Tennis Is Back at the JCC!
By Jill Cousins
About five years ago, the tennis facility at The Roth Family JCC in Maitland was a mess. The courts were cracked and damaged from wear and tear, harsh weather, and neglect. The nets were broken and ripped. Needless to say, nobody was using the courts. They were basically unplayable.
Coach Vladimir Obradovic with some of the budding tennis enthusiasts at The Roth Family JCC. Vladimir and his team offer a variety of tennis programs there via the Revolution Tennis Academy.
That’s when Danny Cohen, a local urologist who had been a JCC Board member for many years, heard there was talk of demolishing the tennis courts because the JCC didn’t have the funds to fix them. So he decided to take action.
“I’ve always been a big supporter of the J, and my kids all went to the preschool there,” says Danny, a Montreal native who moved his family to Maitland in 2005. “When I heard these courts were going to be removed, I went to the Board and asked, ‘What’s it going to take to make sure we don’t get rid of the tennis courts at the JCC?’”
The answer was that it would cost approximately $200,000 to renovate the courts. Danny, along with his wife Esther, became the project’s primary benefactor and project organizer and donated half the cost. The United States Tennis Association added a $50,000 grant, and some generous donors (the Weiss family, in memory of Dr. Gary Weiss; Daniel and Caryn Coultoff; Dick and Louise Weiner; Marc Smith; Mark Israel; Jeannie Leavitt; and Latham, Luna, Eden and Beaudine, Attorneys at Law) contributed the rest. After several delays due to weather problems and contractor issues, the Danny and Esther Cohen Tennis Center was finally completed in early June, just in time for Camp J.
you say you want a revolution
Former professional tennis player Vladimir Obradovic is the facility’s director of tennis and has brought his Revolution Tennis Academy to the JCC. His academy teaches and trains young tennis players to compete at various levels. His Junior Tennis Program is for children ages 3 to 18 with kids placed in clinics based on their age and ability level. Adult lessons and classes, including Cardio Tennis, are also available.
Dr. Danny Cohen with his children Zachary, Nathaniel, Ela, and Talya. This summer, Ela and Danny trained for one week at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France.
“We’re very excited to finally be able to fully function with our brand new courts,” says Vladimir, a native of Serbia who was Davis Cup teammates with Novak Djokovic, the greatest men’s tennis player in history. “We have an extremely knowledgeable team who can offer junior and adult players a great experience. It will be fun for everybody.”
home court advantage
When Danny and wife Esther decided to move here, the JCC was one of the main reasons. Danny, a former hockey player, took up tennis about five years later, and the JCC tennis courts were one of the places he played. The Cohens take their tennis seriously, and Danny and his sons even competed at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Danny is hoping that the new tennis center might even attract similar big tennis events and encourage more families to join the JCC.
“Keeping kids busy with sports keeps them focused and makes them better at school,” Danny says. “And tennis is a great sport because it’s a lifetime sport.”
The tennis center uses a state-of-the-art court reservation system that can be accessed either through the CourtReserve app or by going to RevTennis.com. For more information, call the JCC at 407-645-5933.
This story was originally published in print in Fall 2024.