Saving Doubles w/ Will Boucek

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol Otin O’Callaghan talk with Conor Casey, the Canadian tennis coach, comedy writer, and content creator behind the viral tennis skits. Conor explains how his uncle Leif Shiras and a first sketch about post-match excuses got him started, why Rosemary the ladies league player is his favorite character, and how he balances comedy with real coaching. He also tells the story of Vince Vaughn calming his nerves on a sitcom set.The conversation then moves to Conor’s college days. He tells the green brick story from Ohio State under Ty Tucker, shares his memories of facing the Illinois dream team, and gives his views on the changes in college tennis and the SEC versus the Big Ten. He also offers advice for new college coaches, remembers his friend Rob Steckley’s talent, and mentions his Spin Butter string.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol Otin O’Callaghan talk doubles with Will Boucek, the founder of Tennis Tribe and host of The Doubles Only Tennis Podcast. They start with the ATP’s planned cuts to doubles draws and prize money, the new US Open mixed doubles format, and the British doubles system Louis Cayer built. Will also explains why junior and college players struggle at the net.Will then goes through the doubles game itself: owning the middle, knowing your roles, forcing errors instead of chasing winners, the lob return, the I formation, and where the returner’s partner should stand. The hosts then play commissioner for a day. Steve wants doubles to run its own tour while staying connected to the majors, and Will would keep it all together and finally market doubles properly.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol Otin O’Callaghan welcome Joel Myers, the Australian tennis director at Coronado Tennis Center and an Instagram coach with over 100,000 followers. Joel tells his story: growing up on welfare with a single mom, moving from Sydney to Melbourne Park, a head pro who took him under his wing, an Aussie football injury, and a move to San Diego with one suitcase. He also talks about Pat Cash, the Nakashima and Svajda families, and his meeting with Aryna Sabalenka’s coach.The conversation then turns to coaching. Joel explains why he asks players how they played instead of what the score was, and how he gets parents and players to buy into change. He also covers the technical flaws he fights in juniors today, serve plus one, lesson plans, and the coach’s role as a supporting character. It ends with trash talk, Vic Braden, and the story of Joel dropping a backhand volley in front of Andy Fitzell.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol O’Callaghan keep things loose on episode 323, with Steve working through a stack of random notes from a weekend at the Battle of Boca. He took a van of Ave Maria players there, including a young player from Madagascar. The group also takes up the future of pro doubles, with Steve and Dave arguing that doubles players should break away and run their own circuit while keeping a place in the majors.From the tournament, Steve pulls out lessons on backboard work, practicing after matches, charting points, skipping rope, and getting fit. He argues that juniors need to be hungry, be good teammates, and “bleed tennis.” Dave and Pol add their own takes, with Pol sharing how hitting the backboard at Campbell changed his feel for the ball.

Steve Smith and Richard Hernandez welcome former NHL player Dominic Moore to episode 322 of the GreatBase Tennis Podcast for a deep conversation about family, resilience, and the path that took three brothers from a Toronto cul-de-sac to Harvard. Dominic traces his hockey and tennis upbringing alongside brothers Mark and Steve, the adversity his family has weathered, and the role his parents’ sacrifice and structure played in shaping all three into elite athletes and students.The conversation ranges from Dave Fish and the Harvard tennis team’s role in helping Dominic through his first wife’s cancer battle, to stories about Martin St. Louis and Robert Steckley, before closing with reflections on what team sports teach that tennis often doesn’t, namely loyalty and being a good teammate.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol O'Callaghan welcome content creator and teaching pro Jeff Lewis to the latest episode of the GreatBase Tennis Podcast for a deep dive into grips and stroke production across the history of pro tennis. The group works through the evolution of forehand grips from Eastern to extreme Western, naming benchmark players for each style, from Don Budge and Welby Van Horn's "championship grip" to modern players like Del Potro, Alcaraz, and Swiatek.The conversation moves through backhands, volleys, overheads, serves, and returns, with the group naming benchmark pros for each shot along the way. They also tackle the inverted racket face trend and why so many juniors are copying it without the fundamentals to back it up. Throughout, the group returns to the same theme: the pros who succeed are the ones who honor the physics and keep things simple, while juniors today are often chasing flashy nuances instead of building a complete, fundamentally sound game.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol O'Callaghan welcome longtime listener Simon Schlesinger, a teaching pro from Toronto who caught up on nearly 300 episodes of the podcast, to hear his story of falling in and out of love with tennis before finding his way back into coaching. Simon traces his path from childhood tennis in Ottawa, through a detour into arts and creative writing in Montreal, to eventually landing in Toronto and discovering GreatBase through fellow coach Will Resnick.The conversation covers how Will's clear, repeatable routines helped Simon understand stroke production rather than reverse engineering it from ball control, along with the challenges of building a coaching career in Canada's limited club system, and shoutouts for other influences like Al Millar and content creator Connor Casey. It closes with reflections on gratitude, mentorship, and Simon's hopes of one day leading a group of coaches himself.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol O'Callaghan dedicate episode 319 of the GreatBase Tennis Podcast to a deep dive into Roger Federer's meticulous approach to building his game, breaking down the list of over forty shots he set out to master and what that "begin with the end in mind" mentality means for junior development today.The group closes with a broader discussion on why so many juniors are playing tennis without ever developing the full skill set the game requires, drawing comparisons to basketball and other sports where players simply don't take the court without foundational skills. Steve and Dave make the case that parents and coaches need to prioritize building a complete, well-rounded player over short-term results, even if that means fewer laughs and games along the way.

Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Pol O'Callaghan dedicate episode 318 of the GreatBase Tennis Podcast to a wide-ranging review of the U.S. Open, opening with Roger Federer's emotional Hall of Fame ceremony and moving into a deep discussion on the brutal, unforgiving nature of professional tennis. Drawing on Matt Futterman's book "Tennis is the Cruelest Game," the group breaks down the economics, physical demands, and mental toughness required to survive on tour, with plenty of stories and insight mixed in along the way.The conversation ranges from junior tennis parenting and brain type training, to a heartfelt tribute to wheelchair tennis and the athletes who compete in it, closing with reflections on the U.S. Open's grassroots impact and the ongoing challenge of growing the game at the community level.

Steve Smith and Dave Anderson dedicate episode 317 of the GreatBase Tennis Podcast to a discussion of the new Novak Djokovic documentary, Wolf in Winter, breaking down its themes of sacrifice, discipline, and the unusual path that shaped one of the greatest careers in tennis history. The two dig into Djokovic's childhood in war-torn Yugoslavia, his early coaching influences, and the family dynamics that pushed him to transform every part of his life in pursuit of greatness.The conversation broadens into a reflection on mental toughness, the difference between being a fan and a student of the game, and why Steve and Dave believe coaches should sit their players down to watch and discuss the film together. They close with thoughts on Djokovic's legacy, his place among the all-time greats, and what young players can learn from a documentary built entirely on the idea that wisdom is knowledge earned over time.