On the eve of his team’s biggest match of the year, USC Head Tennis Coach Peter Smith received an important phone call. It was from his boss, Athletic Director Pat Haden.
“Pat called to wish me luck. We talked for a few minutes, and then he mentioned that the Trojan marching band was in the Bay Area, and would I like them at the match,” Smith recalled.
The coach thought it over for all of two seconds. This was, after all, the NCAA Championships. Their semifinal opponent was, come to think of it, the Georgia Bulldogs, the bitterest of rivals. Any advantage, no matter how small, might just make the difference.
“I told him absolutely. But we didn’t mention it to the team. The next day, our guys walked onto the court and heard the full SC fight song. It became like a home match. It was unbelievable, and the guys were juiced.”
The Trojans subsequently rolled over Georgia (4-0), then used that momentum to finish off undefeated Virginia in a nail-biting final (4-3). With a little help from the brass and percussion sections, the Trojans had won their third straight NCAA Championship.
The win puts Smith, his ninth year at USC now complete, in rarified air. Along with the three consecutive championships and all the accompanying accolades, he has accumulated an astonishing 122-18 record over the last five years.
Few would argue that Smith is in the midst of building a collegiate tennis juggernaut. How could they? Smith’s players revere him, his fellow coaches respect him, and the nation’s top juniors are anxious to play for him. Even football legend and Trojan royalty Haden, who happens to know a thing or two about winning national titles, appreciates the scope of Smith’s accomplishments. “Winning three straight NCAA championships is no easy feat, and Peter now has the Trojans standing tall with the most national titles ever won in men’s tennis. We’re fortunate to have him here at USC,” Haden said.
The mild-mannered Smith, who turned forty-seven this summer, dismisses all of this. To hear the Southern California native talk, he considers himself more of a steward than a coach.
“First and foremost, it is about the players,” Smith says. “I’ve learned over the last 20 years that sometimes you just have to stay out of the way and not screw it up. If I do my job correctly and get the right guys on the team, then it is just about making minor adjustments and letting the machine run.”
True, having an All-American on your team like Steve Johnson (2011 NCAA Singles Champion, ITA Player of the Year, 48-3 for the season) helps with the wins and losses. But building and maintaining a program as successful as USC’s requires a unique set of skills.
Smith played collegiately at Long Beach State, then took a stab at the satellite circuit, playing in obscure tournaments around the globe. It was a tough slog (he reached a high of No. 421 in the ATP rankings), and after fifteen months of struggle, he opted to return to Southern California and finish his degree. Almost through happenstance, Smith was soon offered the head coaching duties at Long Beach State. At age 23, he suddenly found himself the youngest Division I men’s tennis coach in the country.
After four successful seasons (and a degree), Smith jumped to Fresno State, where he molded the Bulldogs’ tennis program from a national afterthought to a consistent top-20 team.