Rosetti Bros. Hold "Rally 4 Charity" At Milford Indoor Tennis Club

The world-record-breaking Rossetti brothers will be running the third annual “Rally 4 Charity” Saturday at the Milford Indoor Tennis Club.

But unlike in past years, the Rossetti brothers won’t be the ones rallying this time.

Consequently, Isidro Martinez and Paul Coorssen, teachers at the Milford Tennis Club, will be competing for a new world record. If they are able to beat the Rossettis’ “longest tennis rally” world record of 25,944 continuous strokes, set Aug. 9, 2008, they will win $1 million from the Odds On Promotions Co.

“They’ve had the dedication and stamina to come in first,” says Angelo Rossetti about Martinez and Coorssen.

On Aug. 1, teams were able to compete until midnight in one-hour tennis rallies, to try to accumulate the most continuous strokes. In order to qualify to win $1 million, each team made a minimum donation of $100.

The teams were from Milford Indoor Tennis, Trumbull Racquet Club, Kings Highway Tennis, Shippan Racquet Club, Fairfield Indoor Tennis and Oak Hills Tennis. Martinez and Coorssen came in first by amassing 5,916 consecutive shots in a mere hour. With much perseverance, they were able to surpass the other teams of William Boe-Wiegaard and Peter George; Michael McManus and Adam Mirsky; Chris Gaudrea and Jim Malesko; Jackie Visinski and Shelley Visinski; and Devon Jerome and Tom Boe-Wiegaard.

In preparation for Saturday, they have been practicing their rallying technique.

The $1 million challenge is only one part of the Rally 4 Charity Event, which will be taking place from 9 a.m. until midnight. The main goal of Rally 4 Charity is to raise money for four charities, including Save the Children, The ALS Association, Susan G. Komen Rally for the Cure, and the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation.

The Rossetti brothers’ goal is to raise $25,944 for charity to match their world record number of volleys.

As of Tuesday, they had raised between $13,000 and $14,000.

“Our goal to raise $25,944 became a symbolic cause,” says Ettore Rossetti. “So many children die of curable diseases, and we want to reach a symbolic mark.”

Thus all day long there will be different activities to raise money for charity. For instance, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. there will be a silent auction, including items from professional tennis players Maria Sharapova and Andre Agassi. There will also be a car wash, starting at 10 a.m., from which the profits will be donated to the charity funds.

Throughout the day, there will be free hour-long tennis clinics, cardio tennis classes, and grassroots clinics offered; people will be encouraged to make a donation for the cause.

If individuals donate a minimum of $10, they will receive either signed tennis balls or a signed poster.

Moreover, if the donation is a minimum of $30, they will receive a copy of the DVD “Tennis Begins with Love,” which the Rossetti brothers created.

It tells their story and aims to inspire others to follow their goals.

It is available at www.rossettibrotherstennis.com/movie.

Divorcing Unemployed Dads Face Contempt Of Court

The loss of a job, or a serious decline in personal income can put a great deal of stress on a family. When a family breaks up or divorces the most common reasons are are Infidelity, claims of abuse, or financial circumstances.

With the economy tanking courts must address how divorcing parents will care for their kids. This is a challenging task, especially for Dads who are now trying to build their lives anew again, and moms who once relied on a husband to pay for the needs of children and the household.

The law gets sticky when unemployment comes into play, courts often require Dads to show proof that they are looking for work, and if those Dads are self employed than things get even more complex.

A divorced Dad with a business can have an "earning capacity order" that earning capacity is based on the testimony of witnesses and business records produced to the court as evidence of income potential. Once an order is established, and a weekly payment is set failure to pay can result in incarceration by way of contempt of court.

While there officially is no such thing as Debtors prison in America, "Contempt of court" is the equivalent of imprisonment at the will and discretion of any judge. Recently a man was sentenced to jail for six months under this rule, for yawning in court.

Once a court puts an order in place it expects that order to be obeyed. Even though an order based on an "Earning Capacity" is theoretical and not indicative of any present day facts, the court does not take the position of hearing excuses after the fact. The rule is simple, your business is expected to earn "X$" a month and if "X$" is not paid than a deadline is usually issued on Dad who must find the money or face being jailed.

With the time it takes to get things corrected, often having to hire an attorney and file hardship motions months can go by without any meaningful results. When hard times hit a family, and the economy and job opportunities dry up in tandem kids, dads, and broken families pay the price harder than anyone.

Milford's courts are no exception, at any given time there are scores of people in family court arguing this very issue. Attorney's at the courthouse indicated that the "threat of incarceration" is a "good rule" because this is an effective way to produce money for the custodial parents and the kids who need it.

There are no guarantees that the legal system can always help a distressed parent. There are many non-custodial parents who served their time in jail, and had their earning capacity reset.

However, all is not lost for kids because CT offers help for single moms. This help comes in the form of a Support Enforcement Office, a Victims Advocate and some social programs to financially assist the children of the custodial parent with health care, food stamps, and counseling. Unfortunately little help exists for dad especially in cases where parental alienation exists due to the animosity of a relationship.

Photo of Essex Family Court Judge James B. Convery