Ep. 6: The Process Behind a Wimbledon Champion (Guest Sem Verbeek)

WEBVTT
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Welcome to the Serving the Future Show.
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I'm Steve Adamson, joined uh by my co-host, Ryan Redondo.
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We're in the Inspire 360 Lounge at U Tennis San Diego here.
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And uh we also have our producer, Jackson Ginn, behind the scenes.
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Awesome.
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We have a very special guest today to me and to the show, um, Mr.
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Sim Verbeek.
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He is joining us today.
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Welcome, Sim.
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Thank you very much for having me.
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It's a pleasure.
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Yeah, thank you for joining us.
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Um on our first episode, uh, we talked about mindset, we talked about all the things that we wanted to um discuss in this show, and you encapsule probably all of them, in my opinion, because I get to know you.
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And so the plan, though, for today is to learn about you and talk about process.
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And for our for our audience, though, I want to give you a little background on SEM.
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So SEM was a Pacific Tiger, started college tennis at the University of the Pacific in 2012, and in 2016 graduated as the WCC Player of the Year.
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SEM did you lose a match your senior year?
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Did you go undefeated?
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Um I went a lot of unfinished.
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I don't think I went to I don't think I uh Undefeated in WCC, though.
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Um nationally ranked player, again WCC Player of the Year, which is uh an amazing feat with the schools like USD, Pepperdine, et cetera.
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Impressive.
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Um and has gone on to um he's in the I don't know, in the midst of a great professional career, um, career high of top 30 in the world last year.
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Um, currently sitting in around top 80 at one point in the ITF professional rankings, was the number one ITF player in the in the world, which probably people don't know, which is around 500 ATP.
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But uh but amazing career so far, still going a long ways to go.
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Semifinalist at the Australian Open Um last year, and 2025 mixed doubles Wimbledon champion.
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So we have somebody with us that um knows process, has gone through it, has been at the the the peak of the slippery slopes of professional elite tennis and is working on his craft constantly.
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And so I hope that's uh a good enough introduction.
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But I want I want to learn more about you and we want to tell the world a little bit more of just about the process.
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And everybody knows the stats and the great things that you've done.
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Davis Cup um participant as well.
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So let's start with um let's just start in the beginning.
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What got you to play tennis?
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Uh it's actually my mom who was playing um just recreationally.
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Um, as a young boy in growing up in Amsterdam, you're almost required to play soccer or football.
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Um, so I did that for about eight years, I would say.
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Um and then sometimes when my mom would pick me up from soccer practice, she would have her own hit afterwards.
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Um, so she would just put me on uh on the sidelines um and I would watch for a little bit.
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And at one point it just looked like too much fun to not try it myself.
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How old were I started?
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Um I was 10 uh when I first got in in touch with the actual sport.
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Um my parents have always told me that I've always had, you know, when we went to the beach, I always wanted to play with the with the beach set, and um so I had the feeling for the ball from a young age, but I didn't actually try playing tennis when I um until I was 10.
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Wow, and then gradually I I wanted to play more and more because you know it was it was something new, I was improving at it.
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Um and then when I was 12, um I went on to what we call high school here in Amsterdam, um, and I was playing football seven days a week, and I wanted to play tennis uh four or five times a week.
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Um, and my parents rightly so said, Hey, you know, you're gonna have to choose one or the other because school is also very important.
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Um, and that's when I chose uh tennis as my main sport.
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Um at 12 years old, you switched over fully to tennis.
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Yeah.
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But if you said soccer for about eight years already, so four or five years old, you are playing recreationally or competitively.
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I mean, seven days a week is a lot, yeah.
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Yeah, in the beginning it's all it's all kind of recreationally.
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Um, but after a while, um, you know, you kind of start separating the the the little boys into groups of who maybe can play a little bit better than uh than others.
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And um I was always in kind of like the highest team of my age.
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Sometimes I was playing up.
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Um so I I've had some teammates who went on to play professionally in in soccer.
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Um, so there's always the question of what if.
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Um but I I did something uh always kind of at a high level for my age, I would say.
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But um it's not like I was at a at a youth academy for uh for one of the big clubs or something like that, even though I did get an invitation, but um that's when uh I switched over to the tennis.
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It it sounds like you were a great athlete, and I think these days, if you just started at 10, I think some of the kids nowadays have a full career by 10 years old.
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So and you getting into tennis at 12 is very impressive.
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Obviously, you were able to catch up just because of their innate athletic skills.
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But talk to us a little bit about, you know, when you got into the tennis and started playing these tournaments, you know, obviously you were coming from behind, right?
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And so to just talk to us about kind of what that felt like and if it was motivation for you.
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Yeah, it's it's interesting.
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Um, because I never felt like I was behind or anything.
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Um I I was I was just same with with football.
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I was having fun a lot of the time.
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Um, and I was just I was enjoying playing with the ball and and you know, football as a team sport.
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I I was enjoying for most of it who were my teammates.
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Um but then in tennis, uh, because it was still so new for me at 12, um, everything just started getting better probably more quickly than maybe if you start at three or four years old.
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Um you've gone through that maybe that growth curve um already that I was going through um when I was 12 or or 13.
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Um so I think because of that and the combination of me starting, like you said, a bit behind.
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I was never recruited by the Federation, I was never highly ranked in in my district or or nationally.
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Um so I also never felt like I had to perform in any tournament.
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Um, it was just I wanted to play matches and it was fun.
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Um and I think that just took a lot of pressure off of me as a kid to just go out there and and play.
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And um, then we started getting some moderate success.
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And then actually, when I was 14 years old, I was invited to the Baloteri Academy in down in Florida.
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And that was really the first glimpse for me into you know what a professional athlete's life could look like.
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Um and from then they started taking tournaments maybe a little bit more seriously than I was.
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So from go let's go back to 12 years old to 14 years old before you got in invited to go down to to Bradington.
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Yeah.
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Private private coach, group clinics.
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Um, what did you practice?
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What did your tennis look like?
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The environment specifically.
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When I started, it was at my very local club.
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Um, so it was all uh just small groups um and not like yellow balls and and and red balls and stuff like that.
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Um just just very casual, I would say.
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When I wanted to play a few more times a week, um I had to go to a bigger club in Amsterdam.
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Um and I just started playing uh again in groups.
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That club was already at a little higher level than let's say the the casual club that I started at.
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Um so you had some kids from the region that was that were all kind of performing relatively well.
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Uh nobody was at a level high enough where the federation stepped in and was like, hey, we want you in our program or anything like that.
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Um but it was it was good because everybody was kind of at the same level pushing each other, whether we knew that or not.
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Um we just made each other better by playing with each other.
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Um and then as I got into like four or five times a week, um, usually once a week I would have a private lesson um with one of the coaches at that um club, and then the rest of it was all just group play.
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Okay.
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Yeah, we talk so much about what the best environment is because you have kids that develop through social play, like it sounds like you did in groups, and then you took private lessons.
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You have some parents that are you know adamant that it's got to be private lessons all day, every day, and it's very isolated.
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And so it sounds like from 12 now 14 years old, you're going even to a bigger kind of social component with group play, right?
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In Bradington.
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So tell us about that.
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Yeah, first I had to obviously get used to the language, so that made it a little less social, maybe, than for uh for some of the American kids.
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Um, but that's when I really got the feeling of what an actual academy feels like or looks like.
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Um and again, I I was never invited there because I was a top prospect, um, but they saw that I was hungry to improve, and uh I think school was already um important but also fun for me.
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Um, so that was uh another reason I think that they looked at me as like, okay, this guy is also gonna take care of his academic side.
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Um, but going back to the tennis, um yeah, you you are then a little bit more judged, I would say, based on your abilities um right away.
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Whereas the the club in Amsterdam and even the the bigger club where I was in a lot of group play, everybody was just kind of put together because they were just filling the courts, and now it was really like you're in this group because this is where you belong, quote unquote.
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Um, and then it was up to you to work your way up.
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Um, so then you had challenge matches where you could you know challenge someone from a different group to see if you could like take his spot and and stuff like that.
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Um, so I think that's when really match play um and the more competitive side was was introduced to me.
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And how did you was it a a bit of a culture shock for you to come from the Netherlands to the US?
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I mean, I was just in the Netherlands uh in Amsterdam this summer, and it's a quite a bit different, an unbelievable city, just different.
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I just walking all the time, it's just a different kind of way of life.
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How was it that transition?
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Did it affect your tennis at all?
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Or I mean being away from home, or did you was it pretty seamless for you?
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Um I wouldn't call it seamless.
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Um, I think my um my parents I think had a maybe a little bit more difficult time than I did because I went there for something that I wanted to do, like I wanted to go play tennis.
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Um, I enjoyed school, so I didn't feel like there was any part of it where I was um sacrificing anything.
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I think, like I said, the hardest part was was the language for me, so it was maybe a little bit more difficult to connect in the beginning um with you know similar-minded 14-year-olds.
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But then at the same time, you know, you're there at a boarding school, um, you see the same people in your group, um, they're international kids.
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Um so in in terms of a culture shock, yes, I had to do a lot more with with cars, but I think it was also a much more protective environment than um I was used to in Amsterdam, because all of the responsibility now falls on the people of the academy to take care of kids that are away from their parents on a different continent and and stuff like that.
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So I think that was more of a like the academy shock for me of like just a different level of freedom than I was used to.
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Okay.
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Um so in the beginning, I would say yes, it it affected my tennis because I was also, um, and I think Ryan can attest to this when I got to college, I kind of want to feel things out in the beginning.
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So I I kind of stay in my safe zone.
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Um, but then once you get used to the routine and used to the people that you interact with, um, that's when I got into my fun mode again.
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So I want to go back to the Bradington.
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So you're 14 years old.
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Tell us how long do you stay there?
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And and what was the purpose?
