Catholic Central coach teaches tennis in honor of fallen 9/11 deputy fire chief

NOVI — The junior varsity tennis coach at Detroit Catholic Central in Novi pursues his tennis dreams in honor of his friend, a New York deputy fire chief who perished during the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

Charlie Siracusa, 70, of Northville, is now known for his skills on the tennis court. For the last year he has coached JV tennis at Catholic Central, and he most recently competed in the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh this July, where he was named a Humana Game Changer for his influence on fitness at a mature age.

However, if it wasn’t for an injury while running his fourth marathon back in 1985, he might not be the tennis champion he is today. Following the injury, his chiropractor recommended that he play tennis instead. It was at Walker Park in Staten Island, said to be the site of the first national tennis tournament in the United States, that Siracusa met Charlie Kasper.

“(Kasper) was an accomplished tennis player at the club but saw me struggling on the court,” Siracusa said. “He came over and said, ‘Let me help you. Would you like to hit (tennis balls) a little bit?’”

Siracusa became fast friends with Kasper. They would hang out frequently and attend some tennis camps together.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Kasper, 54, then a battalion chief for the Fire Department of New York City, who was off duty, went to aid people at the twin towers and perished when the south tower collapsed. He was posthumously promoted to deputy chief.

“When I reached out to his wife, Laureen, and asked what I could do for her beyond just our family support, she said to continue to pay Charlie’s spirit forward through tennis, and find as many people in your life that maybe need a little help coaching and tutoring, and help them,” Siracusa said. “So, for me, I don’t need any more medals, trophies. I don’t need any of that. But what I do need is to have an experience like I just had in Pittsburgh (in July), and receiving a Game Changer award, which I will share with Charlie’s widow as another example of spreading his word about fitness and health associated with tennis.”

In addition to tennis, Siracusa continues to run, learned to swim in 2012 and has competed in Iron Man races. He cycles three days a week, runs twice a week, does strength training twice a week and sees a mobility coach twice a month. Siracusa is so passionate and diligent about his workouts that he has kept a detailed workout log highlighting every workout he has completed since 1978.

“Health, fitness and life are it for me,” Siracusa said.

“The community of tennis is lifelong as far as friendships and relationships, but I play the infinite game of fitness, and I play the infinite game of tennis because there is really no end and perfection is always very elusive,” Siracusa said. “But you can kind of prove yourself. I like the opportunity to be out there on the court by myself, with no one to rely on but myself, and then use all my tools that I’ve been blessed to fine-tune over all these years from a mechanical side and a mental side to really test myself on the tennis court. It’s the cardio and all of the exercise, but it’s way bigger than that for me. It’s a mission.”

In his mission to keep Kasper’s spirit alive, Siracusa said, he has helped close to 20 people succeed on the tennis court, in addition to the approximately 50 students he has helped to mentor in tennis at Catholic Central.

“The influence that a human being can have because of tennis is far reaching,” Siracusa said.

Outside of tennis, Siracusa has had a lengthy career in business. He is currently the CEO of Troll Co. Clothing and has worked for companies such as Hanes and Timberland. He said tennis provides the tools and training needed to succeed in business. Siracusa said that without focus, patience and discipline, a person doesn’t stand a chance on the tennis court or in business.

“It’s the same nine-box matrix that you need on a tennis court,” he said. “It’s focus, patience and discipline. It’s create, transform and lead and it’s show up, follow up and execute. … Those are the influencers or components that you have that make you successful in business, make you successful in tennis, but if you really break it down, make you successful in life.”

Siracusa said his life has been based upon a series of divine interventions and it was one of those divine interventions that led him to become the JV tennis coach at CC. In his striving to always better his game, Siracusa took private lessons from Robbie Risdon at Novi Athletic Club. It was during a chance conversation with Risdon, who is also the varsity head tennis coach at CC, that Siracusa learned CC was seeking a JV coach and volunteered himself to take on the job.

“There could be no better way to pay Charlie’s word forward than to be involved with young men who are freshmen through seniors in high school and influence them,” said Siracusa.

Risdon said she was surprised and overjoyed that Siracusa would want to take on the position. She said she hadn’t asked him, as she thought he would be too busy to take on mentoring a large group of teenage boys.

“He is so gifted and has so much to offer the boys. So, it was a wonderful thing. It has been a great fit for him. He enjoys it. The boys love him. He is able to get involved in the boys’ lives and teach them leadership skills. So it’s really good,” Risdon said of Siracusa’s coaching skills. “He changes people’s lives. He works hard at developing himself physically and mentally and spiritually. So he’s a great role model.”

She said Siracusa stands out because he genuinely cares about people, listens to them and makes a difference in their lives. Risdon said she has coached at CC for nine years and that the JV team has always been good, but since Siracusa joined the staff, the team is now at a higher level. She said the kids love coming out to practice with him and even attend optional practices with him.

“He just has that engaging personality,” Risdon said. “He just walks in with a group of people and their energy picks up a notch. I see it with the boys as well.”