Oklahoma State University Athletics
The Redlicki Perspective – New Year, Same Rhythm
January 09, 2024 | Cowboy Tennis
Determined. The one word Oklahoma State men's tennis assistant coach Marty Redlicki used to describe the 2023-24 Cowboy squad.
"I think that our guys know they put in a really good fall," Redlicki said. "We put in a lot of really good work on the practice court and in competition."
The fall 2023 season was something to be proud of for the Pokes. Tyler Zink and Alex Garcia made the finals at the ITA Central Fall Regionals, punching a ticket to the Fall National tournament.
The rest of the team also took advantage of the fall, collectively racking up over 70 wins in singles and doubles. With four tournaments hosted at the Greenwood Tennis Center, the team gained even more experience playing at the host site of the 2024 NCAA National tournament.
"I think the guys are ready to make a push," Redlicki said. "I think that they believe it and that they're ready to have a big year."
Coaching as a profession
Entering his second year as an assistant coach, Redlicki is still quite new to the coaching scene. He previously served as a volunteer assistant coach at Pepperdine University.
With only three years of collegiate coaching under his belt, Redlicki was still able to identify some major differences in this year's OSU locker room.
"The biggest thing that is unique about this team is their level of professionalism, given that it's a college team," Redlicki said. "We have a lot of guys that want to play pro tennis after school. We have a lot of guys who take their sport very seriously."
That is something Redlicki feels is different from what he has seen before.
"The level that our guys display professionalism and commitment to tennis is pretty special," Redlicki said.
New year, same faces
After tallying 14 wins, a Big 12 semifinal appearance and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Oklahoma State men's tennis program brought back all eight eligible players.
That, however, is becoming more of a rarity in the age of the transfer portal. Redlicki is not surprised.
"I think the camaraderie they have, how close they are off the court, they all like each other and have each other's backs. I think it helps motivate them even more to want to give it your all," Redlicki said.
"Having been together for a while and building relationships, I think they want it for obviously themselves, but they want it for each other and they want it for Oklahoma State," Redlicki said.
From playing to coaching
After a career full of accolades both on the collegiate and professional level, Redlicki brings a wealth of experience to the team.
Keeping a clear mind is something he emphasizes to the team.
"I think trying not to psych yourself out too much based on the arena you're stepping into is huge," Redlicki said. "There can definitely be different mindsets, different expectations and pressures heading into each match so approaching each match with the same mindset is important for winning."
It all starts with belief.
"The biggest thing I try and get the guys to believe is how close they are to that [professional] level," Redlicki said. "Having seen it for many years on multiple levels, I really try to reiterate to the guys that they are not far off at all."
2023: a year of learning
After a blistering 11-3 start to the 2022-23 campaign, including a 10-0 stretch at home, things didn't go as planned.
"Last year we did a really good job getting out to a fast start," Redlicki said. "But then once a couple of really close, important matches didn't go our way, we fell into a bit of a low in the middle of the season."
A tough skid left the Cowboys near the .500 mark concluding the regular season, however, the Cowboys rallied to defeat the odds in the postseason.
"I think one of the biggest takeaways from last season is that there's going to be ups and downs and everything in between," Redlicki said. "No matter what is going on in our season, being committed to the process that we've established this fall is crucial."
Maintaining a competitive identity is a major key for this team.
"Knowing that we're good enough to compete with anybody and coming in respecting everybody, but fearing nobody is the mindset."
Redlicki emphasized the length of the season.
"I think knowing that we can bounce back really fast from being down but also we have to keep momentum and be on our toes when things are going well," Redlicki said.
"I think believing that no matter what, we're right there against any team even if the results aren't where we want them to be at a given time," Redlicki said. "The future is just indication of what happened in the past."
When asked about the mistakes the team made last season, Redlicki took full accountability.
"I could definitely speak for myself," Redlicki said. "It was my first year as an assistant coach so they way that I handled certain situations last year could have definitely been better. As far as interactions, the energy I brought and being really mindful of my presence because I think the coaching staff's presence really rubs off on the guys."
"I think bringing my A game every day. I think that was definitely something I could've improved upon last year," Redlicki said."
