Gordon Hartley (2008)

Hartley was a constant on the summer tennis scene as a coach and instructor between the 1940s and '70s. Discipline developed through army service - his athletic prowess was enhanced playing basketball, soccer and other sports for the force during wartime - combined with unending patience and an affable teaching style led him to become one of the region's favourite coaches. A prolific cross-country and road racing runner in his own youth, he was considered by some to be ahead of his time with his technique and training methods. While tennis would eventually become his focus, he developed a number of aspiring runners at Victoria High School. But it was his dedication to creating lesson programs that taught the fundamentals of tennis, and his work to expand those programs around the Capital Region, that helped produce generations of players who ultimately passed on their love of the sport to their own families. It's no wonder the current Cedar Hill tennis facility bears Hartley's name today.