Tennis Coach Gets Hall Of Fame Honors
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Bob Keanui lives for tennis, and at 72 years young there’s no stopping him. Keanui coaches “Bob’s Mob"at Kaneohe District Park and can be found on the park courts seven days a week, coaching his seven teams of keiki ages 5 through 18.
The United States Tennis Association recently honored his dedication and passion for the sport by inducting him into its Tennis Hall of Fame. The awards ceremony took place at the Ala Moana Hotel, and Keanui accepted his award in the non-player category - recognizing volunteers, officials, coaches, media and others who have made outstanding contributions to the world of tennis.
“I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know what the impact was going to be like,“Keanui said. “I was very honored and humbled by it. It was awesome.”
He was nominated by former student and longtime friend Sheila Kurosu, who saw it as a way to give back to a man who has had such a positive impact on her life.
“My parents divorced when I was young, so he’s definitely like a father figure to me and was very instrumental in me learning tennis,” Kurosu explained.“When I was 10, I was a student of his in the tennis summer program, so we’ve known each other for 34 years, I believe!” Today she directs school tennis for USTA HPS.
Keanui is touched to see his former students exhibiting the same joy for tennis and the desire to give back to the sport that he has.“Sheila was my student years ago, and it’s so awesome that she’s coming back and she’s coaching. It really becomes a family affair - I’m now coaching her sons. You can’t beat that!”
Keanui began coaching in 1976 and strongly attests that tennis is a lifetime sport for people of all ages. Kurosu also insists that Coach Bob’s coaching style is second to none. For Kurosu, however, it wasn’t necessarily his near-perfect tennis skills that stuck with her, but more so the life lessons he passes on to all his students.
“It wasn’t to make his students the best tennis players in the world, it was about teaching the kids life values and responsibility,” she explained.
“Coach Bob always emphasized education, and if we didn’t finish our homework before practice, he’d have us sit on the bench and do it. We couldn’t play till it was done,” she recalled.
“Mostly, he gives to all as long as they have the heart and the desire to learn ... and kids from all walks of life go through his program.”
As a USTA Hawaii Pacific Section Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, coach, mentor and friend, Keanui says his mission in life is to carry on a legacy for all generations.“I just stay young and enjoy life ... the kids are my life.”
For more information on Bob’s Mob, call 955-6696, ext. 29, or visit www.hawaii.usta.com to register.
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