Maccabi offers Camaraderie

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Shannon Boucher (delegation head), at rear, Sela Lutterbeck, Sonia Richter, an unidentified teen from another delegation, Gabe Mernoff, Jacob Hammarstrom, Natalie Westrick, Jackson Mayer, Daniel Rabin, Andrew Mattera (baseball coach and team chaperone), Julia Keizler, Nathan Reed, Noah Turner, an unidentified teen, Hannah Rossheim, Elias Eberman and another unidentified team from another delegation. Sandra Gamm, Lyndsay Goldstein, Julia Birnbaum and Tiasa Loignon (swim coach and team chaperone) are not pictured.  /JCC STAFFORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – After being offered the chance to go to the 2013 Maccabi Games, I was extremely excited and kept an open mind about what to expect.

Nothing could have prepared me for the fun I had, not only with my delegation, but also with coaches and kids from other Jewish Community Centers across the United States and around the world.

This is not some average competition, where egos and testosterone fill every sport but something on a completely different level; this is a competition filled with sportsmanship and camaraderie.

Every day was filled with sports, games and practices and eager teens willing to listen to coaches, with attitudes put aside. Evenings, we’d have a party for the kids, whether at a beach, an amusement park or bowling alley. Everyone mingled and made friendships – many that will span the miles even after the Maccabi Games ended.

I could write an entire book on my experience and the friends I made; I could go on and on about how much fun I had. Instead, I will tell you what I brought home from the games: a relentless drive to get as many teens involved in this wonderful experience as possible. Everyone should have the chance to go to these games and I plan on doing everything I can to get as many kids as possible to go.

Andrew Mattera, the baseball coach for Team Rhode Island’s delegation to the Maccabi Games, works in J-Fitness at the Alliance JCC.