Remembering Sol Schwartz, a pied piper of the tennis community

It’s been more than 35 years since Ronald Reagan stated, during his first inaugural address, “Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” We discovered heroes in every state, starting with the determined 69-year-old who won a match at an ITF Pro Circuit event earlier this year in the Alabama town of Pelham, and culminating with the coach who has overcome multiple sclerosis to build a winning program at the University of Wyoming. Their compelling stories of courage, perseverance and achievement demonstrate that the message delivered by our 40th President rings as true today as it did then.

On March 16, 2016, the tennis world lost one of its greatest advocates when Sol Schwartz was found dead in his Reisterstown, MD, home. He was 46.

Schwartz’s sudden passing, widely believed to be from a heart attack, was a shock to all that knew him, given his health and conditioning regimen. What’s without question is the impact Schwartz had on his wife, Ilene, his two children, Dori and Evan, his community and the sport of tennis.

Unlike so many tennis fanatics, he didn’t develop a passion for the game as a young child. An ardent, lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, Sol primarily played baseball in his formative years. It wasn’t until he was 9 years old that Sol first picked up a racquet, and he quickly excelled on the court. A natural, he earned a tennis scholarship to Washington College before transferring to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Sol had one of the best seasons in UMBC history in 1991-92, recording a 19-2 singles record and a 10-4 doubles mark. At No. 2 singles, he reached the final of the East Coast Conference Championship in 1992.

Sol was talented enough to play professionally—he played more than a few low-level pro matches after graduation—but opted to take a more traditional route and look for a steady job. Not yet ready to leave the sport behind, Sol was hired by Holabird Sports in 1993. He served as a retail manager and buyer for the company, and worked there until the day he died. According to his wife, he didn’t take a single sick day in his 26 years with the company.

“He loved going there because it was his passion,” Ilene says. “It wasn’t just a job for him. It was his passion. He never complained one day about going to work, which is amazing.”

In his spare time, he served as a local tennis coach. He worked with one adult player two to three times a week for 18 years. He also eagerly volunteered his services to a young man named Justin Carter, who would go on to receive a full tennis scholarship from UMBC.

“People just loved being with him,” Ilene says. “…He was such an outstanding tennis coach. Anyone who wanted to learn tennis, he would teach him. So helpful and such a great, caring person. He would just do anything for anybody.”

A proud and active UMBC alum, Sol spent many years as a volunteer assistant coach with the university’s men’s and women’s tennis teams. Earlier this year the program folded, which utterly devastated Sol in the months before his death. Among his many tennis goals and dreams, preserving and promoting college tennis was at the top of the list.

Sol formed an online petition to save faltering tennis programs around the country, and when the UMBC tennis program was discontinued, it crushed him. Sol created special bonds with the collegiate players he mentored over the years, which was especially evident at his jam-packed funeral.

“I got private messages from many of the kids on the team [after his death],” Ilene says. “That’s just how much Sol impacted their lives.”

When Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the United States’ eastern seaboard—hitting New York and New Jersey especially hard—in the fall of 2012, Sol refused to sit back and witness the destruction without lending a hand. Determined to make a difference in the lives of those affected, he traveled to Long Island and got to work. Sol initiated a fundraising campaign through his company, Holabird, and provided assistance to tennis facilities and teaching professionals in the area. With the money he was able to secure through donations, local coaches were able to get back on their feet. The money also paid for balls, hoppers and other vital pieces of equipment.

In recognition of his commitment to the Long Island tennis community, Sol was presented with the USTA Long Island’s Good Samaritan Award in 2014.

He leaves behind a wife of 21 1/2 years—they began dating when they were just 20—an 18-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old son, a proud mother and two older siblings. He also leaves behind an unwavering love for tennis, which is still felt every day in the players he coached, the friends he spent time with and the customers with whom he shared his vast knowledge of the sport.

After his death, Ilene found out via a Facebook message that Sol had been working with the USTA to help those with disabilities become more involved in tennis. She also received countless messages from people all over the world, telling her how much of a difference Sol made in their lives. Because Sol was so humble and so unassuming by nature, it wasn’t until after his death that Ilene truly understood the magnitude of his positive effect on others.

He could have, and likely would have, accomplished so much more, taught so much more, lived so much more. But in his short time with us, he was an undisputed champion—of kindness, of humanitarianism, of tennis.