Fifty and Counting
Apr 17, 2024 | Tennis, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The number is 50. That's how many wins Kansas State head women's tennis coach Jordan Smith accumulated in his career in Manhattan when the Wildcats walked off the court with a 4-1 victory at Houston on April 7.
The milestone victory comes as the 35-year-old native of Memphis, Tennessee, continues to dig in during his sixth season as K-State head coach — a position he earned on July 2, 2018, after spending the previous four seasons as assistant coach for the Wildcats.
Smith, who graduated from Memphis in 2011 and served as Memphis volunteer assistant coach in 2012, served as assistant coach for the first time at Middle Tennessee State in 2014-15 prior to arriving in the Little Apple.
Smith spoke with K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen about his career accomplishment:
D. Scott Fritchen: When you hear "50 wins" what comes to mind?
Jordan Smith: Jokingly, it probably means I've been at K-State a few years. I know every sport is different and there are different milestones. We get about 20 opportunities a year, so in my sixth year – and given there was COVID, so there were five and a half years – it's pretty awesome I've been able to do this. Obviously, a lot of credit goes to all the players I've been able to coach, and my assistants, and support staff. Obviously, I can't do it alone. It's awesome, the people have supported us, and have helped me to get here.
Fritchen: You reached the milestone at Houston on April 7. Did you realize the significance of the win that day?
Smith: I was just focused on the day. I was focused on what we were trying to do. We had played UCF on Friday and got to Houston on Sunday, and especially at this time of season you're like, "Where are we at again?" The biggest thing for me is making sure we get the win. Getting a Big 12 road win was the biggest importance to us. We wanted to show we could win some Big 12 home matches and had a really good weekend before against West Virginia and Cincinnati and wanted to get one more road win before we came back home. That was the only thing that was on my mind, just trying to support our young ladies as we went toward that goal.
Fritchen: When did you realize you'd reached 50 career wins?
Smith: I was with my assistant (Chase Colton), and we were going through our wins because we were trying to figure out seedings for the Big 12 Tournament. Through conversation, we realized that number of wins. I just let it go and went about my day. I don't like to shine a light on myself. My assistant brought it up later to the team.
Fritchen: What do you enjoy most about coaching?
Smith: Honestly, the reason I do it the most is trying to help these student-athletes get better. A lot of it, most of my coaching is on the court, but a lot of it is off the court, and a lot of times if you coach them well off the court, you help them to be successful on the court — you just don't know when it'll happen, but you know it'll happen. That's what I like is that lifelong development process to help these young ladies. That's pretty cool because I know it takes time. The sport is hard, so at some point when you see that they're overcoming that continuous obstacle they've always faced, when they have that breakthrough, that's pretty special, because you know how much it meant to them, and you were maybe able to help them in some way get there.
Fritchen: What are the biggest challenges of being a head coach?
Smith: I guess the biggest challenge is when you're that person that's in the spotlight. I always joke with my assistant — I remember when I was an assistant it was easier to make mistakes because everything was new and the spotlight wasn't on you. But I love the challenge. I love that as a head coach you have to make some tough decisions, but you also make some rewarding decisions. It's only tough if you make it be tough. That's the best way to describe it. There's always going to be ups and downs to anything you do, but I don't think a title should change that.
Fritchen: You were hired as head coach in 2018. Does it feel like it's been six years?
Smith: Not as a head coach. Just the fact that I was here as an assistant coach — this is my ninth season in all — as a head coach it's gone by so fast. You're so focused. You know what you want and what you're trying to build and to get there, it does seem like it goes by quicker. I'm like, "Oh, man, I can't believe this is six years as a head coach."
Fritchen: Take me back to the day Gene Taylor hired you as head coach. What was your immediate reaction?
Smith: It was surreal. I was thankful. I was thankful that Gene took a chance on me and really felt that I could help lead this program. It was pretty wonderful. Thankful and wonderful are the best ways to describe my emotions. Gene saw something in me that could benefit this program and our student-athletes. I'll never take that for granted. It's so awesome to work for an athletic director like him, because he's able to see things that some ADs might not put into consideration when hiring coaches. My immediate reaction? I probably had a little fist-pump in the office. I told my family. That was so cool for them to hear it given how supportive they've been and with all the sacrifices they made for me to get to where I am. I wanted to share the news with them first. Then I told some of my closest friends who've been helpful either at K-State or in my profession. Then to be honest, I just got to work. We needed to recruit, so I took my dog for a walk, and got back to recruiting, and I had to hire an assistant, because I just filled a role and got rid of a role at the same time.
Fritchen: What are some of your favorite memories being a head coach so far?
Smith: I love the travel piece because that's when a lot of team can get together. Beating KU, that was a big one, because it'd been a long time up until I took over the program that K-State had beaten KU. So, beating KU at home was big with it coming down to the last match for a 4-3 win in 2021, that was huge. Even this year, I'd say our 4-3 win over West Virginia when all the girls came together and rallied and supported our No. 1 tennis player, I'm so glad that we kept our faith because she came through and got us that pivotal home win to get us back on track. That was awesome.