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Was it, hey, I obviously it sounds like you wanted to have fun, you wanted to get better in tennis, but was it uh I want to have fun, get better in tennis because I want to be a pro, um, or I want to go play college tennis, I want to get to a specific university.
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What was the intention?
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That's a good question.
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Um, so the the backstory to getting to uh IMG into Bradington was I wanted to go on a tennis camp and my family wanted to go visit the US as a holiday.
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So we kind of combined those two in the summer before that.
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Um, so I did two weeks as what they call a short timer where you're just um you're there for a few weeks.
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And at the end of those few weeks, it was the I think the director of tennis there who talked to my dad and was like, hey, you know, we really like what we saw from Sam in these two weeks.
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Well, how would you guys feel if you came here for a semester?
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Um, so initially it was just a plan to go from August to December and then see how it went and see what it looked like and um if I even liked it.
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Um but then from there it was really um quite seamless, as as you guys also called it, um, because I was having so much fun.
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Um but it was never a a a thought for me of like, oh, I I wanted to go pro.
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I didn't even know what college tenis was at that point.
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But what was what was the product that they were saying?
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Like, hey, we like what we see from SEM because we think he's gonna it was it just you're another number and they just wanted you there, or they were like, no, sem is there's something special there.
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Because I know when I recruited you what I got to see and what I got to hear, but I'm trying to to peel back like what was it?
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Where what do you think it was?
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Um I think I I think like you said, it was more of a of a numbers thing.
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Um I do think the academic component helped because I I think they just wanted like a GPA booster um for their academy, which is which is okay.
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Um but no, it's it's I think it was just um one of the people.
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Um I think it it was it was not something special that they saw in me of like, oh, this guy is going to be the next this and this person, um or this guy's going to go to a D1 school.
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I think it was just like, hey, uh we like his attitude, he's he's good at school, and he can actually get a lot better.
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Um but I never during yeah, so during that recruit the recruiting time, so now 14 year there for a semester, you obviously stayed on longer.
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I got to speak to Coach Red, who if you don't know who Red is, he's a legend of Boloteri, right?
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I mean, he's still coaching, produced Grand Slam champions and everybody, and he's the one that called me about you.
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So there was something there from 14 years old to then you kind of showed some you showed something to them that you know was not just results, right?
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So tell us about you know the process and what was it like you know being a 16-year-old in Florida, you know, competing and being in that environment.
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Yeah, um I think because I never had the process of wanting to be a professional tennis player or having the level at that age to skip college.
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Um I think it really all became about how can I get better at this sport that I'm playing, which obviously for me is is tennis.
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Um I did notice that through my years I was able to move up groups.
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Um, you know, even though, like you said, Red has produced Grand Slam champions and stuff like that, he doesn't coach the top group.
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Um the top group kind of gets their own coaches and gets special treatment.
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Um but I think I never really had a problem with what other people call the discipline, you know, being on time or doing the work that you need to do, doing your homework.
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At IMG, you know, peeling back even more layers, you had pretty strict rules that you had to follow in terms of attendance and wearing proper school attire and tucking in your shirt and making your bed and stuff like that.
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So I think from an early age they tried to instill kind of those responsibilities of wanting you to develop not only as a tennis player, but also kind of into a young adult.
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Um and was that natural for was that something that you had to learn, or was that natural from you?
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Knowing who you are, knowing that you're a very you know disciplined, regimented person and and processes, was that developed at Bolotari, or is that again something that just came natural to you?
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I think it was highlighted there.
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I don't think it I think it comes kind of with the Dutch culture.
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We're very like follow the rules, um don't deviate too much from from the norm kind of culture.
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Um and I think it's just it's part of my character to not really want to stand out in any way.
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Um and I think also at that age already, I think there was a little bit of um of a discomfort or fear of getting in trouble, and then my parents being called and be like, hey, Sam is is misbehaving or something, or um, he's getting in trouble.
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So I think it was really also that part that that kind of straightened me out or kept me straight.
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Um but again I I knew the consequences of not doing that was what they called detention, and then you wouldn't be allowed to go on on the bus to the beach or something in the weekend, or you'd have to skip, or you would have to skip practices, and that's what I really wanted to be there for.
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Um so that that kind of discipline and and that kind of process came kind of easy.
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Um but I think I was you know, as a 16 or 17-year-old, once I realized okay, I'm not gonna go professional now, um, and school is still important to me, so let's see if if the college route is something I can do.
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Um then it really kind of became clear to me that I was just a number at IMG because I had to fight to even get like a college video out there.
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Um I was I was told by some people there, I'm not gonna name names, that it's like it's there's no use in making a video, and I should just go to D3 or or D2 if I'm lucky, um, and focus all of my attention on academics.
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Um in the grand scheme of things, yeah.
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In the grand scheme of things, though, you're I mean, I know you were in the uh tennis recruiting, you know, star rating system, maybe a two-star recruit.
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When I when I spoke to you, so I mean let's not throw them.
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I think we can name names on this show, can't we?
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No, no names.
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But it also makes sense.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, but I was also coming off an injury, like I had hip surgery at that point.
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Um, because I actually graduated high school a year early.
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Um and I was supposed to go to Boston University.
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Um, like everything was kind of already in commitment, and we hadn't signed yet, but then I got uh injured, so the coach there pulled his commitment.
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Um, so I I did my rehab back in the Netherlands, but then I went back to IMG for a semester to go into that recruiting process again.
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And you know, thankfully, that's when uh when Ryan and I connected.
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Um thankfully you got a college recruiting video because I got to actually watch the video.
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:35.920
Wow, they sent me the video, Coach Red called me.
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:49.119
I remember I was on the freeway driving back from Indian Wells to LA airport after the Big West conference championships, and it was like, hey, I've got this kid, I'm gonna send you his video, check the video out, there's something there.
00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:50.559
And I got to see the video.
00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:57.680
I mean, granted, if you didn't have the video and you just said, hey, he's a two-star recruit, I'm like, okay, well, I win a conference championship.
00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:04.079
I don't know if we're gonna do that to beat Pepperdine, um, which uh we ended up doing.
00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:08.240
We beat Pepperdine, you know, first time in program history when Sem was there.
00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:13.839
But you know, thankfully you got that college video out of IMG your senior year.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:20.559
So tell us about yeah, tell us about that next um stage in your life, going from IMG now.
00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:24.559
You're you're taking visits and and take us through that process.
00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.839
Yeah, we um we really made a list again.
00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:31.039
Uh the the main focus was on the academics part.
00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:44.000
And I think kind of what the the surgery and and the rehab process from my injury provided was a gateway into a passion of mine, which was medicine and more specifically sports medicine.
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:54.559
Um, so one person that I want to positively highlight was Gretchen Ullinger, who was like, Okay, let's let's start with um every program um in the states that you think are interesting.
00:21:54.720 --> 00:22:02.799
So, you know, as an international student, I was like California or Boston or New York or Anything in the middle was like, I don't know what that is.
00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:14.559
Um we um we made a list of like okay, where can I study sports medicine or exercise science or something like that?
00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.279
And um, you know, Pacific was one of those schools.
00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:27.759
So what started as kind of just a mass email to the coaches from those schools that had my uh degree that I wanted to study and had a uh competitive tennis program.
00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:34.079
From there, you were literally the only one that responded to us in that email.
00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:37.200
Um did you know Stockton before?
00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:39.599
Like you're coming from Amsterdam, right?
00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:46.559
And then Braden and then Stockton, and it's a little different California than most people are are used to.
00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:49.279
A good recruiter, a good recruiter, good recruiter.
00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:54.720
I heard you're curious about the uh Stockton piece there.
00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:18.000
Yeah, um no, I mean my uh I visited with my dad, I think it was an unofficial visit, and it's not like um we we were like recruited to to come there or anything, but um through email contact and um also with a push from um Gretchen, we were like, okay, let's let's just go take a visit, um, because he he seems genuinely interested.
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:23.039
And you know, even though Stockton gets a bad reputation, the school itself is gorgeous.
00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:29.759
Um, so we we arrived on campus, we were like, Well, this is like a fairy tale, it's like I'm in Harry Potter land or something.
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.519
It looks like an Ivy League school, it's it is beautiful, it really does, yeah.
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:35.119
Yeah, it really does.
00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:46.240
Um, so you know, then then we went there and we we looked around, so it was it was an easy sell from a um cosmetic point of view, of like, okay, this this looks great.
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:54.000
Um, and then we got to talk with um with Ryan, and and I think we saw the team practice um for a little bit.
00:23:54.160 --> 00:24:04.960
And um, again, since I had the degree that I wanted to study um and I was able to to play tennis, um, I was like, I I think this might be the right fit for me.
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.920
Um, I I didn't have any sort of expectations.
00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:10.240
Little did you know what you're getting into?
00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:11.519
Yeah.
00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:18.480
Um I didn't have any expectations of like, oh, I need to be in the lineup or anything, or I I want to play at this spot.
00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:23.680
Um, you know, I I all I heard was there's a coach who's interested in in working with me.
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.039
Um I think you said, like, yeah, we might need a tall lefty for doubles.
00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:29.920
Um I was like, yeah, great, let's let's do it.
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:35.440
Um so we then we went into that um the acceptance process and stuff like that.
00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:42.000
But yeah, and so before we go through the college, and and I think we would really like to peel back the processes.
00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.039
Like, what did you who did you become in college?
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:48.240
Not the the wins and losses, but who did you become?
00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:50.400
But something that stands out to me.
00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:56.000
So you're looking at schools and you're you're putting value on the educational side, right?
00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:02.960
You you had a medical desire to study medicine, um, either be a doctor or whatever, whatever that is.
00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.599
Fast forward now what, 12 years later or so.
00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.519
I don't know how long that's been.
00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:09.279
You're still getting certifications.
00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:12.880
And and you know, didn't you just finish some kind of certification?
