Team Atlanta Shines in JCC Maccabi

The 2015 JCC Maccabi games in Milwaukee and Dallas from Aug. 2 to 7 saw Atlanta’s delegation take home 31 medals.

Atlanta’s silver medal winning 16U Baseball Team: (From top left) Coach Mark Rudel, Coach Daniel Kaufman, Aaron Rosenberg, Zach Nozick, Tyler Beard, Justin Kaiser, Noah Lampert, Sam Drucker, Coach Marc Lipson, Nate Cohen, Ryan Kurzweil, Jack Lipson, Josh Sorkin, Sam Berman and Ben Bernstein.

In Dallas, the 14-and-under boys basketball team and 16-and-under girls soccer squad won gold, and the tennis team, coached by Michael Roth, won four gold medals.

The boys 14-and-under soccer team, coached by Bob Meyer and Roey Shoshan, won gold in Milwaukee, as did swimmers Arie Voloschin, Jonathan Fischer and Lee Haber, who combined for 11 medals.

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In addition to facing tough competition from across the country, the teens from Atlanta came together to learn valuable lessons in humility and sportsmanship. They also participated in community outreach events in both cities. In Dallas, the athletes helped pack boxes of donated food. In Milwaukee, they helped build a community garden.

Along the way, they made connections with Jewish athletes from across the United States.

“What a week!” Atlanta Maccabi chair Libby Hertz said. “I am so lucky to have been able to get to know and care for these vivacious, athletic and inspirational teens. To witness them as teammates, friends, leaders, followers, brothers and sisters has been an utter joy. I sincerely hope that they enjoyed and grew from this experience and will continue to participate in this program.”

Atlanta’s JCC Maccabi Games Delegation

Atlanta Medal Count: Gold 11 – Silver 15 – Bronze 5

Dallas Results

Girls 16U soccer — gold – Coaches Jack Vangrofsky and Ryan Pollard

Girls 16U basketball — silver – Coaches Michael Feldman and Michael Radetsky

16U baseball — silver – Coaches Marc Lipson, Mark Rudel and Daniel Kaufman

Cody Kaplan shoots a lay-up during Atlanta’s run to the 14-and-under basketball gold medal.

14U Baseball — silver – Coaches Todd Starr, Tommy Carola and Howard Janis

Boys 14U basketball — gold – Coaches Brian Seitz and Jacob Gluck

Boys 16U basketball — fourth – Coaches Eric Tannenbaum and Ryan Halpern

Dance Team — 3 silver, 1 bronze

Golf — bronze

Table tennis — 2 bronze

Tennis — 4 gold, 2 silver – Coach Michael Roth

Milwaukee Results

Boys 14U Soccer — gold – Coaches Bob Meyer and Roey Shoshan

16U flag football — silver – Coaches Andrew Levison and Ronald McRae

Swimming

Lee Haber — gold, 100 breast; silver, 200 IM; gold, 50 fly; silver, 400 relay; gold, 50 breast

Arie Voloschin — bronze, 50 back; silver, 100 breast; silver, 200 IM; silver, 50 fly; gold, 200 back

Jonathan Fischer — silver, 200 breast

David Perchik, one of the team’s most accurate long-range shooters, launches a 3-pointer in Dallas.

Basketball

Five months ago, when Coaches Brian Seitz and Jacob Gluck announced the 10 members of the Maccabi Atlanta 14-and-under basketball team, no one could have known that the boys would roar through the 19-city bracket to capture the gold medal.

“I have coached many youth teams,” said Seitz, who coached at Northview High School in Duluth, “but you rarely see kids who are as hardworking, passionate about winning and unselfish as this team.”

Last year’s champion from Washington, D.C., entered as the favorite in Dallas, but Atlanta won its first four games by an average of 44 points. That earned Atlanta the No. 1 seed going into medal round.

The team beat Phoenix and New York City to set up a championship game with Washington. Atlanta took the gold with a 59-36 win.

Leo Sachs and Cody Kaplan were Atlanta’s top scorers, while Sam Bronfman, Billy Snyder and Phil Malever led the team in rebounds. Eric Malever and Simon Ben-Moshe led the team in assists, and David Perchik and Josh Edelman were the most accurate long-range shooters.

Baseball

Taking silver in 14-and-under baseball were (from left) Mark Schilstra, Coach Howard Janis, Sam Janis, Willie Frontman, Alex Borsuk, Zach Leaf, Ryan Danz, Charlie Goldstein, David Morgan, Coach Todd Starr, Jeremy Leven, Coach Tommy Carola, Josh Peljovich and Alex Effron.

The 14-and-under and 16-and-under baseball teams reached the championship games in Dallas and came away with silver.

The 16-and-under squad started out 4-0 and was seeded first for the medal rounds. The team beat San Francisco 12-6 in the semifinals but lost 2-1 to Los Angeles in the final.

The 14-and-under team started with two losses, but made a strong comeback to advance to the medal round and won the next three games to reach the championship. But the team lost the gold medal in 10 innings to Los Angeles, the longest Maccabi baseball game in recent history.