IMG and the David Squad join forces for elite Israeli tennis development
Israel’s leading elite training organisation, the David Squad, has teamed up with the globally- renowned sports management group, IMG, to create a unique partnership focussed on the development of junior tennis in the region.
Providing a fully-integrated platform for the development of elite, junior Israeli players through to Professional Entry level, the collaboration will form a springboard for the careers of some of the most talented young players in the country. Created over 12 years ago, the David Squad has established itself as one of the most successful independent development programmes in Israeli tennis, identifying players from as young as 5 years of age. A registered charity, it is totally independent in its actions and finances. The IMG/David Squad joint venture will see the David Squad’s highly-regarded support system reinforced exponentially, with access and provision to the very best management team and unrivalled resources and facilities in tennis. David Coffer, Chairman and founder of the David Squad, said: “We are exceptionally proud to be associated with IMG. We have fought hard for a long time to establish an efficient and productive system, bringing pride to Israel and to all our players; we hope this will be an inspiration for young players.”
WME/IMG Senior VP Carlos Fleming said: “We’re excited about partnering with the David Squad and using all of our resources and experience in helping them set and develop the foundation of success for professional tennis in Israel.”
David Squad CEO Adam Coffer added: “We have had various discussions with management groups, but IMG was clearly the perfect fit from the moment we met. IMG’s resources, facilities and experience are unparalleled worldwide; but what stands out for us is the IMG team’s unquestionable commitment to players’ welfare and development, working in tune with existing structure. We are very excited at how far we believe this joint venture can take this, and future generations of David Squad players.”
IMG is widely regarded as the foremost management group for tennis talent in the world- with its stable ranging from leading junior grand slam champions to living-legends Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova, among hundreds of other top-ranked players past and present.
Exemplifying the relationship, last month DS professional Yshai Oliel and his DS coaches spent a week-long intense training period at the world-renowned IMG Academy in Florida (see image attached), between tournaments in America. As well as benefiting from input and advice from leading coaches and players, Yshai received access to cutting-edge fitness and development equipment and, not least, received daily words of wisdom from legendary coach Nick Bollettieri. (pictured). Oliel said: “I have been very impressed with systems at IMG and they work very well in conjunction with the support and advice I have always enjoyed from the David Squad. I am very proud be representing the David Squad within IMG and am excited for the future; I look forward to welcoming my fellow DS players into the system in the coming months.”