Willow Glen Resident

Cover Story

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Tennis coach Don Johnson is teaching a free summer tennis camp program at Bramhall Park. He has been working with the city of San Jose for seven years. He teamed up with his late friend Arthur Ashe to create the first national junior tennis league program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Grand Slam

Tennis coach Don Johnson says tennis is not just a sport, but a life skill

By Emilie Crofton

Standing 6-feet, 1-inch tall with dark shades, a husky voice and a whistle dangling from his lips, tennis coach Don Johnson cuts an imposing figure.

Known for his tough discipline with children and an emphasis on the importance of proper tennis attire to restore the "beauty of tennis," he aims through old-school teaching to infuse his students with a sense of respect, confidence and manners.

This former coach of famed tennis champion Arthur Ashe may appear tough on the outside, but he is patient with his students and humble about his past.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Johnson, 66, runs a tennis program for more than 70 students at Bramhall Park in Willow Glen. Children ages 6-18 learn all about serving, hitting and finding that "sweet spot" on the racket from 10 a.m. to noon.

Johnson's summer program is free, and those who cannot afford tennis gear and equipment are given rackets. The money for the program is donated through the United States Tennis Association and the city of San Jose's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. Johnson is so passionate about teaching the game that he contributes half of his own salary back into the program.

"It's not just about tennis; it's a way of life," says Bertha Starks, whose 9-year-old grandson Eron Couch is in the tennis program. "He's a fantastic man, and he does a fantastic job with the program."

Jonah Underwood, 10, has been with the Willow Glen team, the Bramhall Strings, since it started in June.

"It's tough but really good at the same time," Jonah says. "We learn things quickly, but we learn them well."

Willow Glen Middle School student Melanie Silva, 11, has been playing tennis since she was 7. She says Johnson makes them do a lot of running, but he also makes the game fun.

"I've improved a lot, especially my serving and backhand," Melanie says. "When I'm older I want to get a college scholarship in tennis."

That commitment is part of what Johnson tries to impart: Tennis is not just a game. It's a way to develop life skills.

Parents are amazed by the positive reaction children have toward Johnson's tough-love discipline.

"I remember the first time thinking he was maybe too strict, but the children respond so well to him," says Shaun Leavoid, whose 6-year-old son Chase is at the camp for the first time. "The kids really like him. He uses discipline in a positive way and gets them to listen and learn a number of life skills and values."

Johnson says children respond to his approach because he knows "how to be rough, softly," by peppering his orders with little jokes and nicknames.

Another of one of Johnson's lessons revolves around the history of game. Johnson has every student write a report on his longtime friend, the late tennis legend Ashe. Ashe was the first African American to break the color barrier in tennis and went on to win major victories, including the Wimbledon men's singles title in 1975.

The importance of this history lesson is not lost on a number of the children and parents who had never heard of Ashe before Johnson's assignment.

"So much of what you read in the news regarding African Americans is negative. You just don't hear about all the constructive things we do," Starks says. "[Johnson] makes sure African Americans are heard in a positive way throughout the community."

By educating his students about the sport's history, Johnson hopes to show his students that tennis is no longer restricted. Everyone can now participate in the sport once considered the sole domain of the white upper class. Today such African Americans as sisters Serena and Venus Williams dominate professional play. Venus Williams was the 2007 Woman's Wimbledon Champion.

Real Ace

Johnson has been teaching the sport for 30 years. Johnson has been running tennis programs like Bramhall's at Backesto and Los Paseos parks in San Jose. There are more than 200 San Jose children benefiting from his teaching. The Backesto program has been around for 20 years, and the Los Paseos team has been playing for more than 30 years.

Jeff Ford, the program director for the city of San Jose, says the Bramhall Park program has been a smash.

"It's becoming very popular, an absolute hit," says Ford, who has been working with Johnson for seven years.

Come fall, Johnson plans to expand his program once more, setting up shop at Hoover Middle School.

No matter what tennis court he calls home, Johnson's way of teaching has affected the lives of students. One, Cassandra Borjan, 17, says Johnson has become more than her coach. He is her friend and biggest supporter.