The locker room
They key to a successful team is having a close-knit locker room.
Redlicki reminisced about playing senior year at UCLA. He compared OSU's freshman class to the freshman that came in at UCLA.
"One of the most exciting things for me, from my personal experience, is our group of freshman," Redlicki said. "We had [at UCLA] a group of freshman come in that brought energy, camaraderie, the way that they brought youthfulness, new perspective and new energy to the whole team, was unifying."
That is exactly what he sees in Derek Pham, Erik Schiessl, Ty Wunderlich and Goran Zgola.
"When you have as good of energy as you have with a great freshman class like we do this year, I think that it's really good for unifying the team and getting everyone to buy in together," Redlicki said.
Every locker room needs leadership. Not only does it come from the coaches, but also from players. Redlicki sees Zink, Garcia, Leighton Allen and Isaac Becroft in that role.
"I think the biggest thing they bring is experience and leadership," Redlicki said.
The four come from an abundance of college tennis experience with Zink playing at Georgia, Garcia at Baylor, Allen at Texas and Becroft at Mississippi St. The familiarity with college tennis coming from the team leaders is something OSU can capitalize on.
"The leadership they bring from their experiences at other schools and being at Oklahoma State for a couple years, I think those are the most important things to have in a locker room," Redlicki said.
With 18 to 23-year-olds on a college roster, it can be difficult to integrate a team.
Redlicki noted that it's difficult to have freshman and upper classmen mix without a bridge. He sees Francisco Pini, Alessio Basile and Carl Roothman as the bridge.
"Having been with us for at least a year, building on that experience serves us well," Redlicki said. "Their body of work that they bring every day and the maturity level they bring, their work output, their commitment to tennis has gone up a lot."
"They set a really good example for the younger guys to try to emulate what they're bringing on a day-to-day basis."
With seemingly all the pieces to have a successful season, Redlicki feels confident in what the Cowboys have to offer.
A schedule that features 17 home matches and serves as the host to the Big 12 tournament and NCAA tournament will provide plenty of opportunity for OSU to showcase its ability.
As Redlicki adds another year of coaching under his belt, he hopes to help OSU maximize its potential in 2024.
"I think that our guys know they put in a really good fall," Redlicki said. "We put in a lot of really good work on the practice court and in competition."
The fall 2023 season was something to be proud of for the Pokes. Tyler Zink and Alex Garcia made the finals at the ITA Central Fall Regionals, punching a ticket to the Fall National tournament.
The rest of the team also took advantage of the fall, collectively racking up over 70 wins in singles and doubles. With four tournaments hosted at the Greenwood Tennis Center, the team gained even more experience playing at the host site of the 2024 NCAA National tournament.
"I think the guys are ready to make a push," Redlicki said. "I think that they believe it and that they're ready to have a big year."
Coaching as a profession
Entering his second year as an assistant coach, Redlicki is still quite new to the coaching scene. He previously served as a volunteer assistant coach at Pepperdine University.
With only three years of collegiate coaching under his belt, Redlicki was still able to identify some major differences in this year's OSU locker room.
"The biggest thing that is unique about this team is their level of professionalism, given that it's a college team," Redlicki said. "We have a lot of guys that want to play pro tennis after school. We have a lot of guys who take their sport very seriously."
That is something Redlicki feels is different from what he has seen before.
"The level that our guys display professionalism and commitment to tennis is pretty special," Redlicki said.
New year, same faces
After tallying 14 wins, a Big 12 semifinal appearance and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Oklahoma State men's tennis program brought back all eight eligible players.
That, however, is becoming more of a rarity in the age of the transfer portal. Redlicki is not surprised.
"I think the camaraderie they have, how close they are off the court, they all like each other and have each other's backs. I think it helps motivate them even more to want to give it your all," Redlicki said.
"Having been together for a while and building relationships, I think they want it for obviously themselves, but they want it for each other and they want it for Oklahoma State," Redlicki said.
From playing to coaching
After a career full of accolades both on the collegiate and professional level, Redlicki brings a wealth of experience to the team.