00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:18.079
Can you give us a little bit of background on what you just did and then we'll we'll go back to the college days?
00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:18.880
Yeah.
00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:36.319
Um, yeah, so I was accepted into the Harvard Business School um crossover into business program, I think is what you're uh referring to, um, where they give um professional athletes or athletes that have just recently retired the chance to do a semester of Harvard Business School.
00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:37.279
No, no, not that.
00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:40.559
I think it was a like a certification, like a body movement.
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:42.960
Didn't you describe Oh the functional patterns one?
00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:44.240
Functional patterns, yeah.
00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:44.880
That okay.
00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:45.759
Tell us about that.
00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:54.240
Yeah, so it's um it's a system that um I work closely with um now in my professional career for like the last two years.
00:25:54.400 --> 00:26:18.319
Um and I went over to um Madrid to take um a multiple-day course to be certified in their first level, their entry-level practitioner, um, to really understand more deeply um what they what they train and how they train, and also to get more info on how my body works and what the principles are behind all of that training.
00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:31.759
Um so it like I said, it it goes into the passion of of medicine and the human body that I have, and it's a plus that um it helps me in my professional tennis career now as well.
00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:35.839
Um so and I just I just think that's yeah, I think that's amazing.
00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:39.839
I was telling Steve and Jackson before, like you beat to your own drum, right?
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:41.759
And I noticed that in college.
00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:57.680
And even now, you're a Grand Slam champion, and I don't know how many Grand Slam champions and top players in their craft that are getting certifications that are still you're you're still evolving, you're still, you're still pushing yourself as a human, which I just think is is a testament.
00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:09.200
And I think that's something that's really important for our audience to hear and for parents and other coaches to hear, is that you were like that in in high in college and high school, but you're still doing it and you're at the top of your craft.
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:12.079
You're still trying to get to the top, but you're still doing those things.
00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.359
And I think that's that's awesome.
00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:14.720
So thanks for sharing that.
00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:22.319
But let's go back to college and and and talk about that process because you're still not thinking I'm gonna be an all-American.
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:24.799
I'm not I'm not here to win a national championship.
00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:28.720
I'm not here to use this as a stepping stone to win Wimbledon.
00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:30.240
Um, but I don't know.
00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.200
I mean, what do you think?
00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:33.680
I think it's it's it's an amazing start.
00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:40.799
Yeah, I'm I'd be interested to see the role through this whole process, the role of your parents.
00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:50.000
We've been talking with uh, you know, different guests and how there's been people in their lives that are really kind of molded who they are, or they've been their support system.
00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:56.480
So for your parents to like go all the way to the US, like was this driven by yourself?
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:57.599
Was it driven by them?
00:27:57.759 --> 00:27:59.759
Was it a team that you guys were?
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.200
It's a great question.
00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:03.680
Yeah, it's it's a really good question.
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:10.720
Um, I've been blessed with two amazing parents in general, but also tennis parents.
00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:22.640
Um they're they've never played tennis at a high level, um, so they don't have that experience of like this is what it should look like or this is what it um should be.
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:34.720
But the the thing that I think I I mostly got from my dad's side was if you're gonna commit yourself to something, you should try to do it with everything you have.
00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:59.200
Um and and I took that as like, okay, if I if I put the name Verbeak, so my last name to something, I want people to realize that I I put my whole soul and being into that, um, so that they know they can trust basically that there's some quality to to that product, um, whether that's you know even just a practice or or a paper that I wrote in college or anything like that.
00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:07.440
Um and then from my mom's side, I think that she she's very emotionally intelligent and in in tune.
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:25.759
Um so I think that combination of the the drive from my dad with the emotional um kind of gradient that I got from my mom, I think that made for um decisions early on in the process that were completely driven by me.
00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:36.000
Um I knew that I had to choose something um or had to, that I got to choose something that I wanted to fully commit myself to, and and that became the tennis part.
00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:48.400
But at the same time, I also realized okay, this is I'm not at that level where um this is gonna provide my parents with a better life or something, or escape from um a life that we had.
00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:56.880
Um, but it was more so like hey, they they're providing you with a safety net both emotionally and financially to fully commit yourself to this.
00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:00.799
Um and I sound like you won the parent lottery right there.
00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:01.440
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:08.240
It's uh such a healthy relationship, but that's just like you don't really hear that story too often.
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:15.119
And um I know that you're on the tour right now, so most of those stories of their parents are not like that.
00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:19.359
There's uh some really driven parents that kind of tug them along the way.
00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:27.759
So it's really nice to hear that that type of story and and really a healthy relationship with your parents driven by you.
00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:35.440
What I would say getting to be a part of that story or that team in the college days, what I noticed too is they were very strategic.
00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:45.839
And so whether that's with Sam or I had the conversation with Frank, that's his father, it was very strategic of okay, you know, there was it was almost uh like the facts are friendly.
00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.960
If he gets here, then we're gonna help and invest in this.
00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:51.519
And you put milestones to achieving goals.
00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:58.240
And it was like if he doesn't get this, or if he doesn't get to this point, then we're gonna pivot and you're gonna go this way, you know.
00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:03.599
And and luckily, uh you just kept developing and and making those milestones, really.
00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:11.759
But that was a very strategic part in kind of the guidance of your dad, who is a very successful businessman and and strategic thinker.
00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:14.480
So I think, you know, back to the lottery, yes, he did.
00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:17.119
Um, but it wasn't just kind of fairy tales and just fun.
00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:25.200
Like, let's see what I think there were a lot of expectations that you had to make in order to get that next level of financial support, even.
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:25.759
Sure.
00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:26.559
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:40.640
And it was um, it's yeah, it's it like he said, it's not all fairy tales, and and also during college or even before that, you know, there tough questions are being asked, um, literally, uh, tough conversations are being had.
00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:42.960
Um, but I think it all came from a good place.
00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:50.000
It was never um a doubt for me of like, I need to perform for him, basically.
00:31:50.160 --> 00:32:05.200
But it was just like, hey, you know, we're we're committed to this just like you are, so let's make sure we have, like Ryan said, some benchmarks or some milestones that that we're aiming for, um, so that it doesn't all go to waste, quote unquote.
00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:09.680
Um, but they always came back to you making a decision though.
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:10.079
Yeah.
00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:10.400
Right?
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:13.039
So you were you were able to make that choice.
00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:15.519
And what what drove you to that?
00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:21.599
Like internally, what got you to a place to say, I want that, or this is the direction I'm going?
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:23.519
Big question right there.
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:24.000
Yeah.
00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:24.880
Yeah.
00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:37.440
Um, I'm not so sure if I have an answer right away, but um I I think it was um well that were there experiences throughout college that got you to like, hey, maybe I can.
00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.279
I mean, was it your freshman year?
00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.559
Did you make the finals a regionals for your freshman or sophomore year?
00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:43.680
Sophomore year.
00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:44.559
Sophomore year.
00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:48.960
So as a quote unquote walk on freshman year, let's see where you are.
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:51.200
You end up playing towards the top of the lineup.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:54.480
You you clinched huge matches for us.
00:32:55.119 --> 00:33:04.960
Sophomore year, you you get to the finals of the Northwest regional with Stanford, Cal, Fresno State, all of those amazing teams.
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:12.000
So I think there were experiences that maybe it has kept it was like the carrot that kept going out and getting itself, you know.
00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:17.359
But you again, you had to make the choice, that's what you wanted to do, or you were going to push for that.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:28.880
And if you go back to like the soccer times when you were eight or nine years old to 12 to 14, there was something driving you to be extremely competitive externally and internally.
00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:30.880
Yeah, I think so.
00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:42.640
Um, I think for me, sport has always been you know a gateway for me to really get my energy out, whether that's physical energy, but also kind of the mental and emotional energy.
00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:49.680
Um, like it it was easy from an early age to just be completely enveloped in a sport.
00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:53.440
Um so whether that was soccer or tennis.
00:33:53.839 --> 00:34:08.400
Um but going back to like what drove you, I think I was lucky enough to be in positions, whether that be in Braderton or or with you for those four years, where everything was just in in tune.
00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:13.440
And I think that's kind of back to my mom's side of like, does it feel like the right place to be?
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:17.599
Um, and I never quite felt like that wasn't the case.
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:33.039
Of course, nothing was ever perfect because it's never going to be, and there's always challenges, but every time I I went inwards, it was just okay, now I feel at peace with where I am and and whom I'm working with and and the direction that I'm going.
00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:40.320
Um, even though we had specific milestones, and I'm not exactly sure in in college if we had those milestones.
00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:49.119
Um I do remember at the very start, um, you had us fill out um this form of like, okay, what are your goals or your dreams for the season?
00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:52.639
And I was like, oh, play in the lineup, and you're like, no, no, think think bigger.
00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:56.559
I want to be freshman of the year or something like that.
00:34:56.719 --> 00:34:57.039
Yeah.
00:34:57.360 --> 00:35:00.800
Um, so I think that was kind of that safety that I wanted to have.
00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:02.559
Were you freshman of the year?
00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:05.199
Yeah, we ended up winning freshman of the year.
00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:05.599
Right.
00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:05.760
Yeah.
00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:07.280
You have to put it out in the universe.
00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:09.039
Yeah, exactly.
00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:18.639
Um, so that so that was a cool experience, but I think I I never quite felt like I was I was going in the wrong direction with my improvement either.
00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:29.199
So that combination of like I'm in the right place physically and and spiritually, and then you have the evidence of like, hey, every year or every six months, I'm actually also getting better.
00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:35.360
Um, I think I was just I was blessed to be in in those kind of situations, both at IMG and at Pacific.
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:39.280
And I really took that process of okay, am I in the right place?
00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:44.000
Am I working with the right people into my professional career as well?
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:52.960
Um, because I really enjoyed, especially the four-year transition that I went to went through as a freshman compared to a senior.
