Bob Litwin and Lonnie Mitchel Named Coaches of Maccabiah USA Grand Masters Tennis

April 10, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Maccaabia_Logo

Marty Bloom and Sam Sporn, 19th Maccabiah USA Grand Masters Tennis Co-Chairs, have announced that Bob Litwin, International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Champion will coach the team and be assisted by Lonnie Mitchel, at the Games in July. The Grand Masters Division is for athletes aged 65 to 80+ years. After playing Tennis for Great Neck South High School, Litwin did not play competitively until he tried out for the Maccabiah USA Open Tennis team at 32. He did not make that team but made it his mission to compete for the USA at the next Maccabiah Games in 1985. He qualified for the Masters Tennis team at those Games, traveled to Israel for the competition and won bronze and gold medals. Since then, he has become a local senior legend, winning the ITF World Championship and 14 USTA National Championships, achieving the number one world ranking in 2005 and being an eight-time member of the USA Senior Davis Cup Team.

“We are thrilled to have such a talented player and coach leading our team,” said Bloom and Sporn. “We have a very impressive team including 12 alumni of past World Maccabiah Games, so we are very excited about the opportunities ahead.”

Litwin credits much of his success to creating and following through on The Focused Game Method, asystem he created, which develops a player’s focus in highly competitive experiences. He works as a high performance coach with Wall Street Hedge Fund managers, traders and athletes. Litwin uses the athlete as a model for high performance to help people bring their best to their jobs and will use that methodology as the Head Coach and competitor for the Grand Masters Tennis team this summer.

“Returning to Israel to coach and compete as a member of Team USA at the Maccabiah Games is very important to me,” Coach Litwin remarked. “Tennis and Judaism are two of my passions and the Maccabiah Games provide the perfect opportunity to combine them. I hope to help all members of our team compete to the best of their ability and enjoy the magic of Israel.”

Team members include: Alan Arsht of New York, NY; Harris Barer of New York, NY; Marty Bloom of New York, NY; Barry Brahver of New York, NY; Daniel Burack of Harrison, NY; William Cohon of Shorline, WA; Ralph Finerman of Santa Monica, CA; Gerald Friedman of Ingelwood, CA; Lloyd Glazer of Boca Raton, FL; Edward Gluck of Lawrence, NY; Lawrence Greenspon of Longboat Key, FL; Howard Guggenheim of Boca Raton, FL; James Lipschutz of Havertown, PA; Bob Litwin – Head Coach – of Glenwood Landing, NY; Lazar Lowinger of Newton, MA; Lonnie Mitchel – Assistant Coach – of East Meadow, NY; Marc Roth of Oakland, CA; James Schreiber of Greenwich, CT; Irwin Shorr of Olney, MD; Paul Slayton of Southampton, NY; Bob Sockolov of San Francisco, CA; Sam Sporn of Brooklyn, NY; Arnold Stark of Bronx, NY; Bruce Unterman of Bloomington, IL; Mark Willner of New York, NY; Michael Wise of Lawrence, NY; and Gerald Zahler of Beachwood, OH.

“We are indeed blessed to have such great athletes and knowledgeable men such as Litwin and Mitchell as our coach and assistant coach,” said Sporn.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
Pointset

March/April 2024 Digital Edition