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Maybe it was the unexpected appearance of the sun, maybe positive word of mouth. But whatever the reason, Maccabi Youth Team tryouts at the Marin Jewish Community Center on Sunday drew more kids than ever — nearly 50.

Most Bay Area youths still head to Palo Alto to vie for Maccabi slots. But news of the Marin JCC's tryouts for the annual games is spreading, said a pleased Sherri Smith, program director for the Bay Area Maccabi delegation.

Many East Bay and San Francisco residents decided to join their North Bay cohorts in Marin on Sunday for the tryouts in girls' and boys' basketball and soccer, girls' softball and boys' baseball.

"I think a lot of people said to themselves, `If the weather's good, I'll come,'" Smith said.

A much broader palette of sports will be covered at the March 15 tryouts in Palo Alto, and some of the same Maccabi hopefuls will head south for those as well.

Brittany Eber is one of these young athletes. The only girl to try out for boys' baseball, the Kentfield eighth-grader pitches on the baseball team at the Marin Country Day School.

"I've always played baseball," she said after the 90-minute baseball run-through, as she quickly changed into soccer gear before trotting off to the field.

Lots of kids hedge their bets by trying out for more than one sport.

Steve Ruby, a junior at Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, chose the baseball-soccer combo as well.

The 1998 Maccabi games, set for Aug. 16 to 23 in Detroit, will be Ruby's third and final Maccabi competition. He's at the top end of the 13-to-16 age bracket.

Ruby said his first year at the Maccabi games "was intense…because I hadn't done it before." By last year, however, he felt more relaxed.

"I met people from all over," he said. "That's what's pretty cool about it."

Rachel Winograd of Piedmont tackled her back-up sport, softball, on the heels of a tough basketball tryout. These will be her first Maccabi games, and she's looking forward to them. Her 17-year-old brother played basketball in the games last year, "and he loved it," she said. "It sounds like a good experience."

Sisters Mindy and Leigh Krieger of Danville needed little prodding from their dad before opting to take on their first Maccabi games. "It sounded like fun," said Leigh, who is 14.

"My family has been in [the games] over the years," said the girls' father, Dan Krieger. "My family's in Detroit, and I thought, `Hey, it's a way to see the family.'" He has volunteered to help coach the girls' soccer team. Both Leigh and 13-year-old Mindy, who attend middle school, play in their local soccer league.

It was Emma Buchbinder's mom who played a hand in getting the San Francisco athlete to pull on her shin-guards and cleats for soccer tryouts.

"My mom's friend told me about it. It sounded like fun — to get to know different people and travel and get to play against a bunch of different teams," she said.

More than 100 young athletes will represent Northern California among the 3,000 expected in Detroit this summer.