00:35:53.119 --> 00:36:05.760
Like even though my kind of my core values stayed the same, um, if I compared myself as a senior to who I was as a freshman, it's like a completely different, upgraded version of SEM.
00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:13.440
So I wanted to take that four-year transition of freshman to senior to my first four years of professional tennis as well.
00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:17.840
And you know, I made I made a plan with with Ryan, but also with my parents.
00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:25.679
And that's what I think really the the milestones came of like, okay, how do we know that this four-year plan is a is a success and it's worth doing?
00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:29.039
Again, another, like you can hear a strategic plan.
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:32.639
Like even at a very young age, making a strategic plan.
00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:35.039
I think that discipline, very Dutch, right?
00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:45.199
But I think that's something for for our audience and parents, if you're listening to this, like it's okay to have a strategic plan and think far out.
00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:54.320
You might not make, like you said, you might not hit those milestones, but if you have the plan to do it, then you're you're gonna have a better opportunity to make it, right?
00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:55.679
Yeah, I I agree.
00:36:55.760 --> 00:37:01.920
And and you've done you developed so much in college, which is really impressive how you stayed hungry.
00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:10.079
And you know, I'm really here just to hear the the stories about this guy under playing under him.
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:12.239
I mean, it's a family show simple.
00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:19.599
If we were gonna talk about our coach in college, I could fill up a whole podcast on stories about him.
00:37:19.679 --> 00:37:23.679
So let us know a little bit about what it was like to play for Ryan.
00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:30.159
You developed a lot, the uh any funny stories, uh, he's ready for anything.
00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:32.719
This is the part where you stick like it, Ryan.
00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:34.400
That's exactly right.
00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:36.159
You're just talking to me right now, Sam.
00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:45.280
Um, I uh it's it's tough to really go deep into it without actually getting emotional.
00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:54.719
Um, because we in my mind, you really became like a second father to me during those four years, but also uh after.
00:37:55.199 --> 00:38:04.239
Um, and it's always I think you're also more nostalgic as you look back, obviously, and you you remember all of the the great highlights.
00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:15.920
But I would say what I appreciated, and I think I remembered this from my freshman year specifically, is I came into Pacific with another guy from IMG who was also a walk-on.
00:38:16.800 --> 00:38:21.360
And um, like he was a great safe feeling for me.
00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:25.679
And like I said, I would every time I came to a new place, I kind of wanted to scope it out first.
00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:38.079
Um but I what I appreciated so much about Ryan now looking back is even though it was very uncomfortable in the beginning for me, he really challenged me to you know actually be part of the team early on.
00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:46.159
But I never quite felt in the beginning like, oh, I'm not I'm not good enough, I wasn't recruited, um, you know, these guys are so much better than me.
00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:54.000
Um but I think Ryan from the start was like, no, look, like get out of your comfort zone and start interacting and start practicing with these guys.
00:38:54.159 --> 00:39:06.400
And um, you know, it wasn't all like great fun in the beginning, but it was it was that like I think he touched something in in inside me of like what is going on?
00:39:06.480 --> 00:39:14.000
Like I feel like I have to shed who I was and and what I like to to really fight for my place on this team.
00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:23.760
And that kind of that progression of of shedding some old skin or some old habits really continued um for those four years.
00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:59.280
And you know, Ryan mentioned a carrot um in the beginning, but what I what I never felt was like he was he was giving false promises or anything like that, um but it was really like how do we get from the stage of tennis player that you are um right now to to the next stage, but also like how do we just develop you into a self-serving but also other serving adult of like what your place in the community is, and you know, we always place so much value on community service and and helping people in a in a lesser situation than you.
00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:12.079
Um I think our uh team GPA was always one of the highest at the school because the the value also of the education was really present for me for for all of those four years.
00:40:12.320 --> 00:40:15.360
Um so I'll keep it PG.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:21.840
But um I wanted to hear how he like didn't book the wrong flight to the wrong city.
00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:24.639
I wanted to hear those type of stories.
00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:26.559
He didn't have a lot of money, I can tell you that.
00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:34.480
So it was not uh the division one, you know, glamour, what you see on Instagram nowadays.
00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:35.840
It was a whole different ballgame.
00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:39.360
It sounds like everywhere he goes, SEM just boosts the GPA up.
00:40:39.519 --> 00:40:40.159
Yeah, he did.
00:40:42.320 --> 00:40:43.280
That was our secret.
00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:44.239
That was our job.
00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:51.599
So SEM, what did like so looking back though, because we know that it it's interchangeable.
00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:55.440
I mean, from on court to off-court, you're you're in sync, right?
00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:59.280
You can't just be one way off-court and one way or at least that's been our philosophy.
00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:04.320
What was it that you learned in college that drove you to get to that next step?
00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:09.199
We'll go to the next strategic plan that you guys made that we that we set forth on.
00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:14.400
But in college, what was that that helped get you to that next level of SEM?
00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:18.559
Um it's a good question.
00:41:18.719 --> 00:41:24.159
Um, I think the the factual evidence of the results were definitely one of them.
00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:30.480
Um like you said, becoming freshman of the year my first year, then getting to the finals of regionals.
00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:50.880
Um and I think the however unfortunate it was being out and sick for a while my junior year, I think that was really the light bulb moments for me, and also in conversations with you, Ryan, where it was like, okay, if this next year is potentially gonna be the last year that you play competitive tennis.
00:41:51.119 --> 00:41:55.760
Um and for me, right away, that didn't feel right.
00:41:56.000 --> 00:42:08.400
Like the the peace that I had about being at Pacific and and competing um in that sport completely went away when we talked about the senior year being my last year of tennis.
00:42:08.800 --> 00:42:14.800
And that's compared or combined with some of the results that I had um those first two years.
00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:20.480
I was like, well, maybe now I can actually see um a pathway into professional tennis.
00:42:20.719 --> 00:42:25.599
And I think maybe that's also interesting for your audience and for parents.
00:42:26.159 --> 00:42:31.760
Professional tennis doesn't mean like you have to be top 50 in the world or you have to be top 10 in the world.
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:50.719
You know, there's a lot of players trying to make it professionally, and it's it's not a failure for me if someone gets a few ATP points or um, you know, doesn't make it out of the futures because it completely depends on what your goals are and and what you're in tennis for.
00:42:51.039 --> 00:43:12.800
Um, so when I said my junior year, it's like, oh, maybe I can actually make this um this next step into professional tennis, you know, I never was I I never dreamt of you know winning Wimbledon or or any sort of the results that I've had the last few years, but it was really like I think I can keep doing what I love doing at a professional level and be successful at it.
00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:22.800
So even though we made the benchmark um out of those first four years of professional tennis, I said I wanted to be either top 100 in singles or top 100 in doubles.
00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:26.000
Um made neither those four years.
00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:29.599
Um I think I peaked at like 104 or something like that.
00:43:29.679 --> 00:43:31.920
So I got I got relatively close.
00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:43.679
Um but I think the the biggest lesson um that translated into success, also for those three years, first few years of professional tennis, was really blossom where you're planted.
00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:47.440
And I think that was such a big mantra for us during college as well.
00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:48.719
You know, like you stole that.
00:43:49.599 --> 00:43:50.239
I stole that.
00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:51.599
You know who I stole it from.
00:43:51.760 --> 00:43:53.679
I've I've not heard of that kind of part.
00:43:54.320 --> 00:43:58.800
That that was a John Nelson quote that extremely changed my life.
00:43:58.960 --> 00:43:59.679
Just that one quote.
00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:00.719
Alone, yeah.
00:44:00.800 --> 00:44:01.840
So that's thanks for sharing.
00:44:02.079 --> 00:44:09.119
Yeah, and I think that that was, you know, that was kind of also the motto of, you know, we're here in Stockton, we're we're not at a big school.
00:44:09.280 --> 00:44:22.400
Um, it's not like we kind of have to punch above our weight all of the time, but it was like, yeah, but at the same time, you know, there's a great Arthur Ash quote that's at the the US Open, like, do what you can with what you have where you are.
00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:28.000
It's kind of that same principle of like, you know, you have what you have, so make the most of it.
00:44:28.159 --> 00:44:45.199
Um, and you don't have to go out and compare what other schools have or what other players are doing, just focus completely on this hour of practice that you have in front of you, or the fact that you get to go to uh a great academic school or or whatever those benchmarks are.
00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:56.320
Um, I think that lesson really translated into professional tennis because you know, when you start without basically without a ranking, it's like you start in futures qualifying.
00:44:56.559 --> 00:44:59.679
It's that's that's not that glamorous.
00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:09.440
So you really you really have to go through the the jungle of winning two, three, sometimes four matches and not getting any points for it.
00:45:09.599 --> 00:45:14.719
Um, but at the same time, you have to develop where you are uh and make the most of where you're started.
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:20.480
So let's go back before we transition into the professional side of your of your career right now.
00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:23.440
In college, you know, we were very result-oriented, right?
00:45:23.519 --> 00:45:32.639
Because we wanted to punch above the weight, we wanted to hit milestones, we wanted to make history for the university and we represented something that I think you talk about representing yourself.
00:45:32.880 --> 00:45:38.559
But you know, the blossom where you planted, you got to plant seeds for those things, for those flowers to blossom.
00:45:38.800 --> 00:45:46.400
And you were so good at balancing results and obsessing with the process.
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:50.639
And so in particular, we obsessed about being disciplined, right?
00:45:50.800 --> 00:45:55.440
And we had our the same kind of discipline drills we did over and over again.
00:45:55.679 --> 00:46:00.000
But you're able to obsess about those and bring those into competition.
00:46:00.239 --> 00:46:08.320
That's a really hard thing for people to do because that that is that that seed that you're planting and watering to be able to blossom.
00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:13.039
Talk to us, you know, how has that been instrumental in your life now?