Keeping a clear mind is something he emphasizes to the team.
"I think trying not to psych yourself out too much based on the arena you're stepping into is huge," Redlicki said. "There can definitely be different mindsets, different expectations and pressures heading into each match so approaching each match with the same mindset is important for winning."
It all starts with belief.
"The biggest thing I try and get the guys to believe is how close they are to that [professional] level," Redlicki said. "Having seen it for many years on multiple levels, I really try to reiterate to the guys that they are not far off at all."
2023: a year of learning
After a blistering 11-3 start to the 2022-23 campaign, including a 10-0 stretch at home, things didn't go as planned.
"Last year we did a really good job getting out to a fast start," Redlicki said. "But then once a couple of really close, important matches didn't go our way, we fell into a bit of a low in the middle of the season."
A tough skid left the Cowboys near the .500 mark concluding the regular season, however, the Cowboys rallied to defeat the odds in the postseason.
"I think one of the biggest takeaways from last season is that there's going to be ups and downs and everything in between," Redlicki said. "No matter what is going on in our season, being committed to the process that we've established this fall is crucial."
Maintaining a competitive identity is a major key for this team.
"Knowing that we're good enough to compete with anybody and coming in respecting everybody, but fearing nobody is the mindset."
Redlicki emphasized the length of the season.
"I think knowing that we can bounce back really fast from being down but also we have to keep momentum and be on our toes when things are going well," Redlicki said.
"I think believing that no matter what, we're right there against any team even if the results aren't where we want them to be at a given time," Redlicki said. "The future is just indication of what happened in the past."
When asked about the mistakes the team made last season, Redlicki took full accountability.
"I could definitely speak for myself," Redlicki said. "It was my first year as an assistant coach so they way that I handled certain situations last year could have definitely been better. As far as interactions, the energy I brought and being really mindful of my presence because I think the coaching staff's presence really rubs off on the guys."
"I think bringing my A game every day. I think that was definitely something I could've improved upon last year," Redlicki said."
The locker room
They key to a successful team is having a close-knit locker room.
Redlicki reminisced about playing senior year at UCLA. He compared OSU's freshman class to the freshman that came in at UCLA.
"One of the most exciting things for me, from my personal experience, is our group of freshman," Redlicki said. "We had [at UCLA] a group of freshman come in that brought energy, camaraderie, the way that they brought youthfulness, new perspective and new energy to the whole team, was unifying."
That is exactly what he sees in Derek Pham, Erik Schiessl, Ty Wunderlich and Goran Zgola.
"When you have as good of energy as you have with a great freshman class like we do this year, I think that it's really good for unifying the team and getting everyone to buy in together," Redlicki said.
Every locker room needs leadership. Not only does it come from the coaches, but also from players. Redlicki sees Zink, Garcia, Leighton Allen and Isaac Becroft in that role.
"I think the biggest thing they bring is experience and leadership," Redlicki said.
The four come from an abundance of college tennis experience with Zink playing at Georgia, Garcia at Baylor, Allen at Texas and Becroft at Mississippi St. The familiarity with college tennis coming from the team leaders is something OSU can capitalize on.
"The leadership they bring from their experiences at other schools and being at Oklahoma State for a couple years, I think those are the most important things to have in a locker room," Redlicki said.
With 18 to 23-year-olds on a college roster, it can be difficult to integrate a team.
Redlicki noted that it's difficult to have freshman and upper classmen mix without a bridge. He sees Francisco Pini, Alessio Basile and Carl Roothman as the bridge.
"Having been with us for at least a year, building on that experience serves us well," Redlicki said. "Their body of work that they bring every day and the maturity level they bring, their work output, their commitment to tennis has gone up a lot."
"They set a really good example for the younger guys to try to emulate what they're bringing on a day-to-day basis."
With seemingly all the pieces to have a successful season, Redlicki feels confident in what the Cowboys have to offer.
A schedule that features 17 home matches and serves as the host to the Big 12 tournament and NCAA tournament will provide plenty of opportunity for OSU to showcase its ability.
As Redlicki adds another year of coaching under his belt, he hopes to help OSU maximize its potential in 2024.
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