John McEnroe Tennis Academy Names Lawrence Kleger Tennis Director, Expands To L. Island, Westchester

May 14, 2012 - PRLog -- The John McEnroe Tennis Academy today named New York native Lawrence Kleger as its new Director of Tennis. Kleger, a 25 year coaching veteran, has been the Executive Director of Tennis at Sportime Clubs since 1998, and an Assistant Academy Director at JMTA since September 2011. He was hand-picked by McEnroe for the position.

Additionally, JMTA is also announcing its expansion to Long Island and Westchester, with new annexes of the Academy to be housed at Sportime Bethpage in central Long Island,  a six court indoor facility that has long been Sportime's high performance training home, and at Sportime Lake Isle, a brand new eight court facility in the Town of Eastchester in southern Westchester. The Bethpage and Lake Isle annexes will make training opportunities for Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut residents easier and closer to home, while, at the same time, giving those students pathways to training at the original Academy at Sportime Randall’s Island. These moves are the latest in a series that are designed to expand the McEnroe Academy’s impact on the growth of tennis and the lives of young athletes in the New York area.

“There are few if any people who understand my philosophy and are as well respected in coaching as Lawrence Kleger,” said McEnroe. “Lawrence‘s track record in developing well-rounded young tennis players speaks for itself, and we are very excited to have him in this position as we expand our reach to help those interested in playing competitive tennis in the tri-state area.”

“I am a big believer in John’s philosophy, which is multi-faceted, but starts with a non-residential academy setting, offering a world-class coaching staff and training methods.  I know that we are going to produce some great young tennis players, and I am excited to take this new position,” Kleger said. “The Academy is off to a great start in its first two years and I am looking forward to helping grow it even further in my new role.”

Kleger has coached more ranked junior tennis players than any other tennis coach in the history of the USTA Eastern Section, and is most proud that his students have won 18 USTA Eastern Year-End Sportsmanship Awards. In addition to running high level programs at JMTA, and at Sportime Clubs in Syosset and Bethpage on Long Island, he is also the personal coach of Noah Rubin, who now trains at JMTA and who has been Lawrence’s student since the age of 7.  Rubin is a top American prospect and achieved a career-best #18 ITF junior world ranking for boys 18 and under this January (despite having just turned 16 in February) and is top ranked in U.S. 16 and under standings.

Founded in 2010 at Sportime Randall’s Island, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy provides tennis training to many of NY’s best and highest ranked junior players.  Full and partial scholarships are available for qualified and promising young players who could not otherwise afford JMTA participation. JMTA corporate partners Nike and Dunlop provide JMTA students with equipment and apparel for their use, both at the Academy and in tournament play. Lawrence Kleger supervises a team of over 30 instructors, including former ATP and WTA professional players Fritz Buehning, Hana Sromova and Martina Sucha, and Assistant Academy Directors Karim Balagh, Bruce Haddad, Harel Srugo and Juan Rios. John McEnroe is routinely involved in the daily program at Randall’s Island, personally supervising and training staff and coaching and inspiring young players. The Academy’s first two years of operation at Randall’s Island exceeded expectations, with over 600 aspiring future champions enrolled.

Details on The Academy and the facility are available at johnmcenroetennisacademy.com

ABOUT SPORTIME
SPORTIME is New York State's tennis leader. Operating 13 clubs across Long Island, in NYC, in Westchester and in the NY Capital Region, SPORTIME strives to provide members with welcoming and comfortable environments. SPORTIME’s "fitness for real life" philosophy is reflected in clubs that are state-of-the-art, yet affordable, and that offer the best tennis facilities and programs anywhere, along with great gyms and every sports or fitness experience that you can imagine.

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