00:46:13.119 --> 00:46:17.440
Or maybe you're like, hey, Ryan, no, that was a long time ago.
00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:23.440
I don't think today through those four years, though.
00:46:23.519 --> 00:46:27.760
I mean, you you came back to Stockton, you continued with that plan, right?
00:46:28.079 --> 00:46:30.400
You said, okay, I'm done with college, here's the next plan.
00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:36.639
You'd go out, you would go to the Middle East, you'd come back and train for two weeks, then you go back out and you had a plan.
00:46:36.800 --> 00:46:48.719
And so, you know, tell us about that, because I think that's so important for parents to be able to cultivate and support like children, college players, even like you said, players in the future level.
00:46:48.880 --> 00:46:53.119
You've got to obsess about a process to be able to blossom.
00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:55.039
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
00:46:55.280 --> 00:47:06.880
Um and I think that gets even even more heightened in professional tennis because you know, you there's only one person every tournament that that doesn't lose.
00:47:07.039 --> 00:47:09.440
So you're gonna have to get used to to losing.
00:47:09.599 --> 00:47:17.280
If you don't get used to the losing part of professional tennis, you're going on an emotional roller coaster that's exhausting after a while.
00:47:17.519 --> 00:47:37.280
And I think every I think every tennis player goes through that stage um at different parts of their career, or maybe even comes back every once in a while, where when the the focus becomes too much on the result, it's like you start thinking that everything is worse than it seems or better than it seems if you're winning.
00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:51.440
Um but one thing that's like you said, the the seeds that were being planted, if you're gonna judge, and I think it's a very it's it's human nature to want to judge yourself or or others.
00:47:51.599 --> 00:48:02.079
Um I think that seed that that we planted in college was okay, if you're gonna judge yourself, judge yourself on how you're playing or what you want to achieve out of that match.
00:48:02.320 --> 00:48:15.440
So I really got into the habit of writing down some some process goals or or some process outcomes that I wanted to achieve during that match, and then just kind of judging um the tennis based on that.
00:48:15.679 --> 00:48:27.440
And usually if you have a good process and if you're um if you're disciplined with your thoughts and your emotions, and and also the goals that you're writing down, that usually translates into better results.
00:48:27.679 --> 00:48:44.639
But even when it didn't, both in college and still in my professional career, um, like you can see me in the Australian Open or at any any tournament, really, just still having that notebook with me on changeovers of like, hey, this is what I'm focused on.
00:48:44.880 --> 00:48:47.119
This is gonna get me the result that I want.
00:48:47.360 --> 00:48:52.800
Because thinking about the result or or playing for the result is all kind of fear-based.
00:48:53.039 --> 00:48:55.760
This is what you actually want to do.
00:48:55.920 --> 00:48:57.519
Um, so it's really Sam.
00:48:57.760 --> 00:48:59.440
Do you still do you do you train?
00:48:59.599 --> 00:49:04.159
Sorry to interrupt you, but do you it what you're talking about is very emotional, right?
00:49:04.400 --> 00:49:17.679
I mean, it's you're you're talking about writing process goals with expectations and and stuff, which can be very, I mean, that can almost handcuff you at certain times, or at least for me, that's how I feel when I like, okay, I have here's an expectation.
00:49:17.840 --> 00:49:20.159
I would get tight, I would get nervous and stuff.
00:49:20.400 --> 00:49:22.400
And it so it sounds very emotional.
00:49:22.559 --> 00:49:25.119
You know, how did you do you still train your emotions?
00:49:25.280 --> 00:49:27.199
What do you do to be able to?
00:49:27.280 --> 00:49:28.559
You're a very emotional person.
00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:29.119
I know that.
00:49:29.519 --> 00:49:38.800
I mean, to the point where I would have to, you know, kind of step in and become that emotional kind of placeholder to get it out of you.
00:49:38.880 --> 00:49:39.920
I mean, I would tell the guy joke.
00:49:40.159 --> 00:49:41.760
What exactly are we talking about here?
00:49:42.239 --> 00:49:51.119
Yeah, I remember specifically like certain times he would be so emotional and you know, emotions are rising out on the changeover.
00:49:51.599 --> 00:49:59.440
Just tell him a joke, start laughing, change the whole trajectory of the match because he now is laughing and he's back to his feel.
00:49:59.599 --> 00:50:02.000
So what do you I don't know if you remember those times.
00:50:02.079 --> 00:50:09.440
Yeah, but what do you what do you know, are you still or what could you recommend for those that, you know, everybody's emotional.
00:50:09.519 --> 00:50:10.480
We're all humans.
00:50:10.719 --> 00:50:22.480
And that to me seems like a part that when I'm watching kids and players, you know, they're training their bodies, they're training their technique all day long, but they're not training those emotions.
00:50:22.719 --> 00:50:25.760
Tell us what you do or or what your thoughts are on that.
00:50:26.079 --> 00:50:31.119
Yeah, I think it's a completely overlooked part of what it takes to be a professional.
00:50:31.360 --> 00:50:40.000
Because at every level that you're competing at, the differences in actual tennis level are probably not gonna get that big.
00:50:40.159 --> 00:50:45.920
Um, and especially as you get towards the top, everybody knows how to hit a serve, everybody knows how to hit four hands and volleys.
00:50:46.000 --> 00:50:52.159
Um so that you're not gonna make that big of a difference on the actual technical tennis side.
00:50:52.639 --> 00:51:00.000
Where you are gonna make the biggest difference is how do you handle 30 all points, deuce points, how do you handle the flow of the match and stuff like that.
00:51:00.400 --> 00:51:10.639
Um so I actually still use quite a lot of the the habits or the principles that we got to use in college with uh tapping, visualizing.
00:51:10.800 --> 00:51:13.119
Um I do a lot of breath work still.
00:51:13.440 --> 00:51:24.159
Um and then at the same time, I think it in in practice, what is an overlooked aspect of practice is every day you're gonna be different.
00:51:24.320 --> 00:51:29.280
No day is gonna be exactly the same as as the previous or as the next.
00:51:29.599 --> 00:51:34.719
So I think really checking in with yourself or your coach of like, okay, how am I stepping into this practice?
00:51:34.880 --> 00:51:40.000
Maybe something horrible happened, um, and you're feeling sad or or angry.
00:51:40.400 --> 00:51:52.719
If you're then gonna step on the court, that's a great opportunity to say, okay, how can I use this sadness or anger or whatever that emotion is, and and how do I play or respond to stress with this emotion?
00:51:52.960 --> 00:52:01.280
So then you really get really good feedback into what it feels like in your body and in your game to play with a certain emotion.
00:52:01.599 --> 00:52:02.800
I write that down.
00:52:02.880 --> 00:52:13.199
So I have I literally have a note on my computer of like, hey, this is what I feel when I play sad, or this is what I feel when I play angry, or um when I'm scared, or whatever that is.
00:52:13.440 --> 00:52:21.679
Um and the more of that database or that bank that you can fill um in practice, um, the better it is.
00:52:21.840 --> 00:52:38.719
So sometimes I I try to get myself to an emotional state um to really challenge myself to play through that emotion in practice so that when it comes up and matches, um, it doesn't feel unfamiliar or or scary or something like that, if that makes sense.
00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:58.480
Yeah, I I would love for you to share with our audience, just so you talked about the emotions of it all, the your journey on the Pro Tour for those of the people that don't know to go through the futures to the challengers, to the pro, the up to the 250s, the Grand Slams.
00:52:58.559 --> 00:53:00.719
It's incredibly difficult.
00:53:00.960 --> 00:53:03.119
It's just the the ups and downs.
00:53:03.199 --> 00:53:12.079
You're in hotel rooms and places you can't pronounce on courts that you know are sometimes unplayable and it's not of the greatest conditions.
00:53:12.159 --> 00:53:18.880
The food's tough, that's expensive, just a really, a really tough journey to make it through the end.
00:53:20.079 --> 00:53:24.159
Were there parts where you felt like you know, giving up?
00:53:24.320 --> 00:53:29.599
Was it this emotional the skills that you worked on that that helped you get through?
00:53:29.760 --> 00:53:36.639
Because it's just there's a lot of talented tennis players out there that don't make it to where you have made it.
00:53:36.880 --> 00:53:43.679
So anything that that you can share with us that and I've got to interrupt before you you start, Sem.
00:53:43.840 --> 00:53:50.079
Um I going back to his strategic plan was okay, I'm gonna go out and go into the future levels and go out and tour.
00:53:50.320 --> 00:53:55.280
A part of that was finding a coach that could travel with him and that could take him to that next step.
00:53:55.519 --> 00:54:04.159
And um, he's still with that same coach, with which I think is another part of like sticking to a plan, being loyal, representing.
00:54:04.480 --> 00:54:15.039
And and I remember going through that process with him and and with Jacob Meyer, who's his coach, um, who's extremely process oriented, was it has been very supportive of that.
00:54:15.199 --> 00:54:22.400
But I wanted to make sure we give him a shout because being able to bridge that alone is almost impossible.
00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:24.159
Yeah, and having somebody you know behind.
00:54:24.559 --> 00:54:26.800
A lot of guys have to do it alone, though.
00:54:27.039 --> 00:54:33.280
They do, they do, and but to that point of like if you're gonna plan for something, who's who's got your back?
00:54:33.440 --> 00:54:36.239
Yes, and who is helping you in that in that system.
00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:37.920
But sorry to interrupt, Sem.
00:54:38.000 --> 00:54:40.000
I had to I had to interject there.
00:54:40.320 --> 00:54:42.159
Yeah, no, it's a it's a great shout-out.
00:54:42.400 --> 00:54:44.079
I was I was gonna get to him for sure.
00:54:44.159 --> 00:54:47.519
Um, but I think you guys, you both nailed it.
