in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  Our listeners who honor and respect the life-long work of the late Vic Braden would appreciate knowing that Jim led the efforts to have Vic inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Another extremely...

On the 112th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Nicole Erickson. She is the Mental Performance Coach for the FM Tennis Performance Center.  After suffering two severe knee injuries while playing scholastic basketball, Nicole transferred her energy into sports psychology. To prepare for her new passion she completed two degrees as well as numerous certifica...

Roger Federer Retires On the 111th episode of the GreatBaseTennis podcast, Steve Smith and Andres Barbosa discuss Roger Federer's remarkable tennis career. Words cannot sufficiently define the class, elegance and beauty of Roger the person and Roger the player. His life, both on-court and off-court, has truly been an inspiration. Thank you, Roger. 

On the 110th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with John Posey. Posey was the kid that every tennis program needs. He was cut from his college tennis team and returned a year later after having dedicated endless hours to   improve and, fortunately, earned a spot in line-up.  One of the best compliments for parents to hear is that their kid is low maintenance....

On the 109th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has an in-depth conversation with Patrick Geoffrion-Amorim. Steve's guest, Patrick, is a passionate and dedicated tennis teaching professional based in Quebec, Canada. As a junior player, Patrick trained at numerous academies in both Florida and Spain as well as in his native Canada. Patrick played college tennis at the Univers...

On the 108th episode of the GreatBase Tennis (GBT) podcast, Steve Smith and Austin Krajicek have a tennis conversation. The two have known each other for twenty-five years. A couple of weeks before Austin turned 8 years old, Steve produced a narrated slow-motion analysis for Austin and his parents, Rob and Sherry. Austin was on his way to a national event (Little Mo). Steve suggested that the fami...