PHOTO BY B ILL HANSEN

On

YOUR
MARKS!

Ititink4k,
Young athletes
head to three cities to
represent Detroit in
the Maccabi Games.

LONNY GOLDSMITH STAFF WRITER

he Jewish communities of Mil-
waukee, Pittsburgh and Seattle will
welcome a portion of the 178 ath-
letes from metro Detroit for the an-
nual rite of mid-August: The Maccabi
Games.
"Each city can only take so many ath-
letes, which is around 600-800 per city,"
Detroit delegation head Harold Fried-
man said. "We're sending teams where
we know competition will be good." The
games in Wisconsin are Aug. 10-15, and
in Pittsburgh and Seattle the games are
Aug. 17-22.
Eight sports with 101 Detroit teens will
F--- be competing in Pittsburgh and 67 De-
troiters will be competing in nine sports
in Milwaukee. The 10 track and field ath-
letes will be in Seattle.
• "Seattle is the only site that is having

".

a real track meet," Friedman said. "Pitts- and then lost the final, mainly because
burgh is having a couple of events, but some players were out with injuries."
that's all."
Highlighting the Milwaukee delegation
A new sport for the Maccabi Games this is the volleyball team, which won a gold
year is in-line hockey, and the
medal last year in New Jersey.
Detroit team will play in
'Detroit's Milwaukee team
Clockwise from top:
Pittsburgh. "When the notice
should compete for the gold,"
Volleyball c oaches Ken
was put out that there would
coach Ken Bertin said. "The
Bertin and S am Skeegan
be a team, we had 75 kids at
team we are sending to Pitts-
discuss strategy.
the first tryout," coach Steve
burgh are 13- and 14-year-
Friedman said. 'We had more Michelle Ho rrigan gives a olds, and they'll have their
serving tip t o Kat Khait.
than enough high-quality
hands full. I'm trying to pre-
players to send two teams to
pare them for next year's in-
Jamie Tash man avoids
play."
ternational games" in Detroit.
teammate Marci Cohen
The team spent the spring during volley ball practice.
Two years ago, the older
playing together in a league
team played in Los Angeles
at U.S. Blades in West Bloomfield.
and won a bronze medal; Detroit's younger
"They played against 16-18-year-olds, team in Houston won a silver. "If the old-
and they range from 13-16 years old," er team was in Houston, they'd have run
Friedman said. "They won every game away with the gold."

The 13-14-year-old baseball team is us-
ing their trip to Pittsburgh as a spring-
board for the international games_as well.
'We have a lot of 13-year-olds, but not
many who are 14," coach Mark Rosen-
berg said. 'We'll be competitive this year,
but next year we should do great."
In observance of Tisha B'Av, the ath-
letes in Milwaukee will not compete on
Tuesday, Aug. 12.
"That's a day where the athletes will
participate in community service pro-
jects," Friedman said. "It'll help them un-
derstand that this is a Jewish experience
through athletics, not an athletic expe-
rience through Judaism."
The following athletes will represent
Detroit at this summer's Maccabi Games.

MACCABI page 102

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