Israeli trains local talent

MARVIN GLASSMAN

Tennis Canada has hired top Israeli coach Oded Jacob to head its junior development group in British Columbia.

“We are fortunate to have hired one of the best coaches in the world to identify talented youngsters in tennis,” said Ryan Clark, chief executive officer of Tennis B.C., who selected Jacob over other top candidates available. “Oded will take our youngsters and turn them into international champions. You don’t go out and get a guy of Oded’s talent without having a lofty goal in mind.”

Despite the fact that Israel has less money for tennis than nations such as France, Spain or the United States, Jacob has been held in high esteem in tennis circles for his stellar achievements for a nation not noted for its tennis. Jacob nurtured Israeli tennis players Shahar Peer, Dudi Sela and Harel Levy from their teens into top world-class players over the past 15 years.

Jacob was instrumental in achieving several big milestones for Israel. Two players he developed – Peer and Sela – led Israel to a World Group Fed Cup berth in 2008 and the 2009 Davis Cup semi-finals, respectively. When Peer was ranked #11 earlier this year, she became the highest ranked Israeli man or woman ever in tennis.

“Oded achieved all this, making him worthy of being an elite coach with a stellar resumé better than anyone we could have hired. Canada has not had someone of his calibre to develop our talent in British Columbia, so now we can hope for some outstanding results from our juniors,” added Clark.

Although Jacob is elated to now be working now with Tennis Canada, he would never have left Israel if the emphasis on development was as strong now as it was in the past.

“I was proud of my work with Dudi, Harel and Shahar, but now Israel is not developing our youngsters in tennis to keep our level high for the next generation. So, with deep regret, I decided to leave Israel and will work with the Canadians, as they have the right tools, attitude and outlook to develop future tennis champions,” said the 46-year-old Jacob.

“Tennis Canada is looking to expand its high-performance program in British Columbia as it did in Montreal and Toronto, so I am excited and eager to be a part of the program to develop Canadian youth in tennis. Of all the achievements I had in Israel, the most rewarding time was working with the youth. You see the growth right in front of your eyes and that is exciting,” he added.

Some of Jacob’s most noteworthy achievements with Israeli tennis players took place in Canada. Sela won the VanOpen challenger event twice in his career with Jacob in his corner as coach.

As impressive as that achievement was, Jacob guided Levy as his coach for the best result of his career when Levy finished as a finalist in the 2000 Rogers Cup (then called the Du Maurier Open) in Toronto, coming from qualifying to win six matches in a row before losing the title match to Marat Safin. Levy’s achievement was one of the best performances by an Israeli athlete ever on Canadian soil, finishing as runner up in a major tennis tournament.

“I was especially proud of what Harel did under those circumstances,” Jacobs said. “It was a shame that Harel needed hip surgery soon after that tournament, as he was ranked in the top 50 and may have gone on to have a more stellar career than he had.”

Jacob also was the Fed Cup captain who guided Peer to two wins and Tzipi Obziler to an upset victory over Aleksandra Wozniak in an Israeli 3-0 sweep of Canada at the 2007 World Group Two playoff held in Kamloops.

“It was definitely a surprise, given that the Canadians were playing at home and that Aleksandra Wozniak is a top-ranked player for Canada,” said Jacob.

Given recent success by Canadians over the past year in tennis, with Rebecca Marino of Vancouver and Milos Raonic both ranked in the top 50 on the professional circuits, Jacob has high expectations for the future. He will be working with B.C. athletes in Vancouver, age eight to 14 initially, so that the young athletes will not have to leave their families to train at Tennis Canada’s national centres in Montreal and Toronto.

“It is best to see the young talent develop,” he said, “but not at the expense of sacrificing schooling or living with their families. I am confident that, in time, Canada will have an international tennis champion.”

Marvin Glassman is a Toronto freelance writer.

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