Coach Jake Agna, Founder
From Ohio to Havana, Burlington to New Orleans, Jake is transforming the way young people approach tennis and learn life lessons from it. Throughout his youth and college years, and up through today, Jake's passion has been playing and coaching tennis.
Jake studied at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida and at the University of Cincinnati. Jake has been a professional tennis instructor since 1972. In 1983, Jake and his wife Patty moved to Vermont with their 6-month-old baby girl. Jake landed a job teaching at the only indoor tennis facility in town where he coached adults and juniors for nearly forty years. In 1984, Jake became the coach for the South Burlington High School Girls' Tennis team. Nearly four decades later, Jake is still leading the Wolves to state championships, having won the title 16 times.
Despite the success of his teams and programs, Jake couldn't escape the nagging notion that something was missing from his life on the courts. A renewed mission of adding diversity to his programs resulted in "Kids on the Ball", a program founded by Jake in 2000 to include inner city youth from Burlington's King Street Center and Boys and Girls Club. Twenty years later, Jake's program has expanded to bring its principles to Burlington's public-school gyms throughout the state during the academic year and public parks in the summer.
Coach Jack Nguyen
Jack and his siblings were introduced to Kids on the Ball at an early age. Even though his family relocated to Florida, Jack remained connected to Kids on the Ball. In 2021, Jack returned to Burlington and to the KOTB program as a coach.
Whether he was barefoot, wearing sandals or wearing sneakers, he dominated the courts. Jack continues to join Kids on the Ball at Roosevelt Park and in schools across the state of Vermont changing lives like his, one ball at a time!
Coach Cody Tran
Cody Tran engages with the Burlington community through his passion for tennis. Cody started playing tennis with Kids on the Ball at Roosevelt Park, where he volunteered every summer throughout high school. Cody graduated from Burlington High School in 2021 then began traveling to local schools with Kids on the Ball. Committed to fostering a new generation of kids with the same aspirations and confidence that KOTB nurtured in him, Cody brings to the Vermont Schools and Roosevelt Park Programs the same spirit and focus that serves him at the Community College of Vermont.
Cody wanted to be alongside Jake; giving a new generation of kids the opportunity to build their love for the sport and help build the cornerstones to a fulfilling a philanthropic life that Kids on the Ball aspires to convey. These cornerstones: strong core values, high aspirations, inspiring leadership, and promoting positive community values, are the same cornerstones that helped Cody grow and mature into the person he is today both on and off the courts.
Treasurer Kathy Davis
In the fall of 2019, Kathy was officially “hired” as treasurer by Kids on the Ball, which she co-founded with Jake over 20 years ago.
Kathy’s volunteer work includes bookkeeping for PAWS VT, a small non-profit benefiting animals in shelters, and she stills enjoys a mentoring relationship, now going on 23 years, from a bond formed through Kids on the Ball.