On the 183rd episode, a young Ivan Ozerets, an old Andres Barbosa, and a real old Steve Smith are a dollar late and a day short. The threesome randomly chat three weeks after the 2024 Australian Open. New listeners may quickly agree with their comment about putting them in section F to eat a hot dog but insiders to the GreatBase Tennis Podcast will likely think otherwise.

The session has some information, ideas, and insights that one will not find on the typical tennis podcast. Tennis enthusiasts listening to all of our podcasts will start to make sense of the weird, wacky, and wild side of the wonderful game of tennis.

University of North Carolina
2023 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship
The Power Suggestion

On the 182nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith reconnects with Sophia Patel. She shares many golden nuggets for one to add to their tennis treasure chest. To make an understatement, she possesses deep and insightful wisdom.

Sophia was an integral part of the UNC 2023 national championship team. She was the lone captain and MVP of the team. By listening to the story, one will discover in this case that MVP stands for the most valuable person.

As a fifth-year senior, Sophia earned the trust and respect of her teammates and her coaches. The head coach, Brian Kalabas, who was open to his captain's suggestions, said the following:

"Sophia took on more for this program than any player I have ever coached. She really pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me a better coach to these 10 girls. I will be forever grateful for her attitude and her incredible commitment to the team and this program. Without her, this title wouldn't have been possible."

On the 181st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Ivan Ozerets talk tennis. Their topic centers around Alex Michelsen, the young player from southern California. They discuss and speculate as to why and how Alex reached a top 100 ATP ranking as a teenager.

Perhaps Steve and Ivan should just go sit in section F and eat some popcorn. On the other hand, those who listen to their conversation may find a few pearls of wisdom. One thing is for sure, Alex's story is nothing short of refreshing and uplifting.

Great person, great family, great competitor. 

On the 180th episode of the GreatBase Tennis, Steve Smith's guest is Rachel Rohrabacher. She talks about her background in junior tennis and college tennis as well as her current life as a pickleball professional. During their conversation, Rachel shares golden nugget after golden nugget. Their dialogue will help parents, athletes, and coaches. 

Check our GreatBase Tennis Facebook account. In the upcoming days, old videos showing her tennis development, an excerpt from 'Journey to the Truth' (featuring Rachel), and clips of her pickleball play will be posted.  The followers of the GreatBase developmental pathway will clearly see how Rachel's fundamental tennis foundation translates into an explosive and exciting skill set for pickleball.

On the 179th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with John Valenti.

To make an understatement, John Valenti has a story to tell. He claims to be the only person to have always made money from playing tournament tennis at the professional level. For over ten years, he followed the circuit living out of his van.

The native of Rochester, New York played hundreds of Futures events and strung thousands of tennis racquets. Along his journey, he met and played numerous opponents who climbed their way to the top of the tennis world. And through his unusual and unique experiences, he gained valuable and insightful wisdom that would help everyone trying to find their way in the world of tennis.

Listening to John Valenti makes perfect sense. His time on the road defines his unstoppable passion for our game. Living out of a van is certainly one way to prove that you are not a "Comfort Zoner."

In addition to listening to our podcast, one can find out more about Steve's guest by going to YouTube and plugging in MrJohnnyblazed.  

On the 178th episode, Steve Smith has a tennis conversation with Cris Valverde. Steve's guest is a veteran tennis teaching professional who resides with his wife and their two boys in Portland, Oregon. He has worked at the Irvington Club for the last 21 years.

Insiders of the GreatBase will quickly discover by listening that Cris has done his tennis homework. We are confident that Cris's knowledge and command of the material will inspire newcomers to zone in on our free educational tennis content. 

One bonus of the podcast is Cris' comments about Gundaris Tilmanis. The native of Riga, Latvia was raised in Australia and through his accomplished career was based in the Portland area.  

Another bonus is to learn that Cris's son, Rafael, is known as the Real Rafa.

On the 177th episode of the GreatBase Tennis (GBTE) podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Tomas Placatka. Steve's guest was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (1972), and grew up in nearby Kladno. 

Tomas's primary sport was ice hockey. He played at the professional level in his homeland and in Denmark. Like many of his fellow Czechs, tennis was his sport in the off-season. 

Since retiring from hockey, he has worked in the healthcare industry. Yet tennis is his true passion. Tomas has coached part-time for ten years and is a dedicated student of our educational content.

A number of topics were discussed; including thoughts on why the Czechs are so successful in tennis.

On the 176th episode of GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a tennis conversation with Domantas Sadauskas. Domi recently joined Steve to be trained to teach and coach a couple of young tennis hopefuls that Steve and his associates have coached for the last two years.

To make an understatement, the Lithuanian is passionate about the game of tennis. Domi studied in Ireland, France, and the US and has worked in Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Senegal. Among the highlights of his young career is serving on the staff of the Rafael Tennis Academy.

A wide range of topics were discussed and listeners are assured to be enlightened. 

On the 175th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Dave Anderson presents the Do's and Don'ts for Tennis Coaches. Anderson, who literally has developed hundreds of college tennis players, previously shared a similar list for tennis parents. In the future, he will present a list for players and administrators.

Thank you for listening to our tennis podcast. The goal is for our audience to add golden nuggets to their tennis treasure chest. Please note, one can find additional free educational content on our website (www.greatbasetennis.com).

On the 174th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith, Ivan Ozerets, and Dave Anderson review a document pertaining to GBTE (GreatBase Tennis Education). Their discussion should help listeners obtain a more in-depth understanding of the comprehensive curriculum that has been assembled over decades.

Based on the contributions of our eight pillars and numerous others, we are confident that one would find the free educational content found on our website (www.greatbasetennis.com) to be rich in value.

Thank you for listening and thank you for your support.