Revolution Tennis Academy

A focused academy with a community heartbeat

Revolution Tennis Academy is a high-performance program with an accessible, day-academy feel. Founded in 2013 and directed by former professional player Vladimir Obradovic, the academy grew from a simple idea: pair elite-level coaching with a supportive community setting so juniors and adults can train hard without losing balance. The academy calls The Roth Family Jewish Community Center campus in Maitland home, just north of downtown Orlando. The location matters more than it first appears, because the JCC campus gives players an athletic ecosystem beyond the court that encourages consistency and daily habits, not one-off training spikes.

A founding story rooted in practicality

Obradovic’s path through junior national titles, college tennis, and a long professional run shaped a practical coaching belief: the best training environments are demanding and steady, not theatrical. When he launched the academy in 2013, he set out to build daily rhythm before branding, and game identity before highlight reels. The early years were small by design, with intentional groups and a premium on live-ball decision training. As the program matured, the move into the JCC campus amplified those instincts. A full-service athletic setting meant players could add strength and recovery without leaving the grounds, and families could adopt training as a repeatable part of weekly life rather than a special-occasion commute.

Where it sits and why the setting helps

The academy operates in Maitland, Florida, on The Roth Family JCC campus. The setting is suburban, safe, and easy to access from I‑4 and Winter Park, making daily commutes realistic for families that choose school-first routines during the week and tournament travel on weekends. Central Florida’s climate is another advantage. With mild winters and long training days for most of the year, athletes get more on-court repetitions without the seasonal stop-start common in colder regions. Afternoon heat shapes smart scheduling and teaches hydration, recovery, and pacing strategies that pay off in summer events.

Another benefit is proximity to competition. Central Florida offers frequent USTA-level events and weekend tournaments within a drivable radius, allowing families to build a tournament calendar that tests progress steadily. For comparison, a larger complex such as the USTA National Campus training model serves as a regional hub; Revolution, by contrast, offers a day-academy alternative with a tighter community feel and simpler daily logistics.

Facilities that support daily training

The Esther and Danny Cohen Tennis Center on the JCC campus is the academy’s training base. The facility opened in summer 2022 and offers five lighted outdoor courts, a heated pool, a cross-training field, and a weight room with a full line of cardio and strength equipment. There are also Pilates and yoga studios, study rooms, locker rooms, and a cafe on site. In practical terms, that combination means juniors can move from court to gym to recovery without leaving the complex, and parents can manage siblings or work calls from the cafe while training runs. If you are evaluating consistency over months rather than the occasional blockbuster hit-out, this set of amenities is a genuine advantage.

The story behind the tennis center is also worth noting. Local supporters, led by Dr. Danny and Esther Cohen with community donors, drove the refurbishment that brought the courts back to life at the JCC. The result is the named center you see today, which hosts Revolution’s programs and JCC play. That civic investment is part of why the academy feels plugged into a broader community rather than operating as an island.

Facility details that matter to players and parents:

• Five lighted outdoor courts for evening training and summer relief
• Heated pool that enables low-impact recovery and mobility work
• Cross-training field for speed, agility, and change-of-direction drills
• Weight room with cardio and strength stations for in-season maintenance and off-season development
• Pilates and yoga spaces that encourage flexibility, posture, and breath control
• Study rooms and common areas that make post-practice schoolwork realistic for day students

Leadership and coaching philosophy

Obradovic’s playing and coaching resume sets the tone. He is a former Serbian junior champion, an NCAA Division I athlete, and a long-time professional who competed on the ATP Tour for more than 16 years. He also represented Serbia in Davis Cup and spent time as a hitting partner and support coach for professionals, experiences that inform how training blocks are planned and how players learn to build points under pressure. The emphasis is not on a single textbook forehand or a one-size-fits-all stance, but on developing a clear game identity that fits the athlete’s physical profile and competitive goals.

Coaches at Revolution are certified through national bodies and maintain a shared vocabulary across groups. That matters more than many families realize. When the red-orange-green-yellow progression for juniors uses consistent cues for spacing, contact height, and swing shape, athletes move up without having to unlearn the previous group’s language. The staff’s target is clarity: every player should be able to articulate a base plan, a change-up pattern, and a go-to play for tight moments.

