East Lake Tennis Coach Named Professional of the Year

During the recent International Tennis Symposium, tennis great and a familiar face in East Lake, Robert Carlbo was named Professional of the Year. 

Carlbo is a resident of Palm Harbor. He coaches at the YMCA of North Pinellas and at East Lake High School.

In addition to coaching young tennis hopefuls, Carlbo mentors coaches from around the world. He has been linked to influencing coaches from Sweden, China and Great Britain.

The award was given by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) and organizers said the award is given to a candidate "who has displayed the highest standards of conduct and service to both tennis and PTR."

During an interview with Patch in September of 2012, Carlbo discussed why tennis is such a versatile sport.

"We like to get all ages involved. One of the best things about tennis is you can play if your six years-old or sixty years-old. A great-grandparent or grandparent can play with a grandchild," Carlbo told Patch.

Carlbo earned his PTR Master of Tennis in late 2012, which requires extensive education and is among the highest ranks in the world of tennis coaches.

According to the PTR website, PTR CEO Dan Santorum said of the program:

“It is based on a number of courses in a unique mixture of online learning and home study, as well as practical on court learning in small groups of fellow professionals. This means that coaches benefit from studying on their own, as well as from discussing and interacting with their peers on the tennis court. The program can be completed in as few as nine months or can take as long as two years, and the schedule takes into consideration that most participants work full time.” 

In order to even be considered for the program, candidates are handpicked after going through an application process.

According to the PTR, the organization is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals with more than 14,000 members in 117 countries. 

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