USTA NorCal News

 

 

Don Johnson is considered by many a local Northern California tennis legend. Through his hard work and dedication to the game and to his "children".  For the last 35 years, Don Johnson has shared his love of tennis with children who otherwise would not have access to the sport.

The road to tennis for this trailblazer was not easy.  A New Yorker by origin, he grew up in the impoverished inner city are of 1940’s Brooklyn.  He witnessed first hand that life could be hard, if not cruel. Watching his father die of a drug overdose was a testament to that reality. 

 

His only haven became tennis.  When Don was 12 years old, he met coach Phil Rubel at Lincoln Terrace Park.  Coach Rubel took him under his wing and showed Don that there was another path he could travel.  Don recalls, "When I first met tennis, there was a structure there that was white.  It was clean and I immediately wanted to dress like those guys that wore the clothes, the white stuff…I wanted to be like them."

 

Don quickly rose up the ranks and played professional tennis from 1969 to 1972.  He was also the first African-American tennis coach at an East Coast college, the Pratt Institute.  This gave him the opportunity to meet his mentor and friend, Arthur Ashe.  Don worked as coach and personal assistant to Arthur Ashe from 1970 to 1977.  It was during this time that he helped set up the city’s first national junior tennis league program (NJTL). 

 

When Don and his family moved to San Jose in the mid-70s, he brought with him the NJTL concept.  Don estimates that he has taught thousands in the past 30 years through the various tennis programs he runs in San Jose.  He is proud of bringing tennis programs to the inner city and being a mentor to junior tennis programs.  He is especially proud because through tennis he has been able to teach other important life skills such as professionalism, respect for self and others, hard work, discipline, manners, politeness and proper dress code. 

 

One secret to his success is that he makes tennis affordable.  He receives funding from sponsorships, donations, and grants.  Another key to his success is that he dedicates an enormous amount of time to his "children" as he likes to call them.  He becomes not only their mentor, but their friend.  Johnson believes that teaching tennis allows him to instill values necessary for success, such as the importance of education, sportsmanship, professionalism, respect for others, hard work and discipline.

 

Don’s hard work has not gone unnoticed. In 2003 he was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.  In 2004 he was inducted into the United States Tennis Association Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame.  In 2006 was presented the Jefferson Award for Public Service. Also in 2006, a documentary titled, "From Brooklyn to the Hall of Fame: The Don Johnson Story" was produced by Venkat Narayanan.

 

Now in 2012, Don was honored at KQED’s "Local Heroes" ceremony. The show will be aired on February 25, 2012 at 6:00 pm on KQED's chanel 9.

 

No wonder he is considered by many the face of tennis in San Jose.