Programs offered

Revolution structures its pathway to reduce friction as players grow. Placement depends on a blend of skill, maturity, and competitive goals rather than age alone.

• Junior Pathway: Red ball for roughly ages 3 to 5, orange for 5 to 8, green for 8 to 10, and yellow for 10 and up. Courts and ball compression scale with the athlete’s size and strength. Early sessions prize rally skills, spacing, and footwork patterns that transfer upward.
• High Performance: A concentrated, school-friendly track for tournament players. Sessions stress pattern building, shot selection, and point construction with regular live-ball scenarios. Fitness blocks weave in speed, balance, agility, and strength to make skills durable under fatigue.
• Full-Time Day Academy: A personalized daytime program aimed at sectional, national, and international competitors, with an explicit eye toward college placement. Mental skills are trained weekly, and match play is built into the daily rhythm so learning translates into results. Families handle schooling and housing, while the academy supplies the training backbone.
• Adults and Cardio Tennis: Adult players can choose clinics, fitness-first Cardio Tennis, and private lessons year-round. The same coaching vocabulary appears in adult sessions so returning athletes and tennis parents can speak the program’s language.

Registration and scheduling run through straightforward tools and direct contact. Families typically customize a weekly plan that blends academy sessions, private lessons, and planned recovery, then re-evaluate after each tournament block.

Training and player development approach

Technical

Early-stage groups emphasize contact height, swing shape, and spacing using the right ball and court size. Grip and preparation cues are kept simple and repeatable. As athletes move into green and yellow ball, coaches add serve patterns, transition footwork, and backhand variety without forcing a single model. The principle is technique in service of a plan, not technique for its own sake.

Tactical

Sessions lean heavily into decision training. Players learn to describe their base game in plain language, then identify a change-up pattern for opponents who neutralize Plan A. Drills progress from fed-ball starts into live-ball points where the scoring and constraints direct choices. Match charting and post-set debriefs help players connect percentage tennis with their own strengths. Juniors are asked to know their first-ball plays on serve, their pressure-release patterns on the run, and their high-probability passes from defensive positions.

Physical

With a field, pool, and weight room on the same campus, physical work is not tacked onto the end of a session. Speed and agility blocks often open practice, technical court work follows, and strength or mobility closes the day based on training phase. The pool is a strategic recovery tool after heavy legs sessions. Injury-prevention circuits prioritize shoulders, hips, and core stability, aiming to keep players available for daily reps. Growth spurts are monitored so technique and load can be adjusted without baking in compensations.

Mental

The full-time program includes weekly mental skills training. In practice, that means routines for between-point resets, pre-serve scripts, and post-match reviews that extract one or two actionable notes rather than a laundry list of errors. Breathing drills, cue words, and short visualization reps prime athletes for first-ball focus. Over time, these habits make performance more predictable late in tournaments.

Educational integration

Because Revolution runs as a day academy, families select school options that fit their needs. The JCC campus includes quiet spaces that make study time practical before or after training blocks. Coaches coordinate with parents around exam weeks and travel so loads can be tapered or intensified at the right moments. The goal is academic stability alongside athletic progression.

Alumni notes and coach impact

The academy highlights Obradovic’s wins over top professionals and his later roles supporting major names on tour. For juniors and families, the practical takeaway is translation: the staff asks athletes to build a style that fits their tools, then practice decisions that express that style. The team also points to juniors he coached who reached the Orange Bowl finals and an Eddie Herr title, a signal that the training process scales to international junior standards.

If you are weighing models, compare Revolution’s day-academy pathway with the Saddlebrook boarding environment, which wraps school and housing on site. Families who prefer to keep academics local often find Revolution’s framework the right balance of rigor and flexibility.

Culture, community, and daily life

Because the academy is integrated with the JCC campus, daily life has a communal feel. Younger siblings can be in preschool or youth programs while an older player trains. Parents can work from the cafe or fitness areas, watch a block of live-ball drills, then return to calls. For juniors, this reduces idle time and encourages routines that blend sport, school, and social life. The academy’s published objectives emphasize safety, open communication, and clear levels so players train with peers who stretch them without overwhelming them.

