Blue skies and brisk temperatures created perfect conditions for Maccabi Games tryouts Sunday, March 7 at the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto.
Dozens of 13- to 16-year-olds turned out to vie for slots on this year’s San Francisco Bay Area delegation. Those who make the cut will travel in August to Houston or Rochester, N.Y., to compete in the games.
Beside the pool, Maccabi swimming coach Larry Becker — himself a former competitor — is timing seven girls in the backstroke.
Although the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, the competition grows intense as the girls power through the water and the leaders begin to inch ahead.
There is no set number of slots per sport. “We encourage the kids to try out and participate in many sports — volleyball, soccer, track,” says Becker, “although they can qualify in only one.”
“The San Francisco Bay Area will be sending as many as 150 teens to the games this year — 100 to Houston and 50 to Rochester,” says Joanne Bernstein, a 14-year volunteer who is heading the local delegation.
Athletes competing for a spot on the local teams “come from all over Northern California, from San Jose to Sacramento, since the Jewish community here is so geographically spread out,” she adds.
Bernstein points to the registration table, where a VCR is running video highlights of opening-ceremony entertainment in years past.
Jewish youth groups in the host cities work for months to produce welcoming festivities that feature live music, dancing and other celebrations in honor of the visiting athletes. Kids in braces grin from the screen, flashing high-fives, waving and joking around.
“It’s a big tradition for the kids to trade souvenir jackets and memorabilia. The energy and enthusiasm are nonstop,” says Bernstein.
The registration table displays colorful insignia and commemorative pins. Each pin represents a year of games. Athletes troop by to watch the videos and trade names and stories.
In the gymnasium, boys basketball coach Peter Pollat radiates enthusiasm. A dermatologist by day, Pollat has been coaching Maccabi athletes for 11 years. He and co-coach Bill Black have seen athletes use the Maccabi Games as a springboard to major athletic achievement.
“We played against Shehar Gordon [the 6-foot, 10-inch center on U.C. Berkeley’s squad] in the Los Angeles Maccabi games, where he represented Israel,” says Pollat, “and a 13-year-old boy, Leo Krupnik — a Russian kid who could barely speak English — is now on a soccer scholarship to U.C. Berkeley. Every year we see former participating athletes coming back to coach.”
But even as he reels off star performers, including hoopster Sharon Englemeier, now playing for Army, Pollat returns to an equally important focus of the games: sharing good times and building friendships. “Athletics is the hook but the Jewish context is what’s important,” he says.
Sherri Smith, program director for the San Francisco Bay Area JCC Maccabi effort, is the only salaried employee; all others, including coaches, are volunteers.
Smith, along with Pollat, who serves on the JCC Maccabi board; co-delegation heads Bernstein and Bob Miller; boys’ soccer coach Paul Delson; and many other volunteers are responsible for the success of a yearlong effort, which includes many fund-raising events — raffles, dinners, a golf tournament and ongoing solicitation of sponsors.
Coaches pay their own way to the games. But Pollat says sportsmanship, smiles and memories more than compensate them. “We do it because we love kids.”
Representing a 17-year tradition of sportsmanship and fellowship, the Maccabi games have come a long way. The debut year attracted 300 participants. This year, more than 4,500 Jewish teens are expected at the host cities for a week of vivid athletic experiences and friendly contacts that can last for life.