Harry Silverstein, Vineland High School tennis coach, has been selected as New Jersey Boys Tennis Coach of the Year for 2006-2007 by the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association (NJSCA).
Silverstein, whose career has spanned three decades, was notified of the award in a letter from John F. DuBois, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Assistant Director and NJSCA secretary treasurer.
“The NJSCA Board of Governors, NJSIAA staff members and I meet each year to review nominations and select outstanding individuals to receive this prestigious award,” wrote DuBois. “As a coach, your career and involvement with student-athletes have provided many intangibles which only a coach can give. It is our hope that these fine people, whose lives you have touched, become positive role models and citizens in future years. You should be proud of your accomplishments and contributions. We are honored to have you as a coach in the state of New Jersey.”
Silverstein’s overall record for both boys and girls tennis teams is 476-154, a .755 percentage. His teams have won four Cape-Atlantic League titles and seven division championships. His 2005 girls team won the school’s first ever South Jersey Group IV Sectional title and reached the State Semifinals where they lost to eventual Champion Westfield.
He was named 1998 South Jersey Tennis Coaches Association Girls Coach of this Year and was 2005 A.C Press and Daily Journal Coach of the year. In 1993 he was inducted into the NJSIAA Coaches Hall of Fame for tennis coaches.
Silverstein, who is a former Vineland High School and Glassboro State College tennis player, has been teaching and coaching in Vineland for 23 years. He is a member of the NJSIAA State Seeding Committee for boys and girls tennis and is certified as a United States Tennis Teaching Professional through the United State Professional Tennis Registry.
As the state’s top coach, Silverstein will also be in the running for the NFSCA's Sectional Award, which consists of eight states in the northeast region of the country.
Silverstein will receive his award in conjunction with the NJSCA's Hall of Fame luncheon on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at the Pines Manor in Edison, New Jersey.