2007 Phyllis L. Tubbs Service Award
Sharon Rosenburgh, Carmel High School
In 1975-76 the ICGSA Executive Board established this award to be given to honor an ICGSA member who have served girls’ athletics for several years. The recipient should have been or is an active member of ICGSA, and has established longevity through several years of service to girls’ athletics and the association. In 2002-03 named this award the Phyllis L. Tubbs Service Award.
Our recipient’s name is a household name in the sport of tennis in the State of Indiana even though her coaching career started at Turkey Creek High School in volleyball and basketball in 1973. In 1976 she moved to Avon High School to continue her coaching career in volleyball and basketball, but started the tennis program for both boys and girls. The sport of tennis became her avenue to serve and promote female athletics in the state of Indiana for the next 31 years. In 1979 she became the varsity girl’s tennis coach and physical education teacher at Carmel High School, and is ready to open the 2007 tennis season tomorrow. In an area rich in tennis tradition, our honoree has built Carmel into a tennis power house with numerous Conference, Sectional, Regional, and Semi State championships. In 1989, 1990, and 2003 the Greyhounds were the Tennis State Champions under her coaching leadership. Her career tennis coaching record is 458-73. In 1993 she was inducted into the Indiana Tennis Hall of Fame. She has received numerous District and State Coach of the Year honors, and in 2001 was a finalist for the NFHS National Tennis Coach of the Year honors. In 2004 she was the NFHS National Tennis Coach of the Year and that same year she was one of the ICGSA North-South All Star tennis coaches.
More importantly, she has been active in several professional coaching organizations such as the Indiana High School Tennis Coaching Association, Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, and Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association. In addition, she is a past member of the IHSAA Girls Advisory Committee. As a member of the Tennis Coaches Association she has served on their Executive Board, a Poll Voter for 10 years, and their Executive Vice-President. As a member of the ICGSA she has served as our Secretary, our Vice President, and was our President in 1999-2000. As a member and chairperson of our ICGSA tennis committee she was instrumental in developing the state tennis ranking system, all state team selections, helped change the IHSAA tournament series from an individual to a team style of play, and has developed a strong working relationship between the IHSTeCA and the ICGSA tennis committees. Her most recent contribution to ICGSA was serving as our Website Chairperson for six years where under her leadership our website has grown from a basic site to an integral part of this organization as we serve over 1500 coaches throughout the State of Indiana.
Over the past twenty five years she has not missed our monthly Executive Board meetings at the IHSAA building EXCEPT one snowy Sunday in January of the late 1980’s when it took those of us from the North five hours to make our normal three hour trip to Indy, much to our surprise she did not make the three mile trip from Carmel because the weather was too bad! Needless to say, we have not let her live that down. Ladies and Gentlemen please join me on behalf of the ICGSA Executive Board and Herff Jones, who will later present her with the gold Service Award ring, in honoring a true friend and dedicated professional of girl’s athletics in Indiana, Sharon Rosenburgh of Carmel High School.