Edin named PTR Newcomer of the Year
February 15, 2017
Hilton Head Island, SC — Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) presented its annual awards this week during the 2017 PTR International Tennis Symposium. The event, which includes more than 40 educational presentations for tennis teachers and coaches, will be held February 15-18, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Izabella Edin, of Staples, Minnesota, has been named PTR Newcomer of the Year. The 19 year old student is joined as PTR on Campus Member a year ago, and is already certified in two PTR education pathways. A feat she accomplished in just four days.
Photo from left: PTR Board President Roy Barth, Bella Edin and PTR CEO Dan Santorum
Edin started playing tennis at 6 years old, and was taking tennis lessons at Set Point Tennis at 11. After just two weeks, her coaches moved her straight to the high performance group. She decided to play high school tennis and was soon playing Number One Singles for the school. Edin was named Section 8A Singles Champion and took 3rd place in the Minnesota State High School Championships.
When many of the staff pros at Set Point Tennis went off at college, at 15 and still in school, Edin was hired to work with the high performance players. That led to teaching children, sometimes 20 at a time, adults and seniors. Her mentor, PTR Professional Pat Colbert encouraged Edin to join PTR and get certified.
Edin said, “I’m really glad I did! I learned a lot about teaching tennis and I’m glad I had the opportunity to bring it back to out club.”
During her first year on varsity in 2014, Edin was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. It became her goal to bring awareness to the disease. Insulin dependent, Edin shares information with her students, coaches, even umpires, about what she is doing when she pricks her finger or drinks extra juice, and how to continue living a full life in spite of diabetes. “It may be life threatening,” Edin said, “but not life ending!”
Since her diagnosis, Edin has excelled both on and off the court. She was named to the 2016 USTA Leadership team and inducted to the National Society of High School Scholars. She was the winner of the 2015 USTA Northern Jerry Noyce Junior Sportsmanship Award, and was selected to play in for the USTA Northern team in San Diego at the 2016 World Team Tennis Junior Nationals.
Also in 2016, Billie Jean King presented Edin the National Novo Nordisk Donnelly Award, established by King in 1998, to encourage diabetic children to lead active lives and compete in tennis.
“We see a great future ahead for Izabella Edin,” said Dan Santourm PTR CEO, “and we are proud she chose PTR for her tennis coaching education and certification.”
PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals with more than 15,600 members in 127 countries. It has the greatest percentage of multicultural and women members of any such organization. PTR is dedicated to educating, certifying and servicing tennis teachers and coaches around the world in order to grow the game.