Sid Rothstein
About Sid:
Born April 11, 1932.
He and his wife, Saralie, live in Munster and have two sons and four grandchildren.
U.S. Air Force veteran.
Bachelor's degree in marketing from Indiana University in Bloomington.
Retired in 1994; continues to work as a real estate broker and marketing and sales consultant. Member of the Professional Tennis Registry.
Accomplishments: Sid Rothstein is known throughout the region as "Mr. Tennis" An active tennis pro for 50 years and director of tennis at Wicker Park in Hammond, he's taught more than 10,000 juniors, ages 4 to 18, in his tennis camps. He runs four camps each summer that meet six hours five days a week. In the winter, camps are held at Match Point Racquet and Fitness Club in Griffith.
Rothstein's currently teaching third-generation students and many former students received full athletic college scholarships. Rothstein loves teaching the game that invigorates him. "I thrive on it, it's a lot of fun," he said.
"I've been the luckiest guy in the whole world." Rothstein was recognized for his outstanding contribution to the game of tennis in May by Dora Hubbard Tennis Academy in Gary. He recently received a personal invitation and will attend the 2008 U.S. Open Tennis Championship in the president's suite in September.
Rothstein is a coach for the boy's tennis team at Munster High School. He was head coach at East Chicago Central High School and East Chicago Washington High School and coached the Munster girl's tennis team in the late 1970s to a perfect 30 and 0 season. Rothstein was the head pro and tennis general manager at Omni 41 Health and Fitness Connection when it first opened before leaving to design and serve as head pro and general manager at Michigan Shores Tennis Academy in South Haven, Mich. Rothstein serves on the board of directors of the Lake Shore IU Alumni Association and is alumni membership chairman for IU. He has always been and remains community-minded and civically active.
What is most rewarding: "Watching them grow up and develop into really good citizens of the community."
Personal hero: "My mom had the greatest business sense and was always civically active."
What I read: "I read the newspaper first thing in the morning and I like to read about sports."
Advice: Rothstein stated his club mottos: "just be the best you can be and give 150 percent effort, and you gotta wanna."
How to get involved: For information on Sid Rothstein's tennis camps, call (219) 923-7466. nSUE BERO, Times Correspondent
To nominate someone for this feature, e-mail slbero@hotmail.com
