Gilad Blum Tennis Academy

I've known Dan since he was an eight-year-old boy. He has been my collection of balls throughout my career as a player in tournaments at the Ramat Hasharon and the Davis Cup.

Dan would train in teams at the tennis center and could not be missed. He would run all over the center and was already as a child a familiar figure.

When we were playing basketball after tennis practice and needed a tenth player, we would let him play. He was smaller and younger than all of us, but would throw threes without fear and also score at the height of confidence when he faced Shlomo Glickstein, Amos Mansdorf, Shachar Perkis, Ofer Sela, fitness coach Ronen Bega and others.

He shamelessly searched the ball all the time and saw from age  A young man who is a person with a strong, agile personality, even in his speech, and in general - Dan did everything quickly. Unfortunately he also left us too fast.

I take solace in the fact that Dan has achieved so much in so few years. A few years after I became a coach, Dan Dan as a 15 year old boy came to me on the team along with Harel Srugo who was a friend like his brother, and my uncle Sela.

Dan Dan was not among the best on the team because he was already relatively "older" when he came to me. I recognized that he had a problem with the second serve and the back of his hand was problematic (excuse me Dan Dan ...),  But he overcame these weaknesses with an absolute forehand, nimble legs and a huge heart.

When he reached the age of enlistment, Dan decided to leave everything and do the most combative military service there is and I remember he told me that he would rather do a real army than be a Jobnik.

After the service, Dan returned to tennis and received a scholarship to Binghamton University in northern New York. For two years he was the legendary star and captain of the team and therefore received an offer to move to Brown University, where he also became captain and mostly a mythological figure that is talked about there to this day.

During his school years, Dan Dan would come to my academy in New York to train with Harel Srugo and a few other Israeli college players with whom he grew up, such as Maor Zirkin, Amit Inbar and Roy Sichel.

During those years Dan Dan teamed up with Harel Srugo and Maor Zirkin, actually ran my summer program, and those were memorable years in my life. As a coach, Dan was tough but professional and even though he knew it was just a stop on the way and he was going into the world of banking and finance, he coached with great passion and the kids adored him.
I remember the battles on the field over the years between Dan Dan, Maor, Harel, Sichel and even Billy Zoref and Yoav Nash.

Even though I was older than Du Dan I admired him. His decisiveness, his lack of giving up on dreams (hey Sasha!), His lack of self-pity and his confidence (his restlessness can be said ...). Dan Dan was truly a role model and he made us all proud of him.  

In his third incarnation as a family man, he continued to put all the fathers in the shade. He was the most investing father there is.
I really miss our New York "Parliament", along with Ravid Hezi (Gold), Harel Srugo and Zvika Landsberg, all refugees from the New York Tennis Center.

We were all left with a hole deep in our hearts.