Alma’s Smith finds his niche in men’s singles

By Kevin Taylor 

Alma Schools 

By his admission, Joshua Smith started leaking oil about halfway through the second set of last week’s singles match against Van Buren’s No. 2 singles player, Eli Wyatt. 

After coasting to a 6-1 win in the opening set, Smith had difficulty putting Wyatt away. 

So Smith relied on his best attribute to push through — not his strong backhand or quick feet, mind you, but his mind. 

Academics and athletics can be bedfellows. 

“The heat was quite hotter than it has been in recent weeks,” Smith said. “My body felt like it was going to shut down on me at one point, and I thought I was going to fall. It’s all mental; I just shut out the pain. 

“It’s amazing how powerful the mind is when you let it take over.”

Alma senior Joshua Smith has made a nice transition from doubles player to No. 1 singles player. 

Smith explained that although both his older siblings, Parker Work and Abigail Smith, played sports on the collegiate level, academics have always been a mainstay. 

Work played collegiate tennis at Hendrix, and Smith is a sophomore softball standout at Arkansas Tech.

“My parents (Lisa and Stephen Smith) let us pick if we wanted to be an athlete or not,” Smith said. “Most of the time they (parents) just care about academics. I’m almost a complete straight-A student. I’ve only had like one or two Bs and all of my classes are concurrent classes. They don’t force us or push us to do sports, but if we do sports, they want us to try to do our best.”

While academics have come naturally, Smith’s passion is the same when it comes to wearing Alma school colors on the tennis court. 

“It means quite a bit. It's like a community, even after you graduate you have reunions and come back and see everybody,” Smith said. “I not only compete in a sport, but I'm also in the choir, and that's the highest (best) choir program in the state. 

“Anything I do, I try to do my best for my school, because not only am I representing myself but I'm representing the Alma Airedales. I want to make sure their reputation stays as sterling as possible."

Alma senior tennis player Joshua Smith.

Smith has had his ups and downs this year but contends he’s won more matches than he’s lost.

"The season's gone pretty well," he said. "I know I have more wins than losses, so I can't be upset about that."

Very well, in fact.

This speaks volumes for someone who hadn’t played tennis before his freshman year.

“I started playing tennis my freshman year of high school,” he said. “I had never picked up a racket until my freshman year. My brother did play when he was in high school, and also in college, so it’s something I’ve thought abut for a long time. I’ve done almost every sport Alma has, but in high school, I’ve only done track and tennis. I do have exercise-induced asthma, so track was not the best for me. I transferred over to tennis and it’s been pretty smooth sailing ever since.”

After playing with three different doubles partners, including Jackson McMurray last year, Smith opted to play singles this season. He has no regrets.

"I had never played singles," Smith said. "I had played maybe one or two JV (junior varsity) matches over the previous three years. It's tough because when you play tennis, you almost feel like it's staying in. Your body gets used to certain lines taking away the alleys on the side of the court, and having to run down every ball. It's tough, but I prefer it that way because there is no lack of communication with your partner."

“I meet with the kids every year to see what they want to do, and Joshua was pretty dead-set on playing singles,” explains veteran tennis professional Don Kissell. Kissell started volunteering with the Airedales four years ago, not long after the passing of longtime tennis coach, public address announcer, and well-liked history teacher Toney McMurray, for whom the Alma courts are renamed.

“I don’t want someone playing somewhere they don’t want to be,” Kissell said. “His doubles partner (Jackson McMurray) graduated and he (Smith) wanted to try singles.”

Playing with different doubles partners every year was also challenging, Smith said.

"I had a new partner every year, so you never got to build that connection," he explained. "When you have a new person every year, sometimes it's just easier to be independent."

“Josh is my only kid who wants to work on his own time,” Kissell said. “He’ll show up on Saturday and work out. Any kid that puts out an effort, I’ll work with him.”

“I think this year, especially, switching into singles has taught me a lot about self-reliance and complex problem-solving,” Smith said. “If I can’t seem to hit a forehead, I can analyze it and fix it. It’s taught me to be self-sufficient, independent, and mentally tough.”