00:54:47.679 --> 00:55:02.880
Um, you know, one another blessing that I had with this strategic planner, this process, what Ryan attested to is like I had I had Ryan to fall back on, I had my parents to fall back on, and then I also had Jacob, who I started with in 2018.
00:55:03.199 --> 00:55:05.840
Um, and like I said, I'm I'm still working with.
00:55:06.079 --> 00:55:08.239
I had those people to fall back on.
00:55:08.480 --> 00:55:28.239
Um so I would recommend to to anybody that that wants to go on that journey um to really find either other players that you can connect with on a human level or people that are in your family or or in some sort of group um that you can just talk life with.
00:55:28.400 --> 00:55:45.280
Um because one of the the biggest things that you're gonna find is you're gonna be alone with your thoughts a lot, especially in those hotel rooms, or when you're playing on court 18 with old balls in the third set and everybody's cheating or something.
00:55:45.440 --> 00:55:49.599
It's like, yeah, you're you're gonna have to fall back on your own thoughts.
00:55:49.760 --> 00:55:57.360
Um, so the the more you can share that with people, um I think the the the better that is.
00:55:57.519 --> 00:56:02.639
Um, and it doesn't have to be one person, it can also be multiple people in your support system.
00:56:03.199 --> 00:56:18.079
Um, but two, and I think you know, I the last few years, the it's it's kind of breaking that taboo of of mental health in sports, and athletes have to be always tough and um have to be kind of like this robotic version of themselves.
00:56:18.320 --> 00:56:20.159
I think it's the complete opposite.
00:56:20.320 --> 00:56:32.000
Um find if if you don't have someone in that support system, find a sports therapist or just a regular therapist that you check in with um as part of your mental hygiene routine.
00:56:32.159 --> 00:56:46.639
You know, I think as great advice, especially as young athletes, whether it be male or female, um we work so hard on okay, I've got to get my core time in, I've got to get my gym time in, um, I've got to get my stretches in.
00:56:47.440 --> 00:56:56.320
Make time to really either talk with a therapist about life or in general, or sports psychologist if you want kind of like a softer introduction.
00:56:56.719 --> 00:57:04.159
Um but I think you specifically have to make time for that part of um professional sport.
00:57:04.639 --> 00:57:11.760
Um, so I think those two would be my biggest advices to anybody that has has lived it and is still living it.
00:57:11.920 --> 00:57:15.599
Um that's what's gonna get you to keep going.
00:57:15.760 --> 00:57:18.639
Um, because the results are gonna come and go.
00:57:18.800 --> 00:57:26.320
Like I've had times where I lost first round, first round, first round, first round in singles and doubles, and I'd come back to Stockton and it's like, I don't know what's happening.
00:57:26.400 --> 00:57:30.800
Like I just lost four matches in a row, but then it's it's straight back to the process.
00:57:30.960 --> 00:57:44.719
Um and then you go back into the next few tournaments and it's like, okay, how can I apply my training from the last two weeks and and my experience from losing four times in a row to my next block of competition?
00:57:45.199 --> 00:57:48.719
Tell us so and you can share some stories.
00:57:48.800 --> 00:57:55.679
I mean, from getting to the quarters of the Miami Open, I think that was your best result at a master's, right?
00:57:55.840 --> 00:58:05.920
Kind of the first, like, okay, here's a big result coming out of SEM to um a finals of in Los Cabos to Australian Open semis.
00:58:06.239 --> 00:58:07.840
You've had lots of those peaks.
00:58:08.079 --> 00:58:09.679
Peaks come with valleys.
00:58:09.920 --> 00:58:12.880
How do you, you know, tell us, you know, what does it feel like?
00:58:12.960 --> 00:58:22.400
Or, you know, what could you share with like uh with coaches out there that are starting to coach young players that are going through that process or parents that need to support their kids?
00:58:22.559 --> 00:58:24.480
Um, what does that feel like?
00:58:24.800 --> 00:58:25.760
How do you handle that?
00:58:25.920 --> 00:58:32.079
You just talked about process, but now you're a pro, you're a top top player on the ATP tour.
00:58:32.320 --> 00:58:38.800
Sounds like you're talking to the same, you know, you're you're saying the same things as kids in the academy, right?
00:58:39.760 --> 00:58:40.719
Yeah, yeah.
00:58:40.800 --> 00:58:43.440
And uh I I think that's the beauty of it all.
00:58:43.599 --> 00:58:51.199
Um, like it it doesn't change as you get better or bigger, or if you play bigger tournaments.
00:58:51.280 --> 00:59:03.840
And I think that was one of the pitfalls that I had um throughout my career, is oh, at that next level, I'm I'm not gonna belong, or I'm not gonna be good enough, or or anything like that.
00:59:04.320 --> 00:59:12.000
Um, you know, from going from futures to challengers, I really had to get comfortable with myself and feel like I I belonged there.
00:59:12.159 --> 00:59:18.719
Um and that starts just being comfortable with like, hey, I I'm a challenger tour player now.
00:59:19.039 --> 00:59:29.599
Um and that from challenger going to play to your your first few 250s or uh to any any kind of progression that you want to make there.
00:59:31.599 --> 00:59:38.400
In the end, you know, the dimensions of the tennis court are all gonna be the same, the rules of the game are still gonna be the same.
00:59:38.639 --> 00:59:54.079
Um but I think the the occasion or the the tournaments get made bigger in our mind um just because you've seen things on TV or you've you're now around people um that you've only heard of.
00:59:54.239 --> 00:59:59.679
Like it's all natural to also kind of feel nervous about all those things.
00:59:59.760 --> 01:00:10.320
I mean, I remember getting a wild card with one of my very good friends into the Basel uh tournament and sitting at like in the next table from Roger Federer.
01:00:10.400 --> 01:00:12.639
I like I didn't I didn't know what to do with myself for a while.
01:00:12.719 --> 01:00:13.679
It's like what is happening?
01:00:13.840 --> 01:00:15.039
Like, where am I?
01:00:15.199 --> 01:00:16.480
Like this isn't real.
01:00:16.800 --> 01:00:22.559
And then we were we were practicing on the on the court next to him, and like I felt like I couldn't play tennis.
01:00:22.719 --> 01:00:33.119
Um but it's it's really those experiences that at one point you have to go through in order to to know how you're gonna react.
01:00:33.360 --> 01:00:54.480
Um, but I think as I would say to a coach is um, and I think this is one of the best things that Jacob has prepared me for, is like from the very first moment that we started working together, he's like, Hey, you're you're gonna have to get used to being at Grand Slams and being at the the bigger stages.
01:00:54.719 --> 01:00:59.360
And I was ranked like 250 in doubles and like 800 in singles at the time.
01:00:59.440 --> 01:01:01.199
So I'm like, what are you talking about, man?
01:01:02.000 --> 01:01:17.280
But he he really saw that progression of like, okay, you know, even though you have to win these tournaments to get where you are, it's more important in your mind that you're gonna feel comfortable um at those bigger tournaments or those bigger stages.
01:01:17.360 --> 01:01:24.480
And that's you would go, you would go, he would bring you to those to Grand Slams, and you and use those as training blocks.
01:01:24.639 --> 01:01:27.440
Yeah, and I remember in the I would be like, huh, okay.
01:01:27.599 --> 01:01:34.960
Well, you could be playing tournaments at that time yourself, but you were there and he was putting you in the environment to normalize it for you.
01:01:35.199 --> 01:01:36.079
Yeah, exactly.
01:01:36.239 --> 01:01:37.039
That's pretty amazing.
01:01:37.360 --> 01:01:38.880
Seemed to work, and as it did.
01:01:39.199 --> 01:01:39.440
Yeah.
01:01:40.559 --> 01:01:43.519
I mean, that's a perfect segue to our go ahead.
01:01:43.840 --> 01:01:49.920
Yeah, I was gonna say this is this is it sounds like I almost I'm making it up, but he's like, You're gonna win Wimbledon one day.
01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:52.880
Like you're gonna have to get used to that, you're gonna be a Wimbledon champion.
01:01:52.960 --> 01:01:54.400
And he said this in 2018.
01:01:54.559 --> 01:01:55.599
That's not a joke.
01:01:55.840 --> 01:01:57.679
And so then last year, there it is.
01:01:58.079 --> 01:02:04.480
Once I was in the in the players box, like after the match, I looked at it and was like, You you bastard.
01:02:04.719 --> 01:02:06.000
I was like, how did you know?
01:02:07.360 --> 01:02:08.320
That's crazy.
01:02:08.559 --> 01:02:20.719
So talk the just you just said it yourself, like uh, you're preparing yourself for these, you know, moments, and you know, every kid's dream that plays tennis is to win Wimbledon.
01:02:21.199 --> 01:02:31.119
So all of a sudden, here you are, you know, uh coming on from basically a walk-on at Pacific, and now you're at the you know finals of Wimbledon.
01:02:31.440 --> 01:02:33.360
I I'd be so nervous.
01:02:33.519 --> 01:02:46.480
Like, would tell me what you were going through, how you were able to conquer those nerves and and perform and and talk a little bit about how you uh you and Sinakova got together as mixed doubles part.
01:02:47.679 --> 01:02:48.079
Yeah.
01:02:48.239 --> 01:02:51.440
Um, well, to answer your first question, I was terrified.
01:02:51.599 --> 01:02:57.599
Like I was I was nervous up to um everywhere in my body.
01:02:57.920 --> 01:03:02.400
But at that point, I had I kind of wanted to welcome nerves.
01:03:02.719 --> 01:03:08.079
Um, because nerves to me now are just a sign that I care about what's about to happen.
01:03:08.320 --> 01:03:18.559
Um, and you know, psychologically or physiologically, your your body can't differentiate between being excited and being nervous, like it's all just a source of energy.
