Technical Director- Raz
Raz started his sports coaching career in Insportz, Dubai, in the summer of 1999. Since then he has spent more than 26 years being involved with the coaching of tennis, basketball, cricket, boxing/fitness, 10 pin bowling and armwrestling in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi as well as in Mauritius, Seychelles, India and Bangladesh.
Learning his craft from industry pioneer, Cees Valks of Active Sports, Raz teamed up with former ITF junior pro, and WTA coach Ali Hasan and Excel Sports in 2009.
In 2012, Raz envisioned the HPTA Middle East, as a high performance autonomous division of Excel Sports, where he oversees the development of multiple sports at a competitive level in individual athletes, schools, universities and corporate teams. He coached Isabelle James from 2021-2025, taking her to no.1 ranking in U12, U14 and U16 categories in the UAE.
When Raz isn't on the tennis courts, he is busy running
his other businesses which range from sports infrastructure to sports apparel manufacturing and organizing, coaching and competing in armwrestling events.
Qualifications:
Tennis: PTR (10 & Under; 11-17Y; Adults & High Performance); Cardio Tennis Instructor; ITF Certified On-Court Tester
Cricket: Cricket Australia Level 2 (Advanced); ICC GCA Level 1; Cricket Australia OCC
Basketball: ACA Level 1
Boxing/Boxing Firness: Level 1, Level 2
Armwrestling: AAF (Asian Armwrestling Federation) qualified Referee/Coach
AAF Double Bronze Medalist, Asian Armwrstling Championships 2025
Education: Master of Education (M.ED, Science Education); Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management; B.Sc Env Biology & Marine Ecosystems