AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria University athletic department is pleased to announce the hiring of Steve Smith as the new head tennis coach. Smith has been a staple of the U.S. amateur tennis scene, studying under tennis coaching legend Vic Braden and coaching tennis for 52 years.
For the past 13 years, Smith has been the founder and lead educator of GreatBase Tennis Education (GTBE), a non-profit group focused on teaching the game to both players and coaches. Smith served as a consultant, clinician, coach and camp director for GTBE. He conducted special projects for all kinds of clientele, completed assignments for universities, clubs, associations and federations in over 30 countries, created a comprehensive system for player development based on studying masters of their craft and provided free tennis educational content. Smith's mission with GTBE was to make tennis instruction more affordable, more accessible and more truthful.
Prior to founding GTBE, Smith was an instructor and director at various tennis colleges, camps and academies from 1973 to 2011. Smith's longest stints were at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa from 1995-2011 and Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, from 1981-1991.
Early in his career, Smith was mentored by three legendary coaches in the tennis world, Dennis Van der Meer, Welby Van Horn and Braden, who was instrumental in the promotion of tennis across the United States. When asked about his protégé, the late Braden said, "Only a handful of coaches, worldwide, possess the teaching and coaching skills of Steve Smith."
"I cannot be more pleased to have Steve Smith coming in to oversee our tennis operation," said Vice President of Athletics John Weisbrod. "I think his lifetime of impacting tennis at all levels speaks for itself. We are excited to have his hand in writing the next chapter for AMU tennis."
Smith takes over an Ave Maria tennis program that is coming off Sun Conference Tournament appearances for both the men and the women. The men's team even upset the Coastal Georgia Mariners in the quarterfinals to move onto the semifinals.
The 2026 season will kick off in February with the Gyrenes ready to take on a competitive Sun Conference.