01:03:18.880 --> 01:03:38.400
So if you can not talk yourself into, but if you can kind of change the way you see nerves into like, hey, I care about this and I'm excited and I'm prepared for this, then it's almost like an unlimited source of energy because you know, with nerves comes a certain rush of adrenaline of like, oh my god, what's happening?
01:03:38.559 --> 01:03:42.719
But it's it's just your body telling you, like, hey, you you care about this outcome.
01:03:42.960 --> 01:03:49.599
Um, so it's all good, and then you really fall back onto your discipline and and the preparation.
01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:54.159
So one way I overcame those nerves was just with my notebook again.
01:03:54.320 --> 01:04:03.760
Like, it's it doesn't matter if I'm on core 13 in in river side qualities or whatever it was called to send a core to Wimbledon.
01:04:04.079 --> 01:04:22.320
It's like this this doesn't change, and it kind of it puts you back into the bubble of like, okay, it's it's it's just just another tennis match in in a good way, because then you really focus on what your body feels like and how it feels to hit the shots rather than like it's it's six all in the final or something.
01:04:22.400 --> 01:04:28.159
So I was really thankfully I was able to bring it back to this is how I want my shots to feel.
01:04:28.320 --> 01:04:37.360
Um make sure I have um a surf plus one in mind when I step up to the line, making sure I have my in-between the points routines, things like that.
01:04:37.519 --> 01:04:41.760
So it was really just kind of all of those guardrails I was able to fall back on.
01:04:42.000 --> 01:04:47.119
Um, but a week prior, I didn't even know that I was gonna be playing with Siniakova, like you said.
01:04:47.280 --> 01:04:49.920
Um it was really Tell us about that.
01:04:50.239 --> 01:04:55.440
Yeah, I was supposed to play with Luisa Stefani, who was also a WCC.
01:04:55.679 --> 01:04:57.599
So you played in the final, exactly.
01:04:57.679 --> 01:04:58.079
Yeah.
01:04:58.800 --> 01:05:05.440
Um, so we had said, like, hey, let's sign in for Wimbledon, and she already said, like, look, we might not be able to get in.
01:05:05.599 --> 01:05:13.199
If I do get an offer from someone higher, I would rather take that um and have a guarantee of being in.
01:05:13.760 --> 01:05:18.719
So then it was basically the the night before the sign-in ended.
01:05:18.880 --> 01:05:24.639
Uh Joe Salisbury, who was ranked like top 10 at that time or something like that, asked her to play.
01:05:24.880 --> 01:05:28.800
So she sent me a message the night before, and I was like, oh no.
01:05:29.280 --> 01:05:33.360
Like, if this happened a few days before, I may have had some time.
01:05:33.599 --> 01:05:39.199
Um, but then she's like, Oh, this is a list of of girls who usually sign in and who are not on the list yet.
01:05:39.280 --> 01:05:41.199
Maybe you can message one of these.
01:05:41.760 --> 01:05:56.559
But then I have to go back to us the Australian Open where we made the semifinals, where um there was a commentator, Louise Plemming from Australia, um, who is friends with Jacob and I got in touch with, and we were meeting in the players' lounge.
01:05:56.639 --> 01:05:59.760
She's like, Oh, I have to I I have you to to have you meet someone.
01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:01.199
And I was like, okay, okay.
01:06:01.360 --> 01:06:03.920
Um, so she's like, Who's your dream doubles partner?
01:06:04.079 --> 01:06:05.920
And I was like, the number one in the world, Simiakova.
01:06:06.079 --> 01:06:07.440
She's like, okay, wait here, wait here.
01:06:07.679 --> 01:06:17.599
So she gets Simiakova to come over, and she's like, Oh, you guys have to you guys have to link up and this is Sam, this is Katarina, and she's like, Oh, you guys have to play mix one time.
01:06:17.760 --> 01:06:20.719
And I was like, ah, okay, yeah, I'll text you, whatever.
01:06:20.880 --> 01:06:22.880
Um, but it was the first time we met.
01:06:23.039 --> 01:06:26.079
So then I fast forward to Wimbledon again.
01:06:26.239 --> 01:06:31.119
I think back to that conversation, and I was like, Hey, could I get Katarina's number?
01:06:31.360 --> 01:06:38.800
So I sent her a message like, Hey, I know Louise would kill me if I didn't at least send you a message to see if you maybe wanted to play mixed here.
01:06:38.960 --> 01:06:45.360
Um, and then we kind of um got the ball rolling there, but it was only one night that I had the chance with.
01:06:45.440 --> 01:06:48.320
So I was like, hey, I'm gonna have to know tomorrow.
01:06:49.039 --> 01:06:52.320
Um, and she was like, if I do well in singles, then I'm not sure.
01:06:52.639 --> 01:06:54.880
She ended up losing second round, unfortunately.
01:06:55.119 --> 01:07:02.960
So I after the match that night, I sent her the text of like, I know this is probably the last thing that you want to hear, but do you still want to play mixed?
01:07:03.039 --> 01:07:07.039
Like, I know you just lost your singles, but and she's like, Okay, let's sign in.
01:07:07.280 --> 01:07:09.760
Um, yeah, and then we clicked on the case.
01:07:09.920 --> 01:07:14.639
The stars aligned from the very yeah, from the very first moment, and it was it was just so much fun.
01:07:14.880 --> 01:07:31.360
And one of the big lessons that I learned from that mixed run um was really kind of a strategic decision beforehand where I felt to myself, okay, she's the number one in the world, she was almost doing you a favor, so I have to I have to make this as light as I can for her.
01:07:31.519 --> 01:07:44.000
Um, also because you know this is gonna sound like I'm generalizing, but she's Eastern European who are kind of already kind of tight and angry when they play, and they have those kind of Eastern European emotions.
01:07:44.239 --> 01:07:51.440
I was like, okay, I have to try what what Ryan did to me in college of like telling jokes and making it light and getting her out of her own head.
01:07:51.599 --> 01:07:52.480
I felt like that was like.
01:07:52.800 --> 01:07:55.360
Dudes are known for being light and funny, though, are they?
01:07:56.719 --> 01:07:59.440
Um, so I was just like, I'm having a great time.
01:07:59.519 --> 01:08:01.360
I get to play with the number one in the world.
01:08:01.519 --> 01:08:13.519
Um, and I think that really worked both for her, like she was also starting to have fun, and just I told her, like, just go for go for shots and go after it and be aggressive and just let her play the way she wanted to play.
01:08:13.599 --> 01:08:27.439
But I also realized that that that lightness and that really showing the enjoyment and showing the joy that I was having also worked for me because it it kind of took the edge off of every single match, especially as we were progressing.
01:08:27.680 --> 01:08:29.359
It was just like it's this is so much fun.
01:08:29.680 --> 01:08:30.720
Yeah, it was noticeable.
01:08:30.800 --> 01:08:31.600
I was gonna ask you that.
01:08:31.680 --> 01:08:40.640
I mean, it was it was vis visually noticeable that there was joy while you guys were competing together, and also just smiles, right?
01:08:40.880 --> 01:08:43.279
I mean, you were smiling constantly.
01:08:43.359 --> 01:08:47.920
I I remember seeing some chokes, and then it was just kind of smile, laugh it off.
01:08:48.000 --> 01:08:58.479
You guys would laugh together and then back, and you were you know that that brought a resilience to be able to get through some some moments to win a grand slam and not just any grand slam, Wimbledon.
01:08:59.039 --> 01:09:00.239
So that's that's amazing.
01:09:00.479 --> 01:09:01.199
What a story.
01:09:01.359 --> 01:09:01.760
Yeah.
01:09:02.079 --> 01:09:05.199
Sam, we could probably talk for for hours.
01:09:05.600 --> 01:09:07.840
Um, but we're gonna have to wrap up here.
01:09:08.000 --> 01:09:13.760
But I do I want to know what's next for Sam Verbeek in the short term, but just for you.
01:09:13.840 --> 01:09:16.239
Like what are what are what are the next dreams?
01:09:16.399 --> 01:09:18.159
What are the things that you're working on?
01:09:18.479 --> 01:09:19.600
Yeah, cool question.
01:09:19.840 --> 01:09:22.560
So I have to go back to the four-year plan.
01:09:22.720 --> 01:09:26.000
Um, so I made my four-year plan right out of college.
01:09:26.399 --> 01:09:31.600
Um so that was this 2017 was really the first year that I started full-time traveling.
01:09:31.680 --> 01:09:35.760
So it was 17, 18, 19, and then 2020 COVID happened.
01:09:35.840 --> 01:09:39.920
So we extended that um first four-year stage by one year.
01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:42.880
So at the end of 2021, I had Okay, hold on.
01:09:42.960 --> 01:09:50.399
I gotta, because I think I was a part of or I was with you in 2019 for a short time, right before COVID.
01:09:50.800 --> 01:09:52.640
So I gotta, I gotta tell a funny story.
01:09:52.800 --> 01:09:57.920
I think Aptos Challenger, Sam has did you have match points on center?
01:09:58.319 --> 01:09:59.119
No, I was close.
01:09:59.199 --> 01:10:00.800
I was up five four of the tie break.
01:10:01.199 --> 01:10:01.920
In the third set?
01:10:02.079 --> 01:10:03.199
I was no second set.
01:10:03.279 --> 01:10:05.680
I was up a set and then we were in the tie break five four.
01:10:05.840 --> 01:10:06.319
Five four.
01:10:06.399 --> 01:10:06.479
Wow.
01:10:06.640 --> 01:10:07.920
So he's coming three with center.
01:10:08.319 --> 01:10:13.439
Fast forward six months later, he's like, hey coach, I'm gonna I'm gonna be I'm we're going to Indian Wells.
01:10:13.520 --> 01:10:14.000
Can you come out?
01:10:14.079 --> 01:10:14.640
You know, you're close.
01:10:14.960 --> 01:10:16.159
Yeah, I'm gonna go out.
