On the 246th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Dave Anderson have a tennis conversation with Frank Butera. Their guest is a tennis teaching professional based in Boston, Massachusetts. The veteran pro teaches adults and juniors at MIT and the Marcus Lewis Indoor Center.

He was born in Boston and then raised in Italy until the age of fourteen. He began school in the US without speaking a word of English. Yet he became an outstanding student and completed a degree at Boston College (BC).

Prior to BC, he found his way to study tennis with Steve Smith at Tyler Junior College (TJC). That connection initially took place thirty-seven years ago. The two have continued to work together to help people improve.

Frank's passion for the game is second to none. He has a charming personality and an impressive command of teaching solid fundamentals, as Steve says. "It's always fun to see Frank, he's fun and he makes tennis fun." More importantly, Frank knows that if his players are always trying to improve through obtaining solid fundamentals, they will have more fun.

From this episode, there are many golden nuggets to add to one's tennis treasure chest. Here are three:

* Frank's number one rule: always try.

* Frank tells his students to be players, not just payers.

* Frank touches upon pickleball and states that one thing tennis players can learn from pickleball players is that sometimes you have to shovel snow off the courts to play.

On the 245th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Ivan Ozerets have a tennis conversation with Petrus Koekemoer. Their guest is a long-time associate who lives and works in his native South Africa (SA).

He currently leads a unique development program serving underprivileged children at the Rosemoor Tennis Centre near George in the Western Cape province of South Africa. A photo is attached that shows Petrus addressing a large group of tennis enthusiasts.

Petrus has spent over ten years with the GreatBase tennis pathway. He has traveled to the US numerous times to work with Steve and Dave. Likewise, Steve has traveled to South Africa to work with him. Petrus has documented the improvement of his students through in-depth video work and skill testing. The progress of his players and coaches is extremely impressive.

The historical and deep connections between GreatBase Tennis and South African tennis are discussed. Other topics that are discussed: fact-based instruction for long-term development, the importance of a good beginning, and staying true to fundamentals through all stages of development.

Another point of interest is connecting South Africans with South Africans to fundraise to help SA tennis players. In doing so, Petrus is making the effort to unite the SA tennis community. One Vic Braden theme that will surely help him with his efforts. "The dimensions of the court and physical laws dictate stroke production, not a coach's opinion or any unique theory.

On the 244th episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith, Dave Anderson, and Ivan Ozerets interview Dave Sivertson. On the podcast previous to this edition, Dave shared information, ideas, and insights related to on-court success. The USTA national title holder and ITF international team champion has been equally as successful off the court as on.

He is in his fifth decade working as a tennis director. Dave has served as a tennis director for some of the most prestigious tennis clubs in the United States.

Dave has written a 400-page business program for club managers and tennis professionals to improve the productivity and profitability of their tennis operations. The written work is called 'Net Profits.' https://www.netprofittennis.com/

To name a few of the industry awards he has won are the USPTA National Pro of the Year, the USPTA Texas Pro of the Year, and the Lloyd Sessions Education Award. He is a master pro with the USPTA (now RSPA) and has served the organization as a speaker, educator, committee member, and officer of the board.