Pleasantville, NY, August 30, 2010 -- The Rosenthal JCC today proudly announced its girls soccer team brought home a silver medal from the recent 2010 JCC Maccabi Games® held in Baltimore, MD. The team included eight girls from Northern Westchester and one from Virginia Beach. This summer, almost 4,000 Jewish teens from all over the U.S., Canada, Israel, Mexico, Hungary, and Great Britain shared in the fun of competing and the pride of being part of the JCC Maccabi Games – a world-famous Olympic-style event filled with Jewish content and values.
The girls on the Rosenthal JCC team that competed in Baltimore Aug. 8 – Aug. 13 included Sammi Borsellino (Pleasantville), Sarah Goldstein (Briarcliff Manor), Tianna Karlin (Croton-on-Hudson), Erica Lazarus (Mt. Kisco), Alexandra Leroy (Briarcliff Manor), Sylvia Lustig (Croton-on-Hudson), Sammy Monk (Pleasantville) and Andrea Neski (Briarcliff Manor)..Their coach was Karl Hogan. He is a professional soccer coach in Westchester.
In the semi-final, the Rosenthal JCC girls turned a 2-to-zip game against the Baltimore A team completely on its head when, in the second half, they won 3 to 2 in overtime! In the finals, the Rosenthal JCC girls lost an incredibly hard-fought game against Boca with a final score of 2 to 1, but clenched the silver medal.
Next year’s JCC Maccabi Games will take place in:
• Israel: July 24 – Aug. 5 (5 days JCC Maccabi Games-JCC Maccabi ArtsFest combined– plus 7 days travel in Israel afterward)
• Philadelphia: Aug. 14 – 19
Artists and athletes interested in participating in next year’s exciting opportunity should call Lisa Roberts at (914) 741-0333, ext.24.
“Meeting up with new Jewish kids from all over the U.S. and Israel gave our daughter a new perspective on life outside of our ‘small’ town. She definitely wants to participate next year, and we completely support her decision! We are grateful to the JCC for providing such a great experience to our children,” said Lori and Michael Lazarus of Mt. Kisco.
The JCC Maccabi Games have been offering a life-shaping experience for Jewish teenagers since 1982. At this Jewish mini-Olympiad, athletes have the chance to compete in one of 15 team or individual sports, creating memories that will last a lifetime.
This summer, the Owings Mills JCC in Baltimore hosted the first-ever combined JCC Maccabi Games and JCC Maccabi ArtsFest® (historically separate programs), which brought together more than 800 athletes, ages 13 – 16, from across the U.S., Canada and Israel to compete in soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, swimming, table tennis and more, along with over 200 teen artists, who participated in daily workshops in their chosen specialty (including Musical Theater, Jazz Music, Rock Music, Dance, Creative Writing, Sports Broadcasting and more) under the direction of artists in residence who are well known professionals in their fields. The culmination of the ArtsFest experience was a closing day Arts Festival, which included exhibitions and performances by the artists, and which was attended by the athletes and hundreds of spectators.
During the week, the athletes and artists had a great time together at evening activities including Power Plant Live in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Dave and Busters, plus a fabulous closing party at the JCC.
“Without a doubt, the teens had a fantastic week, making life-long friends and feeling a pride in being Jewish. The silver medal was the icing on the cake,” said Lisa Roberts, Program Coordinator for the Rosenthal JCC.
The JCC Maccabi Games can be called the Olympics for Jewish teens, but they serve a larger purpose than athletic competition. The Games also promote community involvement, teamwork, and Jewish values. For example, athletes visiting host communities stay with local Jewish families. This "home hospitality" is vital to the experience, representing the extended Jewish family and the value of welcoming the stranger. Also, every set of Games has a volunteer program called Days of Caring and Sharing, when athletes join with local community organizations to work on social-action projects. Past Days of Caring and Sharing activities have included building homes for the poor, holding carnivals for handicapped children, cleaning parks, and packaging food to be given to the hungry. During our Days of Caring and Sharing this summer, our athletes learned from and about people living with AIDS and created and decorated bags of toiletries that would be distributed to hospitalized AIDS patients. The purpose is to teach tikkun olam (repairing the world) by example, so that these young people incorporate these values into their daily lives once they return home.
