On the 195th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a tennis discussion with Ainsley Catalano. His guest makes his living as an analyst in commercial real estate. Ainsley also has tennis experience as a player, teacher, and parent. Topping off his A to Z connection to our game, he owns his own red clay court.

Steve and Ainsley touch upon many topics related to tennis. One being, the financial challenges facing the future of tennis. Solutions are suggested and, hopefully, some of the ideas shared will be heard by people who can unite to make a difference.

On the 194th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Ivan Ozerets talk tennis with Dave Anderson. Dave, a frequent guest, is a veteran coach with an outstanding track record.  He has worked at the Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas for over 30 years. 

Their discussion is the fourth of four Dave's Do's & Don'ts. The first three lists were centered on parents, players and coaches. The last focus on the work of tennis administrators.

Owners, operators, and directors surely will benefit by listening to David's input. To create a healthy and productive tennis culture parents, players, coaches and administrators certainly need to understand their roles and responsibilities.

On the 193rd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Ivan Ozerets interview Javier Palenque. Their guest has an unstoppable passion for the improvement of tennis. He is totally committed to researching how tennis is governed around the world. 

To make an understatement, he knows the problems. More importantly, he has solutions.

In addition to our podcast, we have attached a forty-page booklet by Javier. The content is critical. Although, honesty is needed for the overall welfare and growth of OUR game.

Furthermore to read over 500 articles on improving our governing body of tennis (USTA), one can connect with Javier through his medium: https://palenquej.medium.com/

Booklet: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2152981

On the 192nd episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith, Ivan Ozerets and Dave Anderson address the USTA Player Development (USTA PD) program. 

The following are attached:

1) A letter written by Jose Higueras on American tennis
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m8rnoacjivjOMt3sc5lRDo9Nccub9wgQ/view?usp=sharing

2) A letter written by Wayne Bryan on American tennis
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wIEoZk1rEZKlP3M_g9uZCEyCCVeB9I88/view?usp=sharing

3a) Patrick McEnroe holding three significant tennis positions - spoof by Steve Smith
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d_T6m_bo3EP4_7VaQUIYEwYf7X_sS9Ie/view?usp=sharing

3b) Craig Tiley turning down the opportunity to direct the USTA PD - letter by Steve Smith
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JmPx3pIfvp3FWlCYoZu5rGmarbVhHqIz/view?usp=sharing

Additional input from numerous podcasts and various blogs were also interfaced with the experience of Smith and Anderson.

A book should be written on the subject. One title for consideration: Honey & Money Isn't Funny.

On the 191st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Lawrence Hyde. The Englishman recently spent 350-plus hours studying with Steve. The primary topics covered were: tennis, tennis teaching, coaching, character development, player development, and the ins and outs of the tennis industry. Also, a healthy percentage of Lawrence's time was assisting with the production of personalized technical and tactical videos.

Lawrence's impressive work ethic earned him the compliment that he was not just another intern. Steve said Lawrence's approach reminded him of some of his tennis-teaching students from the 80's. The Brit wrote notes by day and typed them by night.  Prior to starting his internship, he completed all five of the GBTE online courses. 

Experience is best measured in a case-by-case scenario as opposed to just time in the game. Lawrence had the chance to observe and study early childhood development, juniors and college players as well as pros. He also sat in on meetings with parents and fellow coaches that were led by Steve.

The goal of our podcasts is to share a tennis language that has been created by studying the contributions of eight outstanding pillars and logging 50 years of coaching players, teaching coaches, and guiding parents.

Lawrence's notes were presented on the GreatBase Tennis Facebook page on 4/11/2024.

On the 190th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith has a conversation with Ilja Semjonovs. The theme of the session was based on the title of a hockey podcast called 32 Thoughts with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek.

Ilja, who has spent nearly 10 years working with Steve, formulated a list of 32 talking points. The information, ideas, and insights shared will help anyone and everyone connected to player development.

On the 189th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Ilja Semjonovs interview Andy Durham.

Andy has a lifetime of diversified experiences in tennis. The veteran tennis educator has a deep connection with match analysis. He was mentored by Bill Jacobson, the father of electronic charting and the founder of Compu-Tennis.

Andy is leading a campaign to have Bill inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Bill is one of the best tennis minds the game has ever known. His intellect and innovative thinking reached millions of fans watching televised tennis from their living rooms. 
 
Andy is shining a bright light on Bill's contributions with https://www.racketstats.com/. Mr. Durham's project offers a free and simple introduction to match charting. 

We are confident that our listeners will thoroughly enjoy spending time with Andy. To make an understatement, he has an extremely high Tennis IQ.

On the 188th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Lawrence Hyde talk tennis and life with Mark Bey. The discussion starts with Mark's beginning days in junior tennis. He also shares his experience playing college tennis under the legendary George Lott at DePaul University.

Since graduating, Mark has logged over 30 years acquiring diversified skills and earning numerous awards. Mark was inducted into the MidWest USPTA Hall of Fame and, most recently, he was honored by traveling with the US Davis Team as an assistant coach. Mark has completed educational courses for the USPTA and served as a tennis commentator for ESPN and the Tennis Channel.

Mark has non-stop passion and love for our game. A highlight of his career has been his relationship with the Bryan brothers and their parents. He has known the twins since they were young teenagers and has been part of their inner circle through junior, college, and pro tennis.

Mark considers himself the best-mentored tennis coach in the US. His confidence is an important factor to experience. To quote Arthur Ashe, "One must believe in themselves first before they can get others to believe in themselves."

By listening, one will be able to add golden nuggets to their tennis treasure chest. We would like to thank Mark for his time and for sharing information, ideas, and insights.   

On the 187th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Dave Anderson shares Do's and Don'ts for Players. 

Dave previously shared a similar list for parents and coaches. His next list will be for tennis administrators.

Dave joined Steve in 1985 as a student. Steve revised a general recreation curriculum into a comprehensive curriculum for students seeking occupational competency as tennis-teaching pro-managers. Dave spent a third year in the two-year program working as a lab instructor. Then he had autonomy directing one then two tennis clubs in a nearby town. In the second five years of the ten-year project, the collective efforts of their small group produced more Texas state champions than Dallas and Houston combined. 

On another podcast, Steve and Dave have promised to discuss the Florida academy scene. For a short period of time, the two led the program at the now-defunct Seguso-Bassett Tennis Training Center; which is now the Chris Evert Tennis Academy. 

Since then, Dave has spent more than 30 years in Dallas. He is based at the Brookhaven Country Club and has led a junior program that has produced more than 500 college tennis players. To make an understatement, he has a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share. 

Tribute to Andy Brandi
1952-2024

Our condolences to Andy's wife, Nancy, and their son, Chris. Our thoughts also go out to their family members and their close friends.

On the 186th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith discusses his connection to Andy. He worked for Andy in the late 1970's. At the start, Andy was 24 and Steve was 22.

Steve states that Andy's highly successful career should earn him a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Andy impacted the lives of many professional players and his record as a college coach is truly outstanding. In fact, no other college coach holds a higher winning percentage.

Steve shares some stories about Andy and, more importantly, he thanks Andy. 

Based on Andy's recommendation, Steve was able to study and work under Welby Van Horn. Literally thousands of tennis enthusiasts have benefited from Welby's system of instruction. Please consider listening to this episode, anyone who follows our content is and or will be fortunate to be part of an amazing coaching tree.

Again, thank you to Andy Brandi and all he stood for.
  
Andy Brandi, Rest in Peace