HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — When Steve Rosen retired as an administrative judge, he thought his days in court were over, but little did he know he'd be coaching his grandson's tennis team on the court just a few years later.
The Robinson High School Boys' Tennis Team was poised to have a great season until they got the unexpected news about their coach.
"He took an assistant principal job at another school, so he was no longer going to be a coach, which left us with no coach," said sophomore Nate Clement.
The season was in jeopardy of being canceled.
"And we worked all summer training hopefully to have a really good team and then found out we might not even have a team," said senior Maxwell Ruyle. "It was disappointing."
So Clement turned to one of the team's biggest fans, his 74-year-old grandfather.
"I asked him kind of, and I kind of joked, 'Hey, you're going to be a coach next year,' I really didn't give him a choice," said Clement.
"I knew some of the guys, and they are really good players, and to not let them have a team for their senior year, I just could not let that happen," said Rosen.
Just one issue, Rosen had zero coaching experience of any kind.
"My background is I've been in Florida 50 years and that's where I've learned to play tennis," said Rosen. "I was a hockey player all throughout college."
However, the team started winning and never stopped, undefeated in districts.
The players said grandfatherly fun and leadership carried them through their most brutal matches.
"I think it was before the regional finals he took us all in a huddle, and he gave us all a bunch of puns, a bunch of jokes, right before the match, we are all trying to get locked in," said Ruyle.
A season that felt like a Hollywood story, that even had an Oscar-worthy ending. For the first time, the Robinson Boys' Tennis Team made it all the way to States.
"I'm really grateful he stepped out of his comfort zone and came out here and gave it a shot, and he's the only reason we were able to make it," said senior Austin White.
When asked if Rosen would return to coach next season, he reverted to his days as a judge and said, "I'll take the 5th."
However, his grandson Nate, who still has two more years on the team, said he hopes his "Pop" returns for another season.