Fritchen: What do you love the most about being a head coach?
Smith: I just love being on the court. As a Division I head coach, I just love that I can recruit all these different players and get them to learn different things and to be on the court coaching them and to be there with them. That's the coolest thing.
Fritchen: Was tennis your first love growing up?
Smith: It really was. The rebellious child in me, who didn't want to stick with piano or study for four hours a day, it was something I was passionate about. Once I realized this was something for me, there was no looking back. Since 8 years old, we've been all in on this tennis thing. My mom probably didn't know what she was signing up for, but it's always been there as a love of mine. Honestly, what set tennis apart was the independence. When you're out there in singles, it's easy to have all that shine or be exposed. That helped me because I'm a problem solver. And I was able to do that during my college career, and that's what I'm trying to do as a coach. There are plenty of setbacks along the way, but you have to move forward. That's what's cool about the sport, there's no timeclock, you have to play to the very end. That's really cool because you never know what can happen.
Fritchen: What are your goals while you're at K-State?
Smith: Honestly, we want to be known as one of the nation's ranked teams. I'm so competitive, I want to win a Big 12 title one day. If you're achieving that kind of success, postseason, and all of that, everything else is going to happen. It'd be awesome to have one year where you say, "We were the best in the Big 12." That's always going to drive me. With the Big 12 and how competitive it is with women's tennis, with the success the conference has been having in this sport, if you can go out and say, "We were the best at the end of the year," then you know you've done something. That's our goal and that's what we're going for.
Fritchen: What have you learned most about yourself during your journey?
Smith: That I can adapt. A lot of times, some coaches I might've had, they were so set in their ways. When you get into coaching, a lot of your coaching techniques are just the combination of things you've either learned or experienced through others. When you're trying to find yourself, you're kind of a chameleon because you're trying to remember all those things you are, and you can get stuck in a way, but the best way to describe me is from year one to year six, I'm different, and you base it off the group you have. Every year is a little different. If you can adapt, especially now with the current climate of college athletics, that's the only way you're going to keep moving forward. That's the thing I've seen most out of myself.
Obviously, I'm so passionate about K-State. When I got here in 2015, and before I got the head coaching position, this is one of those things where people ask, "What are your dream jobs?" The biggest thing is people can say one thing, but you can be living in it. I want to look back and say, "This is it."
The number is 50. That's how many wins Kansas State head women's tennis coach Jordan Smith accumulated in his career in Manhattan when the Wildcats walked off the court with a 4-1 victory at Houston on April 7.
The milestone victory comes as the 35-year-old native of Memphis, Tennessee, continues to dig in during his sixth season as K-State head coach — a position he earned on July 2, 2018, after spending the previous four seasons as assistant coach for the Wildcats.
Smith, who graduated from Memphis in 2011 and served as Memphis volunteer assistant coach in 2012, served as assistant coach for the first time at Middle Tennessee State in 2014-15 prior to arriving in the Little Apple.
Smith spoke with K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen about his career accomplishment:
D. Scott Fritchen: When you hear "50 wins" what comes to mind?
Jordan Smith: Jokingly, it probably means I've been at K-State a few years. I know every sport is different and there are different milestones. We get about 20 opportunities a year, so in my sixth year – and given there was COVID, so there were five and a half years – it's pretty awesome I've been able to do this. Obviously, a lot of credit goes to all the players I've been able to coach, and my assistants, and support staff. Obviously, I can't do it alone. It's awesome, the people have supported us, and have helped me to get here.
Fritchen: You reached the milestone at Houston on April 7. Did you realize the significance of the win that day?
Smith: I was just focused on the day. I was focused on what we were trying to do. We had played UCF on Friday and got to Houston on Sunday, and especially at this time of season you're like, "Where are we at again?" The biggest thing for me is making sure we get the win. Getting a Big 12 road win was the biggest importance to us. We wanted to show we could win some Big 12 home matches and had a really good weekend before against West Virginia and Cincinnati and wanted to get one more road win before we came back home. That was the only thing that was on my mind, just trying to support our young ladies as we went toward that goal.
Fritchen: When did you realize you'd reached 50 career wins?
Smith: I was with my assistant (Chase Colton), and we were going through our wins because we were trying to figure out seedings for the Big 12 Tournament. Through conversation, we realized that number of wins. I just let it go and went about my day. I don't like to shine a light on myself. My assistant brought it up later to the team.
Fritchen: What do you enjoy most about coaching?
Smith: Honestly, the reason I do it the most is trying to help these student-athletes get better. A lot of it, most of my coaching is on the court, but a lot of it is off the court, and a lot of times if you coach them well off the court, you help them to be successful on the court — you just don't know when it'll happen, but you know it'll happen. That's what I like is that lifelong development process to help these young ladies. That's pretty cool because I know it takes time. The sport is hard, so at some point when you see that they're overcoming that continuous obstacle they've always faced, when they have that breakthrough, that's pretty special, because you know how much it meant to them, and you were maybe able to help them in some way get there.
