All Access with Peter Smith: Coaching Your Team Through Match Day

with Peter Smith,
Jack Kramer Club (CA) Director of Tennis & General Manager;
University of Southern California Men's Tennis Coach from 2002 through 2019;
5x NCAA Champions, including Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back (2009/2010/2011/2012) titles;
5x Pac-10 Coach of the Year;
2011 & 2014 USPTA National College "Coach of the Year";
2x Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) "Coach of the Year" (2010 & 2012);
Pepperdine Head Coach from 1997 to 2002;
5x WCC Champion, 5x WCC Coach of the Year;
Fresno State Head Coach from 1992 to 1997;
3x WAC Champions;
ATP Player - played Wimbeldon & US Open qualifying;
over 600 career wins

Do you want to learn about how one of the most successful coaches and programs in the country prepares for a team match? If so, this video featuring USC's legendary Peter Smith, provides an in-depth look at how an elite level team prepares for competition.

You will learn about visualization techniques and different methods for your team to increase focus as your players get ready to play their match. Coach Smith covers goal setting, plus how to problem solve and adjust during a match. Smith stresses the importance of body language and communication, as well as the role of assistant coaches to help take care of the small details.

Visualization and Routines

Coach Smith goes through different visualization exercises and explains what players should have in their minds as their start time draws nearer. He also talks about match day routines and stresses the importance of being comfortable and taking care of yourself before anything else.

Next, Smith details respecting your opponent and possessing the correct attitude when walking onto the court. He stresses having a strong scouting report, understanding the opponent's weaknesses and talking about other factors such as the weather and where you are competing (home or away). All of these match routines will help the player have the proper attitude and mentality to compete in a match. According to Coach Smith, having the right mentality will allow you to play aggressively and take care of business on the court.

Preparation and Coaching

The next part of the video dives into on-court preparation followed by an unprecedented look into Coach Smith's methods of in-match coaching. The first part of match preparation comes with a dynamic warmup on the court, followed by self-warm-up and "me" time. The second part comes from a four-portion Doubles Drill warm-up (in college tennis, doubles is the first part of the match).

The four portions include:

1. Returns: Cross-court/Down the line
2. Poaching: Moving towards the Middle (Volleys, poach cross behind)
3. Get Hands Ready at Net: 2-up, 2-back
4. Serve and Volley Cross-court

During in-match coaching, you'll get an inside glimpse of why Peter Smith is often thought of as one of the top tennis coaches in the game today. Smith utilizes different strategies to motivate his players, custom to each player's temperament, personality and current mental state, and works to get them to play at their optimal ability. He is patient, kind, demanding, assertive and decisive - all at the same time. It is a fascinating scene to watch unfold and an incredibly rich teaching tool to observe how Smith talks to his players and how the conversation encourages different emphasis and reinforcements, depending on the need and the time within the match.

This video is for individuals and teams looking to improve their approach to matches. Coach Smith establishes what his focus and preparations are as a coach and how he communicates them with his team. With this incredibly rare, insightful video, you'll get a complete breakdown of all of the different parts of what a Peter Smith-coached team does on match day. And once you watch it, you will see a clear path to becoming a better coach, especially on Match Day!

53 minutes. 2019.