While still in high school, Harry Honig has made a career out of introducing kids to sports in a supportive, inclusive environment.
Through his program, Together Sports, Honig, who lives on the Upper East Side, has inspired thousands of kids from the Bronx, New York City, several U.S. states and even Thailand to feel confident in picking up a tennis racket, basketball or golf club for the first time.
As Honig prepares for his senior year at The Ramaz School, he’s running a successful nonprofit, training others on his team and recently won a youth leadership award from ESPN.
Together Tennis, a branch of Together Sports, has directly coached about 150 Bronx and NYC youth in a one-of-a-kind tennis program that is free, inclusive and open to kids of any age and experience level. Honig said his first clients were from the Bronx, and he’s coached kids as young as 3 along with teens older than him.
Honig used to play competitive tennis but lost one of his beloved coaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without that support, he said he began feeling burned out from being pushed to high performance at the expense of his love for the game.
“I used to go to tennis camp and just play for fun,” Honig said, “some coaches can make you resent going to practice.”
He said tennis is a highly competitive, one-on-one sport that can feel intimidating. That’s why he embraces a fun, relaxed approach while still teaching proper fundamentals.
“I wanted to make everyone feel they belong in the sport, the same way my coach used to make me feel,” Honig said.
He registered as a coach through the U.S. Tennis Association and found that many Bronxites were seeking individual tennis instruction for kids but were unable to afford it. Honig said he prefers starting newcomers with one-on-one instruction on the basics, but most NYC private lessons cost hundreds of dollars per hour.
He and his coaching team often work out of Stadium Tennis Center in the South Bronx, but if a client can’t access that location, they’ll choose another one. “We’re a very flexible organization.”
The tennis program runs year-round, mainly on weekends, and has become very popular, Honig said. Three of his friends are now trained as coaches, and his brother, who is two years younger, works on securing equipment donations so that kids can start at no cost.
Honig said he and his team have personally given kids their own secondhand gear to help them get started, as many they work with have never played before.
Honig said managing the demands of a nonprofit while still in high school is a challenge, but he’s learned to delegate certain tasks and focus on the ones that truly need his leadership.
“I wish I could do more onsite stuff, but it makes every time I do it really meaningful,” he said.
Honig plans to be an entrepreneur and has shown early talent for it. Together Sports is “my first startup, almost,” he said.
In May, his hard work was recognized with a Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award from ESPN, which honored three national winners and 20 regional winners, including Honig, with support and grants to further their community-centered initiatives.
Honig said he plans to use the grant towards costs of renting courts and buying equipment, but thus far, he’s had great success with donations, partnerships and fundraising.
Through hustle alone, Honig and his team funded a 10-day trip to Thailand in June, where he and four other sports coaches worked with kids in two schools and an orphanage.
Honig said they brought more than 1,000 pieces of equipment and worked with hundreds of kids who were eager to play sports but lacked the resources to do so.
All the coaches were in tears when they left Thailand, Honig said. “It was very, very heartwarming.”
He said the team saw that young people everywhere need support, whether close to home and far away, and while it’s easy to feel helpless, anyone can make a big difference by sharing their own skills and talents.
“They’re not really out of reach, we just decide we’re out of reach,” he said. “What we’re doing really has no boundary. It can really extend a lot.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
