A smiley and positive young girl, Dana dreams of being able to play tennis in college. The 14 year old Dana Kamyshev trains in the ITC – Haifa’s High Performance Program.
Dana lives in Haifa with her parents and siblings. Her parents were born in Russia before immigrating to Israel. Dana plays in the High Performance Tennis Program at the ITC – Haifa, where she trains five days a week. She says: “I love to spend a lot of my time at the Tennis Center. I do my homework there and have fun playing with my friends, on and off the court. I feel that my coach is like a parent for me when I am not home. I like to be at the Center because it is like my second home, and the ITC is one big family that supports each other and there is always someone that can help you. I want to be successful at school too (Dana speaks three languages: Hebrew, Russian and English) and I hope that I can get a scholarship to play tennis at college in the United States”.
Lilo Tzarfati, manager of the ITC – Haifa, says about the young girl: “Dana is the most positive person I have ever met. She always has a smile on her face and she is a very special child. Even though, she trains on the High Performance Program, she is always helping all the other children and the staff at the ITC”. Dana comments: “I am proud to be part of the High Performance Program and to compete nationally, but I’m even more proud to be part of the ITC, where it doesn’t matter what your background is or what clothes you wear; we are all equal and everyone is treated the same. At the ITC – Haifa, we have a lot of special programs, but for me, the Co-Existence program is the most important.”
Dana is a great example of how we hope our kids will grow up and mature into wonderful human beings. We are so proud of her achievements on and off the court. We look forward to introducing Dana to our friends in the U.S. at our upcoming exhibitions.