The Legend

The story of Northwest

Is the story of two men named Marv and Harv

Who empowered two guys named Jack and Jerry

Who hired an army of tennis pros

Who inspired a generation of tennis players Let me take you back to a much simpler time, when you could hop on your bike and head to the park to play tennis, not needing to think about anything other than having fun and doing what you loved. That perfectly describes me in the 1970's and my story is not unlike many other kids who were lucky enough to grow up with "The Legend". I loved to play tennis, hitting the ball at the courts against anyone I could find to hit with me or against the garage door at home and in the winter against any wall I could find until .....one day I received a letter in the mail from Jack Roach saying "if you are motivated enough to get up early and play tennis, we are happy to provide the courts for free."  And that was the beginning, I joined a bunch of other local high school players at 5:15am every morning to play tennis INSIDE in the winter, it was a dream come true. I was soon invited to join the STP program at The Northwest Clubs, my tennis journey had begun and my life was forever changed. I was one of the generation of tennis players who was inspired and grew up to be one of the army who was hired. Full disclosure, I was reluctantly hired. If not for the relentless efforts of Jan Schissel, the Head Tennis Pro at Normandale Tennis Club and my long time coach and mentor, I think I would have been overlooked. Jan believed in me and she somehow convinced Jack Roach to give me a chance. There are tennis professionals and there are Jack Roach trained tennis professionals. There is a profound difference and I am proud to have been trained by Jack, aka "The Legend".. Jack's illustrious career includes: * Director of Tennis for the Northwest Clubs * Head Tennis Professional at Minnikahda Country Club * Head Tennis Professional at Interlachen Country Club * Coach for the Pan American Games * Head Coach of the U of M Women's Tennis Team * Minnesota Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee * Coach of Wayzata High School Girl's Tennis Team * Coach of Orono High School Girls Tennis Team * Current Coach of Southwest High School Boys Tennis Team * Current Tennis professional at the Life Time Clubs Fast forward to the summer of 2020, I am head Tennis Professional at Oak Ridge Country Club trying to run a tennis program in the midst of a global pandemic. My tennis committee decided we should try and hold a special event if we could figure out how to do it safely during the pandemic. I knew there was only one person on the planet to call, JACK ROACH. Jack is a man of deep integrity, who holds himself and those around him to a standard higher than the highest standards. He is the ultimate student and the ultimate teacher of the game. I knew if Jack would host our event, it would be perfect, and it was. On July 18, 2020 during our Hitting with the Legend Event, I found myself once again on the court "working" for Jack Roach and I couldn't have been happier. In a summer when nothing has been normal, watching the magic of Jack running an event made me realize that there are reasons people become legends. Honesty, integrity, attention to detail, effort, hard work, kindness and passion for what you do are timeless. Thanks Jack.