Team culture shows up in small habits: players pick up on time, hydrate without reminders, and check in with coaches before and after matches. Fitness blocks are purposeful rather than punishing, with progressions athletes can explain in their own words. Match-play days include scoreboard pressure, abbreviated formats, and tiebreak practice so weekend stress is familiar, not a shock.

Costs, access, and scholarships

Revolution posts its programs and registration portals but typically shares current rates directly with families. That approach lets parents build a plan around school schedules, private lesson frequency, and tournament travel rather than trying to fit into a rigid package. As a day academy inside a community campus, overall costs often compare favorably with boarding environments, though families should budget for private coaching, stringing, travel, and recovery services as goals escalate. In some seasons, limited financial assistance or merit-based tuition credits may be available through community support. The academy encourages families to ask about current options and eligibility.

What differentiates Revolution

• Director-driven system: The on-court language reflects Obradovic’s pro tour background without losing sight of the fundamentals younger players need. That continuity reduces friction as athletes move up.
• Community infrastructure: Five lighted courts plus gym, pool, and study spaces enable full days on one campus. Less commuting means more controlled load and better habit formation.
• Balanced tracks: A clear junior pathway feeds into high-performance and full-time day options, suiting families who want year-round development while keeping academics local.
• Practical scheduling: User-friendly registration and simple communication channels make it easier to maintain consistent attendance across school terms and tournament seasons.
• Match-play priority: Point construction, pattern recognition, and decision training are baked into daily sessions so confidence grows from repetition, not slogans.

For families comparing Florida programs, look at coaching lineage and fit. Some academies specialize in boarding or massive squads, like large-scale hubs or resort-style training. Others operate as boutique high-performance centers. Programs such as the Saviano High Performance Tennis pipeline focus on individualized technical work at scale, while Revolution’s day model leans into steady daily reps within a community setting.

A sample week inside the academy

• Monday: Speed and agility on the field, live-ball forehand plus serve plus one patterns, doubles skills, and mobility in the studio.
• Tuesday: Pattern play from neutral and defense, return games, and strength circuits in the weight room. Evening hitting for tournament tune-ups.
• Wednesday: Technique tune-ups with video review, mid-court transition work, and pool recovery to manage load.
• Thursday: Situational sets and tiebreak ladders, mental skills workshop, and shoulder care circuits.
• Friday: Match play with scouting goals, debriefs that produce one or two clear adjustments, and optional yoga for recovery.
• Weekend: Tournament travel or on-site practice sets, followed by a short review call or notes exchange between families and coaches.

This cadence changes during exam weeks or after long tournament weekends, but the core architecture remains. Players always know what the day is trying to accomplish and how it connects to the next competitive checkpoint.

Future outlook and vision

The refurbished tennis center is still comparatively new, and the academy’s footprint continues to grow with seasonal camps and adult programming alongside competitive junior tracks. The leadership’s long tour experience and the staff’s shared language provide a stable base. As the local tennis calendar expands, expect deeper integration with regional events, more small-group technical blocks, and targeted college-recruiting support for families navigating the jump from junior tennis to campus rosters. For those exploring a broader Florida training tour, pairing a week at Revolution with sessions at larger hubs like the USTA National Campus training model can offer a useful A-B comparison of scale and feel.

Is it for you?

Choose Revolution if you want a day-academy model in the Orlando area that blends serious training with a real community campus. It suits families who prefer to keep school local and rely on a consistent weekly plan, with the option to scale into full-time day programming as ambitions grow. If you need on-site boarding or a giant tournament travel squad built into tuition, this is not that. If you want a clear pathway from red ball through high-performance, a director who has been deep inside professional tennis, and enough on-campus facilities to build durable routines, it belongs on your shortlist.

Final take

Revolution Tennis Academy offers a clean proposition: world-informed coaching inside a community campus that prioritizes daily repetition, match-play learning, and balanced athlete growth. For many Central Florida families, that combination is exactly the point. It is serious without being overwhelming, comprehensive without being complicated, and ambitious without losing sight of school and family rhythms. If you are searching for a program where progress is measured by confident decisions under pressure and steady gains across the season, Revolution is worth a close look.