RA'ANANA, Israel — David Coffer sank into a green plastic chair. His eyes fixated on two tennis courts as five teenagers whizzed balls across the court, slinging groundstrokes to one another.

Though he is not physically spry as he nears 70, Coffer is full of energy. He is not shy about speaking his mind. Age is all about your spirit, he says.

David Coffer started the David Squad in 2006 and will train any player, Jewish or Arab, with the potential to excel in international competition.

Coffer, a Jewish businessman and philanthropist from Britain who made his money in real estate, is the man responsible for changing the youth tennis landscape in Israel. He and his son, Adam, finance and manage the David Squad, an elite tennis roster that handpicks the top players in Israel to train. Named after ancient Israel's King David, the David Squad has become the pre-eminent tennis academy in Israel.

"Between the two courts, you've got two players ranked at the top of their division in the country, two national champions and one world champion — not bad, right?" Coffer said, pointing at each player. "You won't see this collection of talent in one setting in most countries, especially in Israel."

One of those prized talents is Yshai Oliel, Israel's best tennis prospect in years. A tall, lanky left-hander originally from Ramla, Oliel, 16, has seen his stock rise steadily in recent years. He is a two-time champion of the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl international tournament, one of nine players to have won consecutive titles.

"For the last four years, he's probably been one of the top three players in his age group in the world," said Shlomo Glickstein, the chief executive of the Israeli Tennis Association and a former top-25 player on the ATP Tour.

Oliel is far and away the best junior player in Israel. His year-round schedule includes minimal time spent training, and competing, in Israel because of the lack of top-level competition available. For the few weeks a year he does spend in Israel, he often trains with the Davis Cup team and with Dudi Sela, Israel's top professional player on the ATP Tour.

The rest of the year, he plays tournaments around the world and spends weeks at a time training in Florida or in Spain, where he practices with the former ATP player Francisco Clavet to improve his conditioning and movement around the court.

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Oliel's highest ranking in the 18-and-under junior circuit was 48, which came last year, and he is currently in the top 60. His coaches have taken cautionary steps in his development, and they have been deliberate in ramping up his schedule and training. They have slowly mixed in more difficult tournaments, pushing him to play the junior Australian Open in January and then the French Open[1]. He won his two qualifying matches for the French Open and will very likely be in the main draw for the boys' singles tournament this week.

Andy Zingman, one of his main coaches at the David Squad, does not think that Oliel's ranking is an accurate description of where he is in his development.

"Oliel is probably one of the top 30 or 40 players in juniors," Zingman said. "We try to challenge him and make him play tougher tournaments, even if it means he's going to lose and have his ranking suffer."

"You won't see this collection of talent in one setting in most countries, especially in Israel," Coffer said.

Zingman said he could choose to have Oliel play easy tournaments and thus improve his ranking, but added that he would gain little besides the "bump."

"He needs to get used to losing," Zingman said.

Not known for producing tennis players, Israel has seen that change slightly in the last few years thanks, in large part, to Coffer and the David Squad. Coffer started the David Squad in 2006 and will train any player, Jewish or Arab, with the potential to excel in international competition and the willingness to abide by a strict code of conduct.

Coffer, who with his son travels to Israel several times a year, has made it his goal to improve the level of youth tennis and in turn the level of professional talent that the country produces. At the recent Pesach National tournament in Israel, David Squad members won the girls' under-21 tournament, as well as the boys' under-16, under-14 and under-12.

Only 10 players are officially part of the Squad, and that suits Coffer. He wants to produce the best talent he can and appropriately devote his resources to all of his players. He also says that keeping the Squad small and exclusive adds to its mystique.

Ultimately, Coffer wants to improve the world's perception of Israel through sports.

"No one knows who the prime minister is of Serbia or the president is of Switzerland, but everyone knows Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer," he said. "There's an improved perception of those countries because of them. That's what I'm trying to do here."

Though there are other tennis academies in Israel, none have the same level of financing that Coffer provides. He brings in coaches, trainers, nutritionists and psychologists. He covers travel expenses, which include trips to international tournaments, as well as trips to train in Florida and Spain.

The impact is not lost on Israel's other tennis governing bodies.

"I personally think what David's doing is a positive thing and a great program," Glickstein said. "The country just doesn't have the money to financially support all of these talented players, and so he's able to do that. He does what he does out of his love for Israel and tennis, and he's helping grow tennis in Israel."