With a lot of tennis action and the US Open the past few weeks, I have been thinking about my friend and tennis coach, Pat Smith. Pat dedicated a lot of his life to developing youth and youth tennis programs in Central PA. He spent most of his waking hours involved in tennis in some way, and coached the the boys and girls tennis teams at Mechanicsburg High School, coached seven USTA junior tennis teams, and taught private lessons and clinics for tennis players of all ages, predominantly focused on youth. If you showed up to to the Mechanicsburg High School tennis courts at any time, you were almost guaranteed to see Pat’s car, which spoke to his dedication to the sport. But Pat was more than a tennis coach; to my family, he was a close friend and someone who we enjoyed spending time with. Unfortunately, Pat passed suddenly on May 25, 2021 at the age of 74. For a guy who played tennis hours a day and one who was in great condition, this news was both shocking and heartbreaking. Whether you knew Pat or not, we can all learn from the life that he led.
While Pat taught the intricacies of the forehand, backhand, volley, serve, point construction, or other tennis skills, the biggest thing that Pat taught was simply to follow your passions. He never explicitly said it, but he made the lesson evident in how he lived his life. He dedicated his life to the sport of tennis and spent the bulk of his time patiently teaching and developing tennis players, of all age ranges and skill levels. His investment in people was to see them improve their skills, lesson by lesson, clinic by clinic, match by match, and to guide and support them along the way. While I benefited greatly from Pat’s dedication to growing his players, I never had the chance to actually ask him what made him invest so much of his time in teaching/coaching tennis. April Gift, one of his colleagues with the USTA, was quoted in an article on Pat’s life, describing his motivations for coaching: “It was not about the money. He was doing it for the growth of the game and getting kids on the court.”
I have a million stories to share about Pat, including fun van rides to high school matches, times that he spent at our house for meals and cornhole, and tons of on court memories training together, but one is particularly telling for who he is as a person. Pat was also my brother Evan’s coach, and when Evan was a senior, he and his doubles partner lost a tight match in the Mid Penn Finals (a match that they probably should have won). After the match, they were understandably disappointed and sad about the defeat, and talked about how they just played their last tennis match. Pat, who was certainly disappointed at the result because the boys probably should have won, instead chose to see the positive in the situation, responded: “This isn’t your last match. This is just the start of your tennis career.” That speaks to his positivity, patience, as well as his dedication to growing players for participation in a life sport.
9/3/2018 1:30 AM: Pat and I in Penn Station in NYC after seeing Roger Federer play in the 2018 US Open. Crazy to bump into him.
Pat was passionate. Pat was caring. Pat was invested in others. No one is ever perfect, but he had many redeeming qualities and a lot to teach, both on and off the court. Words will never do the man justice, but I will forever remember the memories we made, the laughs we shared, the tennis balls we hit, and the friend that he was to our family. Anyone reading this can take away this simple message: follow your passions, wake up every day and do at least SOMETHING that you love, and invest in the development of others. Life is too short. Rest in Paradise my friend, and thank you for everything and the memories. You are missed.
Article; Central Pa. loses tennis ‘icon’: ‘It’s going to take a village to replace him’
Article: Tennis Community Pays Tribute to Former Mechanicsburg Coach Pat Smith
Mental Diet
Video of the Week: Adam Grant TED Talk- How to Stop Languishing and Start Finding Flow
Quote of the Week:
"There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone the light remains.” - Unknown
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Nathan