Fritchen: What are the biggest challenges of being a head coach?
Smith: I guess the biggest challenge is when you're that person that's in the spotlight. I always joke with my assistant — I remember when I was an assistant it was easier to make mistakes because everything was new and the spotlight wasn't on you. But I love the challenge. I love that as a head coach you have to make some tough decisions, but you also make some rewarding decisions. It's only tough if you make it be tough. That's the best way to describe it. There's always going to be ups and downs to anything you do, but I don't think a title should change that.
Fritchen: You were hired as head coach in 2018. Does it feel like it's been six years?
Smith: Not as a head coach. Just the fact that I was here as an assistant coach — this is my ninth season in all — as a head coach it's gone by so fast. You're so focused. You know what you want and what you're trying to build and to get there, it does seem like it goes by quicker. I'm like, "Oh, man, I can't believe this is six years as a head coach."
Fritchen: Take me back to the day Gene Taylor hired you as head coach. What was your immediate reaction?
Smith: It was surreal. I was thankful. I was thankful that Gene took a chance on me and really felt that I could help lead this program. It was pretty wonderful. Thankful and wonderful are the best ways to describe my emotions. Gene saw something in me that could benefit this program and our student-athletes. I'll never take that for granted. It's so awesome to work for an athletic director like him, because he's able to see things that some ADs might not put into consideration when hiring coaches. My immediate reaction? I probably had a little fist-pump in the office. I told my family. That was so cool for them to hear it given how supportive they've been and with all the sacrifices they made for me to get to where I am. I wanted to share the news with them first. Then I told some of my closest friends who've been helpful either at K-State or in my profession. Then to be honest, I just got to work. We needed to recruit, so I took my dog for a walk, and got back to recruiting, and I had to hire an assistant, because I just filled a role and got rid of a role at the same time.
Fritchen: What are some of your favorite memories being a head coach so far?
Smith: I love the travel piece because that's when a lot of team can get together. Beating KU, that was a big one, because it'd been a long time up until I took over the program that K-State had beaten KU. So, beating KU at home was big with it coming down to the last match for a 4-3 win in 2021, that was huge. Even this year, I'd say our 4-3 win over West Virginia when all the girls came together and rallied and supported our No. 1 tennis player, I'm so glad that we kept our faith because she came through and got us that pivotal home win to get us back on track. That was awesome.
Fritchen: What do you love the most about being a head coach?
Smith: I just love being on the court. As a Division I head coach, I just love that I can recruit all these different players and get them to learn different things and to be on the court coaching them and to be there with them. That's the coolest thing.
Fritchen: Was tennis your first love growing up?
Smith: It really was. The rebellious child in me, who didn't want to stick with piano or study for four hours a day, it was something I was passionate about. Once I realized this was something for me, there was no looking back. Since 8 years old, we've been all in on this tennis thing. My mom probably didn't know what she was signing up for, but it's always been there as a love of mine. Honestly, what set tennis apart was the independence. When you're out there in singles, it's easy to have all that shine or be exposed. That helped me because I'm a problem solver. And I was able to do that during my college career, and that's what I'm trying to do as a coach. There are plenty of setbacks along the way, but you have to move forward. That's what's cool about the sport, there's no timeclock, you have to play to the very end. That's really cool because you never know what can happen.
Fritchen: What are your goals while you're at K-State?
Smith: Honestly, we want to be known as one of the nation's ranked teams. I'm so competitive, I want to win a Big 12 title one day. If you're achieving that kind of success, postseason, and all of that, everything else is going to happen. It'd be awesome to have one year where you say, "We were the best in the Big 12." That's always going to drive me. With the Big 12 and how competitive it is with women's tennis, with the success the conference has been having in this sport, if you can go out and say, "We were the best at the end of the year," then you know you've done something. That's our goal and that's what we're going for.
Fritchen: What have you learned most about yourself during your journey?
Smith: That I can adapt. A lot of times, some coaches I might've had, they were so set in their ways. When you get into coaching, a lot of your coaching techniques are just the combination of things you've either learned or experienced through others. When you're trying to find yourself, you're kind of a chameleon because you're trying to remember all those things you are, and you can get stuck in a way, but the best way to describe me is from year one to year six, I'm different, and you base it off the group you have. Every year is a little different. If you can adapt, especially now with the current climate of college athletics, that's the only way you're going to keep moving forward. That's the thing I've seen most out of myself.
Obviously, I'm so passionate about K-State. When I got here in 2015, and before I got the head coaching position, this is one of those things where people ask, "What are your dream jobs?" The biggest thing is people can say one thing, but you can be living in it. I want to look back and say, "This is it."
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