When Sasha Schmid came to the University of Iowa in 1992, she was excited to begin her career at the school she grew up rooting for. While Schmid is from San Diego, California, her mother is from Waterloo, Iowa, and the family made numerous trips to the Hawkeye State throughout her childhood.

But during her freshman season at Iowa, Schmid tore her ACL and couldn’t play a match for 18 months.

Schmid, now in her sixth year as head coach of the Iowa women’s tennis team, said the resiliene she learned during her comeback from injury became part of her coaching philosophy.

“It was the first time where my body had not really been there for me, and you just have never gone through something like that,” Schmid said. “There’s the physical rehab, and then there’s the mental emotional rehab. I think back on that throughout my life, and if you can bring yourself back from that and end up finishing strong my senior year; that was a lot about resiliency.”

Schmid finished her senior season in 1996 at the No. 1 singles spot on the team and earned the Hawkeyes’ team MVP award. Schmid credited former head coach and professional tennis player Micki Schillig for not only recruiting her to Iowa but giving her the confidence she needed to return even stronger from injury.

“She helped me through a really traumatic injury and helped me at times, really believing in myself that I could come back from that,” Schmid said.

Schmid said she was also grateful for Jenny Mainz, who became head coach after Schillig left in 1995. Mainz was a blueprint for how Schmid wanted to coach, especially in how she connected with players.

“She was somebody that I always wanted to kind of model my coaching career off of,” Schmid said. “I think she is a relationship-based coach and somebody that really has great long lasting player-coach relationships.”

After earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1996, Schmid attended the UI College of Law and earned a Juris Doctorate in 1999. While in law school, Schmid served as an assistant coach for the Iowa women’s tennis team.

“Law school teaches you a lot about rational thought and reasoning, and I really think it’s a way of training your mind to work through problems and solve puzzles in a real logical way, being analytical and matching substance to fact,” Schmid said.

Following her law school graduation, Schmid became the head coach of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, in 2002. Over the course of her 10-year stay, Schmid learned to be versatile.

“That’s a small school where you have to do everything,” Schmid said. “I had no assistant — barely a strength coach. You kind of have to do the mental side, do the facilities, you go to help out with sports information.”

Schmid’s next stop was at Missouri from 2012-16. In Schmid’s first year with the Tigers, the school moved from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC.

Schmid said the conference realignment was a challenge, but it ultimately forced her to step up her coaching game.

“The SEC is really the premiere conference for collegiate tennis, so that was an incredible opportunity and challenge for me to really coach collegiate tennis at the highest level,” Schmid said. “I had to dig really deep, and I probably would have lasted at Mizzou for the rest of my career. But then this job opened, and I think the stars have to align for you to be able to come back and coach your alma mater.”

Schmid came to Iowa in 2017 with 15 years of head coaching experience. Her coaching philosophy with the Hawkeyes revolves around overcoming challenges with resilience as well as achieving personal growth on and off the court.

“When you’re in those difficult moments and you had a disappointing loss or result, getting back to the perspective of process and understanding that sometimes the most important days are the days after a disappointing loss,” Schmid said.

Schmid also exemplifies constant positivity and empathy to her players.

“She shows us her trust. She’s super happy on court and tries to see how we feel,” freshman Pia Kranholdt said.

Drawing back on what she learned from Mainz, Schmid values the relationships that she has with her players. In her eyes, both coach and players learn lessons and perspectives from each other.

“I learn every single day from them,” Schmid said.” I think they are so thoughtful and full of perspective that is youthful, optimistic, and has great energy.”

Iowa women’s tennis went 7-17 in the 2022 spring season with a 2-9 conference record. The Hawkeyes advanced to the second round of the 2022 Big Ten Tournament, which was hosted at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center.

Despite recent struggles, Schmid views the game of tennis as an opportunity to learn from disappointment. For Schmid, the learning process never stops — it goes beyond the court.

“When we’re thinking about how hard a match is, how hard a situation is, or a dynamic on the team and you have to have a difficult conversation with a coach or a teammate, or you have an injury, you have to find this resilience in yourself,” Schmid said. “You’re flexing muscles and you’re learning skills that serve you in many ways for the rest of your life.”