HighFIVE: Ben Wolfe
Mahatma Ghandi has said that, “A thousand candles can be lighted from the flame of one candle…,” and the life of tennis enthusiast and philanthropist, Ben Wolfe, shines with that reality. Ben’s life experience has created a strong core, a solid wick that is the center of his mission to maximize one’s mind and body potential.
Ben grew up with limited resources and found tennis to be a perfect sport with those on a limited budget.
“There’s a misconception that tennis is a rich person’s sport and the truth is anyone can play,” he said. “It’s also a sport that rewards hard work.” He adds jokingly that he spent years getting cut from sports so he has inside perspective on this observation.
His hard work on the court as a young player resulted in Ben making the walk-on finals at Michigan State, but collegiate play wasn’t in the cards. He obtained his Master’s in Education and the seed for a life dedicated to health, wellness and helping others became firmly planted.
Having taught tennis for twelve years in Michigan, Hawaii, and North Carolina, Ben now calls Colorado home. A 5.0 player himself, he runs tennis programming in Castle Rock, and is the Castle View High School Boys Head Coach and the Girls Assistant coach. In addition, he runs two non-profits he founded.
His unique background in health and fitness (he also is a certified health coach) has taught him improving one’s tennis game is about much more than hitting balls.
“It’s about mobility, conditioning and mental strength. It’s about what you are doing off the court that makes the difference,” he explained. “During my lessons, I like to look at the individual through their health and fitness to determine what approach would be best for him or her.”
Realizing information around this philosophy isn’t compiled for the average tennis player he created an interactive tennis website, has a strong YouTube following, blogs about interesting topics viewed through the lens of tennis, and has now written a book that is due out this month
Wanting to also make sure other young people living in homes where money is tight have the same opportunity he had, Ben is proud of have founded Return of Serve, whose mission is to use the sport of tennis to provide an opportunity to help underserved youth learn the sport of tennis and provide them with an environment that exhibits the use and understanding of life skills.
He also founded Colorado to Ghana, giving Colorado students the opportunity to help the people of Ghana by finding services and supplies to help create a better life. The impact on the volunteering students is the gained knowledge that they can personally make a big impact on the world around them. Ben just finished his 4th trip with 14 students this month with a sustainable farm as their main project this year.
You can log onto www.teachyourselftennis.com to learn more about Ben, his charities, and way you and/or your company can be involved with his mission to improve the world through tennis.
MidFirst Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks and this combination of size and private ownership provides our customers with a special brand of banking. We are a strong supporter of the communities we serve, investing time and money in important educational, charitable and civic organizations. Our volunteerism is powered by our employees from all of the communities in which we live and share with our customers. MidFirst Bank is a proud partner of USTA Colorado.