Cassandra, who has been playing tennis since age 10, met Johnson through his tennis program at Los Paseos Park.

"He developed my whole game," she says.

She quickly became an elite player, moving up the tennis rankings. Her junior and senior year she held the No. 1 singles spot on the varsity womens tennis team at Oak Grove High School.

When Cassandra's father died in 2004, Johnson became a father figure. He helped the family financially with private lessons, tennis apparel and equipment.

Then things took a turn for the worse in November 2006 when Cassandra was diagnosed with a kidney disease, which eventually prevented her from playing tennis. She says it was a frustrating and stressful time, but Johnson was by her side to offer help and support.

"He called every day to make sure my family and I were OK," she says.

Today, Cassandra is headed to San Jose State University, where she plans to pursue her goal of earning a spot on the tennis team.

She hopes to repay Johnson by paying it forward and helping others. Cassandra currently assists Johnson by teaching tennis to the young children in his program.

Top spin

Johnson's life has always revolved around the world of tennis.

Born in 1941, he grew up in the ghettos of Brooklyn, N.Y. At age 11 he was drawn to the white tennis players during a weekend visit to Lincoln Terrace Park, as he watched the game from the sidelines.

"It was such a structured and clean sport," Johnson says. "I looked at the players and wanted to be like them."

He also knew the world he wanted to get away from, after finding his father dead of a drug overdose. He vowed never to fall into that same life and saw tennis as a way out.

Thanks to Phil Rubel, one of the players on the Lincoln Terrace Park courts, Johnson was able to pursue his dream. For the next five years Rubel taught him everything about the game.

"He was an angel in my life--my mentor," Johnson says.

Johnson began playing tennis in his spare time and quickly developed into a strong player, playing in tournaments and matches throughout the United States, but it wasn't an easy life.

There was no money in the game back then. The players would pile into one car, sometimes six at a time, and travel to tournaments. They would even sleep in cars. When tournaments were scheduled in the South, Johnson had whites cursing at him and spitting in his face. Their hatred, he says, only motivated him to fight harder and win on the court.

At 27, Johnson was hired as a coach at Pratt Institute and became the first black tennis coach at the East Coast college. In 1971 he was given tickets to one of Ashe's matches and found himself sitting next to Althea Gibson, the first African American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour. It was Gibson who introduced Johnson to Ashe, the man Johnson says changed his life.

Johnson became Ashe's coach, and their relationship quickly blossomed into a lasting friendship.

"My years with him were some of the best times of my life," Johnson says. "I taught him how to be tough, and he taught me how to be a gentleman."

Johnson coached Ashe for seven years, and the two remained close friends until Ashe's death in 1993. Through Ashe, Johnson says, he taught tennis and rubbed elbows with a number of celebrities, including Bill Cosby, Charlton Heston and basketball great Julius Erving, better known as Dr. J.

"At first I wanted to be a rich and famous tennis star like Art," Johnson says. "But Art always told me I was a better teacher than a player."

One of the most important lessons Ashe taught him was the gift of giving. The men teamed up to created the first national junior tennis league program at Pratt Institute, which they later moved to Fort Greene Park in New York. Together the two taught hundreds of at-risk children.

"Art made me who I am today," Johnson says. "I owe everything to him."

In 1976, Johnson moved to San Jose with his wife Cynthia, to whom he has been married for 32 years, and continued to develop his tennis programs.

The awards in his home are a testament to what he has accomplished both on and off the court. In 2004 he was inducted into the United States Tennis Association Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2005 he received the Six Degrees of Excellence Award. In 2006 he was inducted into the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame and was honored with the Jefferson Award for Public Service.

Even with a room full of accolades, Johnson remains humble.

It's all about giving back, he says, which is why Johnson considers his biggest achievement to be the USTA's funding of his tennis program in Ashe's memory.

"All my dreams have come true," he says.

Tennis coach Don Johnson is teaching a free summer tennis camp program at Bramhall Park. He has been working with the city of San Jose for seven years. He teamed up with his late friend Arthur Ashe to create the first national junior tennis league program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y.