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Crosby touched many lives

Saint Leo University

Tim Crosby looks forward to spending more time with his grandchildren when he retires from coaching.

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By IRA KAUFMAN

ikaufman@tampatrib.com

Published: June 18, 2009

SAINT LEO - In 1969, the year of Woodstock and America's historic moon landing, Tim Crosby took his first steps toward a tennis coaching career that would span almost four decades and shape hundreds of young lives.

Crosby, 66, is ending a 39-year run as men's tennis coach at Saint Leo University, where he also coached the women's team for 37 years. He'll remain as an associate professor of physical education, but you won't see much of Crosby roaming around the state-of-the-art tennis facility he helped make a reality in 2006.

The memories remain, and for Tim Crosby, that's enough.

"I've had a bunch of good kids over the years and I don't have a complaint in the world," said Crosby, a member of Saint Leo's first graduating class as a four-year school in 1967.

Even if Crosby had a reason to beef, he never let on to Athletic Director Fran Reidy.

"There are certain core values of this institution that Tim Crosby has lived and modeled for his students - integrity, sportsmanship, fairness," Reidy said. "In all these years, I never once heard the man curse. He's always been consistent, always in control and always thought out. He had the respect of every rival coach in the conference and you can't replace a man like that."

You'll find Crosby puttering around the comfortable home he shares with Maria, his wife of 40 years. The tennis court out back needs some attention and don't worry about Crosby growing bored.

"I've got seven grandkids under the age of 7 ... that's my hobby," he said with a smile.

Crosby's Saint Leo kids are scattered everywhere.

"I will always be grateful to him for encouraging me to look at Saint Leo as an athlete and allowing me to grow as a person," said Stephanie Harris, a 2000 Saint Leo graduate and a No. 1 singles and doubles player under Crosby. "His love of Saint Leo was evident in his coaching and teaching, and he shares that passion with every student on campus."

Crosby has excelled at several roles at the Division II school - professor, coach, historian. The former standout baseball player at St. Petersburg Junior College is understandably proud of the life lessons he served up on the tennis court.

"When we first started, there weren't any scholarships," he said. "I'd get the guys cut by the baseball and basketball teams and make tennis players out of them. Those are the ones I had the most fun with. It's all about the student-athletes ... and remember the order of those words. I'd tell our players, 'I'm not your mama or daddy and I'm not going to follow you around.' Looking back, I really had very few problems with these kids over the years."

Besides his instruction at Saint Leo, Crosby helped develop Jim Courier's tennis game, working with the Dade City hometown hero as Courier honed his court skills from age 8 to 13.

Courier went on to win four Grand Slam singles titles and ranked No. 1 in the world for most of 1992.

Crosby's teams learned to win and lose with grace and he leaves the athletics department with countless success stories and few regrets.

"For 37 years, I coached both the men and the women's teams and we used to travel together during the gas crisis in the 1970s," Crosby said. "We crammed both teams into a van and headed off to Rollins or Eckerd. On the way home, we wouldn't stop for fast food, we'd go to a nice restaurant. I know one thing those kids would say today - we didn't have a lot of money for scholarships, but Coach Crosby always fed us good."

In body and mind.

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833.

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