SPORTS
WINTER 2023: 7 1
“Ed Scott has done a huge service for
our county,” Harrison said.
Scott has the land and wherewithal
to have a private tennis court in his
backyard, but he still prefers traveling
a half-hour from his home for
the camaraderie that playing at Kiwi
offers. Members can call to schedule
court time and set up matches
with other players. Strangers quickly
become friends on one of Kiwi’s nine
clay and four hard surface courts.
Tennis at Kiwi is more than just
a game. It’s a way of life. Kiwi’s
Courtside Café and the Breezeway
Bar also do their part in promoting
the sport. Open to the public, they
attract a clientele eager for a dinnerand
show experience, with a locally
sourced menu framed by a lively vista
of tennis in the background.
“Our members thrive off the social
component,” Joey Jones, Kiwi’s
director of tennis, said. “It’s a very
big part of what we do.”
Jones, who started Kiwi’s highly
successful junior program, has
worked with some of the top juniors
in the county, according to Harrison.
Harrison also trains the next
generation of players. With fellow
pro James Clark, Harrison coaches
at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy,
which boasts approximately 60
students who compete and hold their
own against tennis players from top
South Florida schools such as St.
Andrew’s in Boca Raton and Gulliver
Prep in Pinecrest.
RISING STAR
Both Harrison and Jones coach David
Bender and anticipate great things
from the young player.
“He is the top-ranked 10-year-old in
America,” Harrison said.
The local coaching legacy also
includes Mike Dickens, responsible
for inspiring a lot of young players to
follow their tennis dreams.
Municipal courts that include Fee Avenue in Melbourne, Singleton in Titusville, DeSoto in Satellite
Beach, Viera Regional Park and the City of Cocoa Beach’s Racquet Club, among others,
provide easy access for players young and not so young.
CITY OF MELBOURNE PHOTOS
A significant number of tennis players has played at the
popular City of Melbourne’s Fee Avenue municipal courts.
“For 10 years, he had the most players in USTA
Junior Team Tennis in Florida,” Harrison said. “He
helped start the program in the early ’80s.”
Municipalities and the public school system also
do their part to keep those tennis balls flying over
nets in Brevard. Most players, including Jones and
Harrison, at one time or another played at the Fee
Avenue courts in Melbourne. The popularity of
those courts continues.
“Over the last year we have averaged 256 tennis
players per week and 15 to 20 classes per week,”
recreation superintendent Randy Dunton said.
Municipal courts, including Singleton in Titusville,
DeSoto in Satellite Beach, Viera Regional Park and
the City of Cocoa Beach’s Racquet Club, among
others, also keep tennis easy to access. High school
tennis teams, such as the Satellite High team
coached by Jim Crane, sharpen their skills on the
public courts.
“Last year, Satellite High made it to the finals of
the boy’s high school state tournament and that is
an enormous accomplishment,” Harrison said.
With more than 2,000 active members in the Space
Coast Tennis League, there is no fear that that the
sport will ever languish along the Space Coast.
“Brevard is a tennis hotbed,” Jones said.