David Kahn

My favorite sports/event/moment is .... going to Madison Square Garden for the first time at around 6 years old. The Knicks were playing the Pacers. With about 4:30 minutes to go, the Pacers still had a double-digit lead and the crowd was starting to file out. My cousin asked what I thought and I remember feeling like the Knicks could still come back. I asked if we could stay and he said yes. The Knicks staged a comeback and one of my favorite players hit a 3 pointer to send the game into overtime. The Knicks won in OT.

Coach Kahn grew up in Millburn playing different sports – baseball, soccer, skiing, and basketball but decided to put his full attention to tennis during High School after being the last one cut from the JV tennis team.  Being cut did not sit well with Kahn and he subsequently immersed himself in practice and tennis development opportunities;  :   practicing on the court by himself,  hitting against his parents garage, weekly private lessons, along with weekend tournaments and clinics at tennis academies.

By the time tryouts came around the following season, Kahn earned 1st singles JV. The coach of that team said “I’ve never seen someone make such a leap from one year to the next.” The following year he made the varsity team, but with the #1 and #2 singles players in NJ playing for Millburn, a starting singles spot for Kahn was still out of reach. In his senior year, Kahn achieved the goal of becoming a starting singles player for Millburn High School.

Along the way, Kahn’s tennis coach suggested that teaching could help his game progress and hired him to teach at his summer camp for young kids and Kahn began giving lessons on his own.

Coach Kahn graduated with a dual major in Finance and Marketing from the business program (the Whitman School of Management) at Syracuse University.  Khan holds an MS in Sports Business Management from Manhattanville College.

Having lived all over the country since graduation, Khan returned to New Jersey and tennis recently. As a coach,  Khan brings his athletic and cerebral approach to the game, combining it with the fun and love of sport, helping to develop his players with lifelong lessons of working hard and persistence to achieve your goals.