01:10:16.319 --> 01:10:18.239
So first round quallies.
01:10:18.399 --> 01:10:21.760
I think first round quallies are are first rounded singles.
01:10:21.840 --> 01:10:26.000
He yeah, he goes out and he's playing Cressy, who's doing well.
01:10:26.079 --> 01:10:28.640
I just won a challenger or did something first round.
01:10:28.720 --> 01:10:28.880
Yep.
01:10:28.960 --> 01:10:29.760
He goes out and he beats him.
01:10:30.000 --> 01:10:30.319
Top hundred.
01:10:30.479 --> 01:10:30.720
Yep.
01:10:30.880 --> 01:10:31.439
Top hundred.
01:10:31.760 --> 01:10:33.279
And so second round center.
01:10:33.359 --> 01:10:33.600
Okay.
01:10:33.680 --> 01:10:33.920
All right.
01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:34.960
Well, you were up a set.
01:10:35.279 --> 01:10:36.319
This is what you did.
01:10:36.479 --> 01:10:39.359
You know, you applied a lot of pressure, a lot of serving volume.
01:10:39.600 --> 01:10:40.640
Here's the plan.
01:10:41.520 --> 01:10:44.479
I think within like 30 minutes, he was down 605.
01:10:49.600 --> 01:10:55.119
I think he got a no, but within that six month span, that guy, and you did not play bad.
01:10:55.199 --> 01:10:59.760
You just beat a top 100 player the round before at Indian Wells.
01:11:00.159 --> 01:11:01.760
Um, pretty amazing.
01:11:01.840 --> 01:11:03.920
But okay, go back to your strategic plan.
01:11:04.000 --> 01:11:05.600
I had to throw that in there.
01:11:05.840 --> 01:11:06.159
Yeah.
01:11:07.119 --> 01:11:08.319
One last thing about that.
01:11:08.479 --> 01:11:10.800
Like, in I was a lucky loser in Aptos.
01:11:11.199 --> 01:11:13.039
So he was scheduled to play someone else.
01:11:13.119 --> 01:11:14.079
I took his spot.
01:11:14.319 --> 01:11:15.359
I was playing free.
01:11:15.520 --> 01:11:20.640
He did not know who I was, but then I was a lefty server vollier that like he's like, what the hell's happening?
01:11:20.880 --> 01:11:23.039
So he was actually struggling through that match.
01:11:23.279 --> 01:11:31.039
Before our match in Indian Wells, I looked at it and I looked at his face, and he was a complete different just person walking on that court.
01:11:31.199 --> 01:11:33.359
He's like, I'm not gonna underestimate you this time.
01:11:33.439 --> 01:11:37.920
I have I'm on a mission, and I was like, okay, well, I don't know what to do now.
01:11:38.000 --> 01:11:43.279
Like, I looked to Ryan in the match, I was like, this guy, it's like I'm playing in slow motion and he's on fast forward.
01:11:43.359 --> 01:11:44.960
I like I don't know what to do.
01:11:45.119 --> 01:11:49.680
But anyway, you you won a game, you did win a game, and everybody like started cheering.
01:11:51.119 --> 01:11:52.479
All right, back to the plan.
01:11:52.720 --> 01:11:56.079
Yeah, so in in 2021, the first four years ended.
01:11:56.239 --> 01:12:05.279
Um, didn't quite make top 100 like I said I wanted to, but there were enough things for me to to kind of say, okay, I want to do a next four-year plan.
01:12:05.359 --> 01:12:09.920
Um, so that was 22, 23, 24, and then 25 was the last year.
01:12:10.399 --> 01:12:15.279
Um, but in the beginning of 2024, I was still kind of outside of of top hundred.
01:12:15.680 --> 01:12:28.239
Um, and I told myself, if I in in the year that I turned 30 years old, if I'm still playing challengers and not playing the big tournament, like I want to go to medical school, I have enough ambition outside of tennis that I want to pursue.
01:12:28.640 --> 01:12:35.439
And really, the Miami tournament really got me into the top 100, and then I was able to play Grand Sams.
01:12:35.600 --> 01:12:38.000
2025 was an amazing year, obviously.
01:12:38.239 --> 01:12:41.039
Um, so now I literally just started.
01:12:41.119 --> 01:12:44.800
This is the first year of my third four-year plan.
01:12:45.119 --> 01:12:52.880
Um and my biggest goal in these four years is to uh make the Olympics in uh in LA in 2028.
01:12:53.199 --> 01:12:53.680
Amazing.
01:12:53.920 --> 01:13:04.000
Um I think that's I think I'm gonna be in the minority here, but I I would rather win an Olympic gold than um another grand slam.
01:13:04.159 --> 01:13:08.399
Um so that is my uh my next B Hag is what we call it.
01:13:08.640 --> 01:13:09.119
Big Heron.
01:13:09.600 --> 01:13:14.159
You've already got the slam, so now you just need to exchange it.
01:13:14.399 --> 01:13:18.560
Um but that's uh that's a big professional goal of mine.
01:13:18.720 --> 01:13:29.520
Um and personally, um I've really started to um uh continue doing um a lot of the educational side that the ATP is is offering.
01:13:29.680 --> 01:13:38.960
So um next week, actually, the um there's the closing of the ATP mentorship program, which I was a part of for a year.
01:13:39.039 --> 01:13:54.000
Um I was able to do the ATP business program as well, um, the Harvard Business School, those kind of things really um help me stay grounded also and and keep me learning about something that um I haven't really had exposure to.
01:13:54.079 --> 01:14:04.880
Because one of the the nice things about winning a grand slam, besides that you actually win a grand slam is that it opens also a lot of doors to people and to places that you don't really have access to before.
01:14:05.279 --> 01:14:14.159
Um and you just you get to have conversations with people in your that are now in your network that were completely out of your network before that.
01:14:14.880 --> 01:14:22.640
So I really want to make sure that I can kind of stand my ground and and have good, engaging, proper conversations with those people.
01:14:22.720 --> 01:14:38.159
And I realize that I have to I have to learn the language of business and and learn the language of um of what they speak, which is actually quite nice because it's good to feel I like feeling like a beginner because then you feel like you have so much to to improve.
01:14:38.560 --> 01:14:58.319
Um so I really want to keep going um on that route um with the educational side and um see if I can give back to to Amsterdam and and work closely also with the the Dutch Federation to inspire kind of the next generation of of Dutch tennis players, I guess.
01:14:59.199 --> 01:15:01.600
Well, we'd we'd love to have you come out to San Diego.
01:15:01.680 --> 01:15:08.239
Hopefully we've talked about getting you out here soon for a training block and being in front of all the kids that we have out here.
01:15:08.399 --> 01:15:18.560
Um, you know, back to the college days, you were always the first to sign up for community service or to help the community, so it doesn't surprise me to hear what you're wanting to do.
01:15:18.640 --> 01:15:32.640
And and probably what people don't know, you know, outside of um the the tour and some of the players, you're advocating for professionals and players constantly through the advocacy programs.
01:15:32.720 --> 01:15:44.159
And that's a testament too, to to better the opportunities for those challenger players to make more prize money, to have better situations, um, to not be in that grind uh per se.
01:15:44.560 --> 01:15:49.680
Um and so just you know, huge kudos to you for continuing to do that for your for your colleagues.
01:15:49.760 --> 01:15:54.960
And again, it doesn't surprise me because I've seen you do this uh since you were a teenager.
01:15:55.199 --> 01:15:58.640
Um but we we we would love to have you out here in San Diego.
01:15:58.880 --> 01:16:00.079
So appreciative of the time.
01:16:00.239 --> 01:16:02.800
Again, we could probably talk for hours just learning from you.
01:16:03.119 --> 01:16:03.520
We should.
01:16:03.760 --> 01:16:04.960
Um we will.
01:16:05.039 --> 01:16:07.119
We'll do another, we'll do a we'll do one in person.
01:16:07.199 --> 01:16:08.399
Yeah, say that first show.
01:16:08.640 --> 01:16:08.960
So it's great.
01:16:09.039 --> 01:16:10.960
No, it'd be uh it'd be my pleasure for having you.
01:16:11.760 --> 01:16:12.560
Thank you so much for having me.
01:16:12.880 --> 01:16:14.159
Great story, and it's really fun.
01:16:14.640 --> 01:16:17.119
Yeah, I think there's a lot to be learned from this.
01:16:17.359 --> 01:16:17.760
Absolutely.
01:16:17.920 --> 01:16:22.640
We want to hear uh questions, comments, sim, where can people find you to follow you?
01:16:22.960 --> 01:16:24.640
Yeah, any form of social media.
01:16:24.720 --> 01:16:30.319
I'm on Instagram, uh, LinkedIn, um, feel free to message me on those.
01:16:30.479 --> 01:16:38.479
Um if you have message or if you can message Ryan, uh he can also get through to me uh if people have questions through that.
01:16:38.800 --> 01:16:42.560
But um, I'm most active on LinkedIn or Instagram.
01:16:42.880 --> 01:16:43.359
Awesome.
01:16:43.439 --> 01:16:50.880
Yeah, well, for the episode on social media, um, if you guys have questions or comments about what Sam's doing, put them there.
01:16:51.039 --> 01:16:54.000
Hopefully, uh I can navigate and help you answer those.
01:16:54.319 --> 01:16:59.199
And um again, Sam, best of luck going back to Wimbledon.
01:16:59.279 --> 01:17:00.000
Yeah, best of luck.
01:17:00.319 --> 01:17:04.560
We'll be following you, cheering for you, and um throughout the rest of the uh the summer.
01:17:05.039 --> 01:17:05.680
Appreciate it.
01:17:05.760 --> 01:17:06.720
Thanks so much, guys.
01:17:07.039 --> 01:17:07.760
Good luck.
01:17:07.920 --> 01:17:08.479
Thanks, Sam.