Growth

Coaches encourage players to focus on the long-term process of developing, rather than short-term results. Through Player Development Plans and strategic scheduling, players have the opportunity to develop specific areas of interest during practice and compete within a framework that best suits improvement.

Resiliency

We recruit athletes who have a strong will to succeed. We then build resiliency by teaching them to stay the course no matter how challenging the journey becomes.

Intensity

We encourage student-athletes to assume an engaged mindset in order to be high-achieving individuals. This energy comes from collective passion and drive to get better every day, remaining laser-focused on becoming a champion on and off the court.

Toughness

We inspire players to love challenges and embrace difficult moments. When confronted with a tough situation they face it head-on and emerge more confident than before.

Outside of team practice and classes, players engage in one-on-one training sessions with the head, associate head and assistant coaches to work on specific areas of their game. Individual sessions are built around the players developmental plan that generally address more technical and physical areas in the Fall, with competitive and tactical being the main focus in the Spring.

Players adopt a “competitor first, tennis player second” mentality. A healthy competitive environment is encouraged and fostered. Team practices center on competition between teammates – teaching players how to problem solve, work between points, manage body language, etc. Ultimately, players become more comfortable with competition and learn to embrace pressure or tough situations.

Each semester players are recorded performing all major strokes. Coaches use the videos alongside those of a pro player similar in body type and game style to illustrate areas to improve technique. All practices and matches can include the use of video to see successful patterns of play or areas that need improvement. During the spring season, video sessions serve as a framework early in the week for each player’s area of focus going into the next weekend of competition.

We utilize Dartfish  software and Tennis Analytics to provide advanced performance analytics from matches to help players understand their games to make the necessary improvements from match to match.

Using the FirstBeat Heart Rate Monitor System, players engage in a year-round system that analyzes heart rates and movement data on a daily basis. This helps measure fitness levels, recovery rates and overall movement load. When players are not recovering from matches or tough practices, their heart rate is high and this is when injuries can happen. Firstbeat allows us to individually monitor each player to check their readiness levels and track their load to prevent over-training, which can lead to injury.

South Carolina Men’s Tennis strives to find student-athletes who are looking to take their careers beyond college tennis and compete on the professional circuit. We are committed to creating an environment that will aid in the individual development of players and allow them to reach their ambitions at the highest level.

At least one former Gamecock has played in every Grand Slam tournament since the 2022 French Open.

In Fall 2014, South Carolina Athletics formalized a commitment to all of its student-athletes to provide the best possible experience as a Gamecock. A big part of the Gamecock Promise is the degree completion program, which provides funding for any former scholarship student-athlete who leaves the University to return and complete his undergraduate education.

For our program, that means that a player who has the opportunity to turn professional before graduation can capitalize on that and then return to school after they are finished playing on tour. Players who believe they are on that track, do not need to worry about overloading their class schedule in their first few seasons to reach graduation before turning pro. They can keep a sustainable academic workload while playing college tennis, then return to campus following their professional career to completely focus on their degree requirements.

Jubb represented his home country of Great Britain at the Niceville ITF Futures, where he made it through to the round of 16 in the main draw.

During the 2022 fall semester, junior Toby Samuel won the Fayetteville Futures and Winston-Salem Futures in singles as well as the Winston-Salem Futures doubles title. He has since lead the Gamecocks to a new program-high ranking and has ranked as high as No. 3 in the NCAA.

Josh Goffi, Head Coach
Since taking the reins of a struggling program in July 2010, Josh Goffi’s strategic mind, motivational style and player development skills have built South Carolina into a national powerhouse. The Gamecocks have played in seven straight NCAA Tournaments, highlighted by a 2023 quarterfinal finish. Goffi has led South Carolina to program-high rankings, hitting No. 2 in two different seasons and finishing the season in the top 15 every season since 2021.

Johnny Parkes, Associate Head Coach
A 25-year veteran in player development with additional expertise in strength and condition, Johnny Parkes joined the staff in August 2023 after a year as the lead national coach for USTA Player Development.

Jake Beasley, Assistant Coach
Gamecock alumnus Jake Beasley stayed with the program following his four-year career on the courts that saw him etch his name in the Gamecock record book for single-season doubles wins as a junior then rise as high as No. 22 in the double rankings as a senior. The combination led him to a program-record 94 career doubles victories.

Jake Beasley, Assistant Coach
Gamecock alumnus Jake Beasley stayed with the program following his four-year career on the courts that saw him etch his name in the Gamecock record book for single-season doubles wins as a junior then rise as high as No. 22 in the double rankings as a senior. The combination led him to a program-record 94 career doubles victories.

Doug Nover, Director of Tennis Operations
Doug Nover arrived in South Carolina in December 2023, bringing years of event management and operations experience to the Gamecocks’ staff. A college tennis player who graduated in the top 10 of his class at Saint Peter’s (NJ), he was an operations director at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in Randall’s Island before moving into college athletics.

Justin Light, Academic Advisor
In his fourth year at South Carolina, Justin Light tracks the progress of the men’s tennis team’s academic progress, developing individual academic plans and keeping athletes on track for degree completion. His work has helped South Carolina continue its legacy of 13 straight seasons as an ITA All-Academic Team and guided two Gamecocks to CSC Academic All-America honors in the last three seasons.

Sammie Grant, Communications/PR
South Carolina alumna Sammie Grant joined the communications/PR staff in November 2024, returning to her alma mater to promote the men’s and women’s tennis and swimming and diving teams. A four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, she was part of the swimming and diving team for four seasons, competing in SEC Championships.