By Abigail Goldberg
Guest Columnist
Team Kentucky competed at the 2026 JCC Maccabi Games in Toronto (photo by Shawn Goldberg)
If JCC Maccabi is already familiar to you, you know the excitement. If not, think Olympic-style competition, Jewish connections, and whole lot of fun – all wrapped into one unforgettable experience for Jewish teens.
This week-long event brings together Jewish teens from communities around the world through sports, friendships, and Jewish identity. The Games are about more than athletic achievements… sports are the vehicle for building confidence and Jewish pride. This summer, 13 athletes represented Team Kentucky, Fueled by the Trager Family JCC, across a variety of individual and team sports. The 2026 Toronto Games brought together 2,000 teen athletes from 73 communities from around the world. If you read Tom Wissinger’s column in last month’s Community, you already know about the excitement surrounding the Games and the lifelong impact this experience can have. Now, we are excited to share a few highlights from Team Kentucky’s summer in Toronto.
Sports are obviously at the heart of JCC Maccabi. Teens train, compete, cheer each other on, and represent their communities with pride. On the golf course, Ella Sizemore delivered a standout performance for Team Kentucky, earning gold in the Girls’ Golf competition on the first day in Toronto. By the end of the week, she had added two more medals, bringing home two golds and one silver. In the pool, Milana Shulman and Ruby Jane Kessler also had strong showings across multiple races. Milana earned three relay medals, while Ruby Jane brought home seven medals in individual and team events, including gold in the 100-meter backstroke and 50-meter freestyle. Team Kentucky gave us no shortage of athletic highlights to celebrate, but the medal count is only the beginning of the story.
Ethan Grabush is a perfect example of what keeps teens coming back to JCC Maccabi year after year. A third-year participant, he has spent the past three summers playing on a mixed baseball team and building friendships with Jewish teens from across North America. His favorite part of Maccabi is meeting new people and playing alongside Jewish athletes from different communities. For him along with many others, JCC Maccabi is more than a week of sports; it’s a community that grows stronger every summer. Still, for our athletes, some of the most memorable moments happened away from the playing field.
One of the most powerful moments of the week came during the Opening Ceremony. Wearing “Team Kentucky” across their chests, our athletes walked into an arena filled with thousands of Jewish teens from communities worldwide proving that they are part of something much larger than themselves. For Norah Corson, who attended the Games as Team Kentucky’s Star Reporter, the Opening Ceremony was the highlight of the week. “Seeing thousands of Jewish teens all together in one place while proudly representing our community was my favorite moment of the entire week,” she shared. The ceremony featured inspiring messages from former hostage Omer Wenkert, plus performances by Yuval Raphael and Nissim Black, setting the tone for a week centered on Jewish pride, connection, and community.
Beyond competition, athletes participated in HangTime sessions with Israeli shlichim, building relationships with young Israelis and learning about life in Israel firsthand. Special programming with Jewish fitness coach Yoel Levy and basketball star Tamir Goodman, known as the “Jewish Jordan,” demonstrated the many ways Jewish identity and athletics can intersect. Combined with opportunities for community service and social action, these experiences reinforced how JCC Maccabi is about more than sports. It is about building connections, strengthening Jewish identity, and contributing to something bigger than yourself.
In just one week, JCC Maccabi provided far more than athletic competition. It was a week filled with new friendships, Jewish learning, Israeli connections, leadership opportunities, community, pride, and shared experiences that will stay with these teens long after they return home. The 13 athletes of Team Kentucky did not simply travel to Toronto to compete in their individual sports; they traveled as representatives of Jewish Louisville and became part of a global Jewish community.
While Team Kentucky has much to celebrate, the medal count tells only part of the story. The true success of JCC Maccabi is measured in each teenager who returns home feeling more connected to Judaism, more confident in their Jewish identity, and surrounded by friendships that may extend for years to come. We are incredibly proud of Team Kentucky and look forward to the next generation of athletes who will have the opportunity to experience the magic of Maccabi for themselves.
Interested in joining the JCC Maccabi Games? Or know a Jewish teen ages 13–17 who would love the chance to compete, connect, and be part of Team Kentucky? Email Gabe Shir, Teen Director, at [email protected] to learn more.
Abigail Goldberg is NextGen Engagement & Outreach Director at the Trager Family JCC and the Jewish Federation of Louisville.