This Israeli-American former pro basketball player found success and happiness in Chattanooga
- Mason Edwards!
- Apr 3
- 4 min read
By Mason Edwards, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Growing up in Hadera, Israel, a coastal city between Tel Aviv and Haifa, Tal Cohen could see the Mediterranean ocean from his house. Sometimes, he would skip school with his friends to appreciate the salty breeze. His life bounced with movement -- family trips across Europe, summers by the sea and hours on the basketball court.
Even though he grew up during the Gulf War and the Second Intifada (an Israeli-Palestinian conflict), Cohen's parents tried to shield him, letting him play sports, go outside and live a normal life. "While I remember those wars, I didn't feel like it had any negative impact on my upbringing," he says.
Instead, basketball defined his childhood. "I probably played before I can even remember," Cohen says. "By the time I was five or six, I was already the tallest kid on the team."
At 13, he joined Israel's national youth basketball team while simultaneously playing for both his school and club teams. By 21, he had played in Greece at the European Championship against basketball greats and represented Israel in international tournaments. "I was never the star player," he says. "I was the guy who helped teammates, the coach's kind of player."
American college recruiters spotted him playing in European tournaments, and his father suggested he could use basketball to receive a free education.
So in the summer of 2004, Cohen traveled to the U.S. for pre-college basketball camps and secured several scholarship offers. He agreed to play at Maryland Eastern Shore, a Division 1 school around the size of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and located near Ocean City, before transferring to the American International College in Massachusetts for his last two years.
College basketball took Cohen across the country, giving him a national tour few native citizens, let alone international students, ever experience. "I probably traveled to 35 different states," he says. "Playing in front of 10,000 fans at UConn or Baylor was always fun."
When he graduated, he had a choice: go back to playing professionally in Europe or start a career in the U.S. He knew basketball couldn't sustain him long-term, so he pivoted to IT, working in defense contracting and education jobs in Santa Monica, California, over the next couple years.
Then, in 2010, a job offer from a company in Chattanooga changed his life. "I had actually never heard of Chattanooga before; I had to find it on a map," Cohen admits. "When I first heard about it, I was like, wait -- Chattanooga? What state is that?"
But when he came to the city for a weekend, he discovered low cost of living, good weather, promising new career paths and a welcoming community. Now, 15 years later, Chattanooga is still home. "I've been to 48 states, and I'm very happy here," Cohen says, even though he does miss the beaches in Israel and California.
Although American culture did not come as naturally to Cohen as dribbling, he did learn quickly.
"Language was definitely the first barrier," Cohen says, adding that Israeli cuisine -- grilled meats, fresh vegetables, salads -- was a stark contrast to what he found in America.
"My favorite food in the U.S. would be the Philly cheesesteak," he says. "Even though it's probably the unhealthiest thing you can have."
Cohen has stayed active with Chattanooga's small but vibrant Jewish community, especially through volunteer work during Thanksgiving and Christmas, which aren't celebrated in his religion. "In California and Israel, being Jewish is easy -- you're surrounded by a big community," he says. "Here, we have to be intentional about staying connected."
Even though Cohen holds three citizenships -- Israeli by birth, French by ancestry and American by naturalization -- he identifies as an Israeli-American and says that the strong relationship between the two countries has allowed him to pair those identities.
"I'm lucky that I never had to choose between them," Cohen says. "But I wish more people knew the full picture of Israel. It's not just conflict; it's a place of innovation, democracy and opportunity."
Cohen now works at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and says he's proud that the work he does there helps people recover from medical conditions and lead healthy lives. And while he may no longer play basketball professionally, he is grateful for the time he did and for the opportunities it provided him. "If it wasn't for basketball, I wouldn't be here," Cohen says.
He hopes that young athletes know that they can excel in anything, not just sports.
"In basketball, everyone wants to go pro," he says. "But you can be a professional in other things. I'm still a pro -- I'm just a pro in IT instead of basketball now."
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