Don Johnson

Throughout the United States, the impoverished youth are denied the opportunity to succeed because they lack the inexpensive programs to keep them away from harsh realities flooding the streets. Hence, it is up to motivated individuals to make a difference by creating hope for these children. In March 2006, 65 year old Don Johnson was granted the Bay Area Jefferson Award for encouraging and promoting the betterment of society. Also known as the �Tennis Machine’, this tennis coach has spent the last thirty years upholding tennis within the impoverished, urban areas of San Jose as a means for the youth to escape drugs and crime. Over the years, thousands of San Jose children, some who have even succeeded at the tournament level have learned the game at one of Johnson’s programs held at the city’s parks. Tennis Coach Don Johnson is a recipient of the Jefferson Award for being able to use his own troubled history and success story as a motivation to provide kids with a future that that he struggled to have, both on and off the tennis courts.

Johnson’s enthusiasm towards helping the children of San Jose largely comes from both his experiences in Brooklyn and the steps he took towards becoming a professional tennis athlete. Johnson’s teenage years began with a bad start: he lost his dad to a drug overdose (Moody 1). Being raised in an impoverished area of Brooklyn, Johnson was denied both a satisfactory education and constant opportunities to succeed. He found tennis as an escape route from his troubled life. “It was rats and roaches and things like that, and it gave me a change to get away, away where there was green grass. Tennis gave me that, a nice dress code, beautiful clubs, smart people,” explains Johnson during a CBS5 interview (Kelly 1). Opportunities arose as he met a wealthy tennis coach who offered Don a job as an assistant in exchange for tennis lessons. Soon enough, Johnson’s success allowed him to play pro and played on tour from 1969 to 1972. (Moody 1) Furthermore, Johnson was acknowledged by the Northern California African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame and became the first African American initiated into the Northern California US Tennis Association Hall of Fame. During the interview, Johnson commented, “Tennis has been good to me. In some cases it was being black, but I say it was easy because I was the only one out there.” (Kelly 2)

His life began to take a different turn when he met his mentor: legendary player Arthur Ashe. In New York, Ashe and Johnson spent six years setting up and running the city’s first national junior tennis league program. It allowed more children to have a shot at tennis, the way Ashe and Johnson were lucky to have (Moody 2). Johnson brought this compassion here to the Bay Area when he moved to San Jose with his wife in 1976. “Arthur was my inspiration, mild manner genius, he was just what I needed to take that fire in me and control it. I promised Arthur Ashe that I would keep the fuse lit, that I would everyday strike a match and put it out there,” commented Johnson. (Kelly 1)

Today, Johnson’s programs include both private and group clinics as part of his Los Paseos Lobsters Junior Tennis Program. The group clinics on the weekends and after school allow him to work with the numerous kids who are picking up tennis. Also he charges almost nothing in comparison to what other professional coaches charge (Moody 1). In fact, his junior tennis programs are free this summer (Kelly 1) Sometimes, Johnson even pays part of the cost to enter the programs for kids out of his own pocket. A SFGate article honoring Johnson said he has coached more than 100,000 students from ages two to eighteen since he moved to San Jose in 1976. (Moody 1)

Even his private lessons have been a success. He gave some kids an opportunity they would have never dreamed of unless Johnson made them work for it. “I train them hard. I don’t let them get away with anything because I didn’t get away with anything. I make it tough for them. I still have that drive in me that I had in New York. My mother used to say, �If you work hard, it will pay off’. I was taught that when you’ve got something, hold onto it,” emphasized Johnson (Kelly 1). 14 year old Tayler Davis is junior tennis champion who has been coached by Johnson since he was 8. Today, Tayler owns over 77 trophies and is ranked No. 1 in the girl’s 14 age division in Northern California and No. 11 in the United States. During an interview, she commented “Coach Johnson taught me how to respect people, and I’ve learned that you have to put in hard work to be successful in tennis and anything in life.” (Moody 2)

To Johnson, his lessons are more than just teaching tennis. Johnson acknowledges that �teaching the sport allows him to teach other things important