TENNIS PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION HONOURS TENNIS EXCELLENCE
Seventh annual TPA award winners announced
Tennis Canada and the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA) announced the recipients of the 2011 TPA Excellence Awards on Friday at the Wilson TPA Awards breakfast as part of the national coaching conference. These awards serve as an annual recognition of excellence in Canadian tennis and coaching development in the categories of Coach of the Year, Professional of the Year, Facility of the Year and Service to the Game.
The award for Coach of Year was presented to Harry Greenan of Ontario. Greenan’s most notable recent contribution has been the outstanding development of Erin Routliffe and her terrific results in 2011. This past year, Routliffe was the U16 Indoor National Champion, the U18 Outdoor National Finalist, the U16 Orange Bowl Champion and the Burlington G4 ITF Champion. Routliffe was also recently selected to be a full-time national team member of the Montreal National Training Centre program. Greenan became a course conductor to present level 1, 2 and 3 certification courses in 1974. He was a head course conductor for 27 years, chairman of the Professionals committee and Vice President of the OTA for many years. Greenan has his level 3 certification and is now part owner of the Royal City Tennis Club in Guelph, Ontario.
Ontario’s Timm Fisher was named Professional of the Year. This award is presented to the TPA Professional who has displayed the highest standard of conduct and service to tennis both on and off the court. Fisher acts as the Tennis Director and is responsible for the coaching staff at the Granite Club in Toronto. This past year he introduced a new format for the Granite’s Club Championships with the goal of increasing participation by 15 percent, which was met. Fisher brings a positive energy and passion for tennis that has been very well received by fellow staff and all members. Fisher averages about 20 hours per week with a mix of adult and junior lessons and clinics, including acting as the Ladies Invitational team coach. Fisher also sits on the Tennis Committee and the Grand Slam Committee. He has been instrumental in assisting with the organization of the following key fundraisers this past year: Hall of Fame Dinner for Rene Simpson and Sonya Jeyaseelan Induction, the Granite Grand Slam, the Calcutta and the special promotional video as well as the organization of Granite teams and donations for the Philpott tournament.
The Granite Club was recognized as the Facility of the Year. This award recognizes the tennis facility which demonstrates a commitment to the promotion of tennis and is supportive of the TPA by hiring TPA active and certified instructors, coaches, or club professionals. The Granite Club demonstrates a commitment to tennis by offering its members a wide variety of programs and opportunities as well as opening its doors for tournaments, professional development seminars as well as running and supporting fundraisers. The club has 13 coaches that are all certified TPA professionals. There are eight league teams participating in the spring Toronto Tennis Leagues and five participate in the winter leagues that all train at the Granite Club. Last year the Granite Club hosted the Granite Grand Slam with Patrick McEnroe which raised $21,000 for the U12 program and they donated five days of court time to the program regrouping in June. The facility hosted the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame induction for Rene Simpson and Sonya Jeyasselan which raised $22,000 for the U14 program in their name and they supported the Philpott tennis event with four teams entered.
A new award was introduced at this year’s TPA conference and that is the Service to the Game award, presented to Joachim Nierfeld of British Columbia. This award is presented to a TPA certified member (coach/professional/community leader) who has provided significant leadership, excellence and dedication to tennis in Canada. This individual has contributed to the profession over an extended period of time (minimum 10 years). Nierfeld has been the ambassador and “go-to” person for the sport in the Okanagan region and has been the face of tennis in the Okanagan since moving to Kelowna from Germany in 2000. He has become involved at every level of tennis including schools, Parks & Recreation program advocacy with local decision-makers, being a board member for multiple clubs, coaching at multiple clubs, being a new facility advocate and growing events and league play throughout the region. He is the Head Pro at Global Fitness Centre in Kelowna, works with the Okanagan’s Mission Tennis Club and is currently a Director of Regional Development for Tennis BC.
“The TPA Excellence Awards recognize and honor those individuals whose hard work, devotion to the sport and accomplishments benefit the entire Canadian tennis and coaching community,” said Ari Novick, director of coaching development for Tennis Canada.
The TPA also presented the sixth annual Gary Caron Tennis Professionals Association Scholarship. The scholarship awards $2000 and this year, Mathieu Sarrazin of Quebec was the recipient. The scholarship recognizes a tennis coach (under 30 years of age) that displays the potential to reach the highest levels of coaching and teaching excellence in Canada. The award will provide a scholarship to offset costs of professional development courses and seminars, including international, national and provincial conferences or seminars and/or certification courses approved by Tennis Canada.
Sarrazin is the coach of junior tennis for high performance players at the Ile-des soeurs Tennis Club and is a tour coach for the U18 Canadian Championship at Tennis Quebec. He is a coach for an international tour to Florida for Tennis Quebec and the director of the instructor’s training course at Tennis Quebec. He was the director of junior tennis programs for Carrefour Multisports from 2006- 2010. Sarrazin is hard-working, tenacious, open-minded and shows a keen interest in learning further and has a strong commitment towards his athletes and planning their training methodically.