Arthur Goldblatt's passion for tennis began when he served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia in 1965



Goldblatt's passion for the sport began when he served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia in 1965. He was approached by a man who was the tennis champion of Ethiopia. The man wanted to learn English and offered to give Goldblatt tennis lessons. "He gave me tennis lessons and I gave him the language lessons, but I think I got the better end of the deal," Goldblatt said.

Arthur Goldblatt's passion for tennis began when he served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia in 1965

Good sport: Tennis program founder honored

By Alison Damast
Staff Writer

Published June 19 2006

NORWALK -- Soon after retiring, attorney Art Goldblatt noticed that the four tennis courts behind Roodner Court apartments were frequently empty.

Goldblatt, an avid tennis player, called the Norwalk Housing Authority, which operates the housing complex, and asked officials whether he could help organize an after-school tennis program there for elementary and middle school students.

Housing Authority officials were enthusiastic and teamed up with him to form Norwalk Grassroots Tennis, an inner-city junior tennis program run year-round for students who live in Roodner Court and Colonial Village apartments.

"I just wanted to see what I could do, and it has really taken on a life of its own," Goldblatt said. The after-school program, in its 10th year, gives about 325 students each year free tennis instruction and practice sessions for two hours every afternoon. The successful program has been replicated at community centers in Stamford, Bridgeport and Danbury.

Goldblatt's accomplishments were recognized June 10 by the New England division of the United States Tennis Association during the group's annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Newport, R.I.

Goldblatt received the Gardner Ward Chase Memorial Award, the highest honor given to an individual in the organization, said Jeff Waters, executive director of the regional branch of the USTA.

"He provided opportunities for kids that really just never would have been exposed to tennis and gave them a chance to play tennis and get involved with the sport," Waters said. "He really built the program from scratch in a nontraditional area, and that is just really kind of cool."

Norwalk Grassroots Tennis initially began with a federal grant secured by the Norwalk Housing Authority in 1996. When the grant money ran out several years ago, Goldblatt was determined to keep the program going. He has spent much of the past five years securing private donations and grants for the organization, which had a $100,000 budget last year.

He also has helped secure funds to begin similar programs at the Boys & Girls Club in Stamford and the Cardinal Sheehan Center in Bridgeport. For the first time, the groups began holding inner-city tennis matches this year.

"Art has a lot of vision, and his vision is to get tennis going in the inner-cities," said Rob Oppenheim, a tennis instructor at the Cardinal Sheehan Center. "He has worked really hard to raise money for the inner-city of Connecticut, and he is succeeding."

Two years ago, Norwalk Grassroots Tennis raised $40,000 -- half from private sources, half from a federal Community Development Block Grant -- to install a practice wall at Colonial Village. The wall allows kids to improve their strokes, and frees up court space.

After the success of that project, the program recently raised $30,000 from private sources to put up a similar wall at Springwood Park, behind Roodner Court.

Goldblatt hopes to install tennis courts and a practice wall at Ryan Park, a move that would allow him to expand his program to Norwalk's Washington Village housing complex. Plans for that project are still tentative, he said.

Managing the program has become almost a full-time job for the 72-year-old Goldblatt, said David Kimani, executive director of Norwalk Grassroots Tennis. Goldblatt spends hours every day organizing tennis matches, writing grant applications and visiting students at the various after-school sites, Kimani said.

"The time and dedication he puts into this is unbelievable," Kimani said. "His love for the game just says it all. He wants to use tennis as a tool, not to necessarily make the kids professional players, but to give the students a way to stay out of trouble."

One of the students helped by Goldblatt's work is Michael Crafter, 24, now a student at Fairfield University. He was a 12-year-old living at Roodner Court when he first picked up a tennis racket through the Norwalk Grassroots Tennis program. He eventually became an assistant tennis instructor with the program. Goldblatt served as a role model for Crafter, encouraging him to work hard at school and attend college.

"The thing about tennis is that it was one of the first things I tried that made me feel like I was good at something," Crafter said. "People told me, 'You're a good player, you're a natural,' and after a while you believe it. I really believed I had a talent for tennis, so it gave me confidence."

Goldblatt's passion for the sport began when he served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia in 1965. He was approached by a man who was the tennis champion of Ethiopia. The man wanted to learn English and offered to give Goldblatt tennis lessons.

"He gave me tennis lessons and I gave him the language lessons, but I think I got the better end of the deal," Goldblatt said.

After he came back from the Peace Corps, Goldblatt set up a law practice based out of a church in South Norwalk.

"I got to know the people in South Norwalk, and I thought it would be nice to help them once I retired," said Goldblatt, who eventually became an attorney for the city of Norwalk.

In addition to starting the Norwalk Grassroots Tennis program, Goldblatt has been active in the Connecticut chapter of the United States Tennis Association, serving as the group's president for the past three years. He helped bring the National Public Parks Tennis Championship to Stamford's Scalzi Park last year, the first time the competition visited New England, Waters said. In addition, he has organized a program for high-performing middle-school tennis players that lets them practice together on the weekends.

"He is one of those guys who just quietly goes around and gets things done," Waters said.

Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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