It’s 10 a.m. on a Thursday morning and a group of basketball players have gathered in a gym at the Kfar Maccabiah Sports Club to shoot some hoops. They are part of Maccabi World Union’s new Maccabi Israel Sports Experience basketball program – the first in a series of sports track programs currently in the planning.
The initiative provides post-high school age Jewish athletes with the opportunity to spend a year living at Kfar Maccabiah, training under top coaches, meeting with the sports world’s leading figures, and exploring their roots, while working on taking their skills to the next level.
Most of the participant-athletes aspire to play competitively in college or to sign with a professional team at the end of the year-long program.
The current class, a team of 10 basketball players from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia, will remain in Israel until June, playing on the Maccabi Israel Sports Experience basketball team and representing the program within Israel’s IBBA (Israel Basketball Association) semi-professional B League.
They are training under head coach Harold Katz, a former assistant coach at UMBC and former associate head coach at Goucher College. Most of the program participants have been in Israel since October, when they began team practices and activities.
Jonathan Joel, 24, is one of these athletes. A native of Rhode Island, USA and a former member of the Curry College basketball team, he was raised by a single mother whose dream was always to come to Israel. Today Joel is living his mother’s dream, experiencing the country and training with the Maccabi Sports Experience program.
“This is the perfect opportunity for someone who wants the whole experience of going to Israel and traveling the country, while also playing basketball,” he said, adding that he aspires to play professionally next year in Israel.
During their Israel experience, the athletes will spend time touring the country, volunteering in various efforts including hospital visits with injured soldiers, meetings with Nova survivors, and activities with other non-profits involved in giving back to the community; interning in sport-tech; spending Sabbath weekends together; and connecting with host families.
Fulfil their dreams
According to Program Director Adi Ciner, the program is all about fulfilling dreams.
“We want to give young Jewish athletes the opportunity to be their best, fulfill their personal ambitions and feel at home in Israel. This is a year that will change their lives. Our 10 incredible players took the chance to follow their dreams and come here, despite the war. We’re giving them the chance to experience Israel, while being part of something bigger. When the Jewish people need it most, Maccabi uses sports to build bridges.”
“Everyone on our team comes from a different background. Some are religious and some are not, but it really doesn’t matter,” says Levi Banon, 20, of Montreal.
Banon is the son of Chabad emissaries, who went to the US to play for a top Jewish high school basketball program in California. He’s come to the Maccabi program in order to train and play under Coach Katz, who he knew beforehand. Levi says he would love to stay in Israel and play professionally next year.
Alexander Kirievsky, 17, is a native of Sydney, who also dreams of playing professionally in Israel, or on the US collegiate level next year. He came to the program at the urging of a friend who had already been accepted. Kirievsky embraced the chance to spend a year training in the Holy Land.
“I could have stayed in Australia and played basketball for my senior team or played at university. But Israel is the most beautiful country in the world, and if an opportunity presented itself, I wasn’t going to turn it down.”
The Maccabi Israel Sports Experience program is in its infancy, and the organization has big plans for its future.
Amir Gissin, CEO of Maccabi World Union, is excited about the potential.
“We envision a world-leading academy with multiple sports programs for men and women, combining a love of the sport, with the opportunity to compete at the highest levels, and to experience Israel, all in one. Maccabi is once again leading the way in helping young athletes achieve success while instilling in them the values of strength and resilience that have been part of the Jewish and Israeli people for generations.”
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