By Elizabeth Davis
Guest Columnist
Team Louisville preparing to walk out at the Opening Ceremony hosted in Detroit’s Little Caesar’s Arena (Photo by Elizabeth Davis)
The 2024 JCC Maccabi Games hosted in Detroit, MI, saw nine Kentucky teens — eight from Louisville and one from Lexington — come together to make up the Team Louisville delegation. Team Louisville is grateful to be sponsored by the Trager Family JCC and Jewish Federation of Louisville. Team Louisville was led by Abigail Goldberg, Delegation Head (Teen Director at the Trager Family JCC), AJ Wolfe (U16 Boys Soccer Coach), and Elizabeth Davis (Star Reporter Intern). Louisville athletes participated in three sports: soccer, basketball, and baseball, participating on mixed teams with athletes from cities across the country. I watched teamwork build between them, their teammates, and coaches. That dedication to building friendships through teamwork and passion for their sport was incredible to watch.
Arriving at the JCC Maccabi Games as Team Louisville’s media personnel, I was on the sidelines watching our team succeed in more ways than one. While the week-long games are focused on watching our teens hit a home run, score the winning goal, or make a basket in the nick of time, witnessing the teamwork and Jewish camaraderie was one of the biggest highlights for me.
Mixed teams are a great way for teens to play with one another from all different parts of the country. Team Louisville’s 14U soccer coach, AJ Wolfe, brought together a mixed team of Louisville athletes who were paired with soccer players from Cleveland and Boston. One member of AJ’s team, Sammy Springer of Louisville, said about the JCC Maccabi games, “I really love sports, and it [JCC Maccabi] helps me feel connected to Judaism, but mostly sports and friends.” During the last few minutes of the soccer match to qualify for the Bronze Medal game, I watched Sammy run out onto the field and place himself in the middle of the goalie box, and ultimately save the ball from going into the net no fewer than five times. Everyone on the field was so excited to see Sammy’s pride in helping the team win the game.
Each day was jam-packed with the teens waking up from the homes of their host families, arriving at the venue where they would play their sport, and then heading back to the Detroit JCC where they would head off for an activity. Each day was filled with possibilities to make new friends both on and off the playing field. Arly Weinstein of Lexington, a 14U girls soccer team player, made friendships with the girls in her mixed team. Despite Arly being from Lexington while teammates hailed from California and Ohio, the physical distance between the states didn’t impact the relationships that were made among them. Even in her second year participating in the JCC Maccabi Games, Arly told me about that the Games were the best part of her summer and she wanted to have the experience again. “I just love meeting new people and playing [soccer] with other Jews,” Arly said just before the Bronze Medal match her team won. Arly has been playing soccer for as long as she can remember and her love for the sport is inspirational.
As someone who’d never before participated in the JCC Maccabi Games, it was overwhelming at first to acclimate myself to the environment, but the relationships I built with my peers and the athletes made it all worthwhile. I was so excited to wake up each day and watch Team Louisville make memories with new friends and cheer them on at all of their games. My favorite thing was the energy and excitement radiating off all the athletes. I enjoyed hearing their stories about their experiences at their games and the activities they were going to do with their friends that night.
When I asked one Team Louisville athlete, Owen Yoffe (boys soccer) about what most excited him about participating in the JCC Maccabi games, he excitedly answered that he was eager for opening ceremonies at Little Ceaser’s Arena. That night when I again met up with Owen, he delighted in sharing with me how his soccer games went. One thing that I learned about Owen was that he is an amazing cheerleader for his teammates and appreciates being there regardless of whether he wins or loses.
Owen was motivated initially to be part of the JCC Maccabi Games because of his dad. “My dad did Maccabi Games and it seemed fun to be part of a bigger Jewish community,” he said. Indeed, learning that his dad was a past Maccabi Games athlete made me realize just how expansive this program is. It extends to generations like this father-son duo. Owen was always so welcoming to everyone around him. I found it especially sincere when he went to watch a soccer game and cheer on the team that earlier had beaten his own. All these athletes, regardless of their individual sports, displayed exceptional sportsmanship alongside their Jewish peers. It was so special watching these teens develop friendships out of not only proximity to one another, but also via friendly competition.
As I walked around the closing ceremony party, I made it my mission to find all of Team Louisville’s athletes in their element. Seeing Judah Gladstein in line for the ferris wheel with all his friends, Clay Fennel and Sammy Springer playing the arcade games, and the rest of Team Louisville walking around with their friends, laughing and having fun, I understood how special this week was for them. The night ended on a high note with the passing of the torch to next year’s host cities and an amazing drone show. As I watched all the athletes hugging goodbye, I heard many teens telling each other, “See you next year!” I think that was the perfect way to end such an exciting week. We can all look forward to “next year,” when we’ll see all our friends again and play our favorite sports together. Thank you to the entire Detroit JCC Maccabi Team for being such incredible hosts!
In 2025, the JCC Maccabi Games will be hosted in Tuscon, AZ (July 27-Aug 1), and Pittsburgh, PA (Aug 3-8). The Games are open to Jewish athletes, ages 13-17, and Team Louisville is already beginning to organize for Summer 2025. If you are interested in joining and participating in the JCC Maccabi Games, please email our Delegation Head, Abigail Goldberg, at agoldberg@jewishlouisville.org.
Elizabeth Davis was a multimedia reporting intern at the 2024 JCC Maccabi Games.