SPORTS
Glenn Bassipour, Burt
Hurshe, Dave Hubert, Doug
Hoffman, Adam Shapiro and
Matt Hoffman confer before
practice.
CO
CO
co
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Cleveland Competitors
Detroit is sending seven teams to compete
with Jewish teens from throughout the Midwest
Maccabi games, in tennis. Seth is
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to The Jewish News
S
eventy-two young Detroit-
area athletes will com-
pete in the regional Mac-
cabi Games in Cleveland,
Aug. 16-19. The games
will draw Jewish athletes aged 12-16
from cities across the Midwest and
Ontario.
Detroit has teams competing in
seven sports: Boys basketball, softball
and soccer, plus co-ed squads in rac-
quetball, swimming, tennis and
track.
The boys basketball squad is
coached by , Burt Hurshe, former
Wayne State player, high school coach
and now a college division II and III
referee. He is assisted by Doug Hoff-
man, former three-sport standout at
Detroit Mumford who has been a part
of the Jewish Community Center
basketball programs for over 30 years.
Last year's Detroit team won four
of five games at the North American
Maccabi Games in Toronto and reach-
ed the final 16. The three returning
players from that group are 5-foot-11
forward Scott Lyons of Southfield-
Lathrup High, and guards Matt Hoff-
man of North Farmington High and
Glenn Bassipour and Adam Shapiro
Coach Doug Hoffman and Dave Hubert
Seth Tetty of Harrison High. "The
team is very, very young," says Hur-
she. "We're not real experienced, ex-
cept for the three people (from the
1986 team), but we have some real
energetic players. We're not real tall
. . . but we're very quick and we shoot
the ball well from the outside .. .
We'll be weak on the boards, but we
have some good perimeter shooters,
and we're very quick and we should
be able to run a fast break offense,
and when we're in a half-court, a mo-
tion offense."
Matt Hoffman, son of the assis-
tant coach, "is our sparkplug," says
Hurshe. "He's our captain!'
The Maccabi Games are a major
family affair for the Hoffmans. Doug's
oldest-son, Josh, 17, played soccer in
the 1984 games in Detroit. Matt took
second place in tennis that year. Now,
Seth Hoffman, 12, enters his first
ranked in the top 16 nationally in his
age bracket.
Doug Hoffman lists what his
children have gained from their Mac-
cabi competitions: "The exchange
with the other kids, from different
countries; seeing other Jewish kids
from Venezuela, Israel, just meeting
them; to come together on the athletic
field, and the camaraderie and the
friendships that are developed with
other Jewish kids of different
cultures. It's just a beautiful ex-
change."
Hoffman and his wife DeeDee will
stay in a hotel in Cleveland. Their
sons and the other athletes will be
hosted by Jewish families.
Coaching the tennis team is
Marianne Ring. Her players will all
compete in both singles and doubles,
some teaming up with players from
other cities to form doubles teams.
Hoffman is not her only-player with
a national ranking. Jennifer Goldfarb,
from Andover High, was in the top
200 nationally in the under-14
category and she has just begun com-
petition in the under-16 group. Jen-
nifer reached the semi-finals in
singles at Toronto last year, and made
the finals in doubles, teamed with a
Chicago girl.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
39