Simply put - it was time.

Norb Lienhard thought long and hard about it. But in the end, the longtime Jim Thorpe tennis coach decided he was ready to retire from the game.

Leinhard made it official following last month’s District 11 Class 2A Girls Doubles Tournament - the final postseason event that featured members of his Olympian team.

After a combined 52 seasons of coaching the Jim Thorpe girls and boys tennis teams - a career that spanned nearly three decades - Leinhard steps down believing that although the decision wasn’t an easy one, it was the right one.

“They say you know when it’s time to retire, you just know it,” Lienhard said. “That’s what happened when I retired as the maintenance director at Jim Thorpe too, I just knew it was time to go. I just felt it.”

A decade after retiring from that position - one he held for 36 years - Lienhard made the same decision about tennis.

“I just didn’t look forward to going like I used to,” Lienhard said. “Everything was a struggle for me this year, and it just didn’t feel the same. It’s hard to describe and it was a tough decision. I actually lost sleep over it.”

While Jim Thorpe will soon begin the process of finding a replacement for Lienhard, it will be hard-pressed to find anyone more dedicated to the school, the sport, or the student athletes.

Lienhard has definitely left a lasting mark on the Jim Thorpe tennis program.

This past season was his 25th with the girls’ program. Last spring marked his 27th season with the boys’ program.

“It was a hard decision, but I am at peace with it now,” Lienhard said. “I’m just hoping somebody takes over the program soon, and I hope they have success and happiness running it. I will definitely be watching them and cheering for them.”

The serve

It was in the 1970s when Jim Thorpe High School gym teacher Tony Forte first introduced a young Lienhard to the sport of tennis.

“Tony Forte is the one that got me interested in tennis,” Lienhard said. “He took us out and showed us the basic stuff in gym class, and I just simply fell in love with the sport.”

Lienhard didn’t have the opportunity to make a name for himself as a high school tennis player though, as it wasn’t a varsity sport at the school during that time. But that didn’t stop him from playing the game.

Years after his 1976 graduation from Jim Thorpe, Lienhard would finally get a chance to make an impact on the school’s tennis court when tennis became a varsity sport at the school during the mid-1990s.

“When they decided to start a tennis program, I knew about it because of already working at the school,” said Lienhard. “At first, I didn’t want to apply for the coaching position, because I had never coached before and I didn’t know if I could do it.

“But, people in the athletic program said ‘Why not? Give it a try.’ So, I did, and I really liked it a lot.”

The rest is history.

Lienhard has spent the last 27 years impacting hundreds of Jim Thorpe student athletes who have played for him during his tenure.

An ace

Throughout his career, Lienhard has spent countless hours teaching, instructing and encouraging his student athletes.

The Olympians won plenty of matches, and Lienhard’s boys and girls programs have gone on to produce a number of college tennis players.

Lienhard also wasn’t afraid to make changes or additions to what had worked well for him.

He added an annual summer tennis camp for youngsters in the school district that helped produce some future talent for the high school program.

He also took to social media in recent years to help build the popularity of the sport and recognize his players’ contributions.

His idea soon became a hit on Facebook.

“One thing that I did later on in my career that really turned out well was “Tennis Talk with Coach Norb,” Lienhard explained. “The reason I did this was to give our kids more recognition.

“The paper gave our program great recognition, but I felt like within the school system they just weren’t getting enough. So, I wanted to get it out there as much as possible to let the people know that we did have a tennis team and they were really working hard.”

There was a little bit of a twist to it, according to Lienhard.

“I also did that just to get on the kids’ nerves because they said I was an old guy, and I couldn’t be able to do anything with technology like that,” Lienhard chuckled. “So, I did it.”

Advantage

As anyone who has ever coached knows, nothing makes the job easier than having trusted assistants.

Lienhard said he was blessed with three assistants who helped him develop and grow the program over the years.

“Fred Maloney, Janet Farra and Brent Reabold have been part of my staff during the last 27 years,” said Lienhard. “I’m very grateful to all of them for what they have done to help the with the program.”

A recent talk with Reabold right after Lienhard announced that he was stepping down as head coach brought to light how much of an impact the assistants have made.

“It was funny,” Lienhard said. “Brent said to me, and it caught me by surprise, at the end of this year, ‘Coach, I was with you at the beginning, and now I’m with you at the end 27 years later.’

“So that really struck me because he really was. You can’t replace that kind of loyalty and dedication.”

Love

Coaching may have been one of the loves of his life, but it was “the” love of his life that made coaching all those years possible for Lienhard.

Lienhard credits his wife Lisa’s support and motivation for allowing him to stay involved in coaching as long as he did. The pair celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary earlier this month.

“I want to give out a big thank you to my wife Lisa, because she put up with me missing family stuff over the years,” Lienhard said. “When we decided to have kids, she still wanted me to coach. She would not let me give up coaching because she knew how much I loved it.”

His sons, Aaron, a sophomore at Penn State/Hazleton, and Ryan, an 11th grader who attends the Carbon County Vo-Tech School, also made sacrifices so their dad could coach.

“It’s impossible to coach as long as I have - in both the fall and spring seasons - without a great support staff, and my family has given me that,” said Lienhard.

As for tennis - his other love - Lienhard isn’t totally stepping away from the sport.

He currently serves as a tennis instructor at the Valley Royale Tennis Club in Mahoning Valley, where he gives lessons and organizes tournaments.