HEALTH, TRAVEL, SPORTS, FOOD

More Inside:

Health: The EMF question
haunts West Bloomfield.

Travel: Golda's country
includes cheeseheadse

Food: That versatile
salmon made easy.

This Week's focus:

Sports

Maccabi Excitement

Golding said with their talent, he hopes to moti-
ix three basketball teams, 41 track
vate them to go far this year.
and field athletes and 14 women
Assisting Golding is Steve Bernstein, a referee
on the first-ever dance team and
for many years who will be coaching for the first
what have you got? Detroit Mac-
time.
cabi athletes destined for success in next month's
The boys 13-1 4 basketball team is coached by
JCC Maccabi Games.
Maccabi
veteran Karen (Sklar) Gordon and rook-
Howard Golding has seen plenty of success
ie
coach
Jeff
Gruca.
in his eight summers coaching Maccabi basket-
In 1984, Gordon's family hosted athletes
ball. However, he has been coaching a total of
when the Games were in Detroit, but she was
23 years at the middle school and high
too old to compete. She chaperoned the
school level, the last 14 at Oak Park
1989 U.S. team in Israel and has been
High.
coaching
ever since. Gordon played bas-
Jeff
Perim
an
Golding began his Maccabi career in
works
on
his
ketball
at
College of Canyons in Califor-
1990 after being told of the coaching
pee
thro
ws.
nia
and
played
softball at Wayne State.
opening by Burt Hurshe. Having received
She coached Maccabi softball in the past
guidance and a lot of enjoyment as a
and has also coached both sports and vol-
youngster at the Jewish Community Cen-
leyball at Southfield High.
ter, Golding thought Maccabi coaching would a
Last year, the 13-14 boys finished fourth out of
good way to give something back.
eight
teams, losing in the bronze medal game.
Since 1990, his daughters Jamie and Andi and
Three
years ago in Houston the team won
his wife Rita have been involved as athletes or
bronze.
Maccabi volunteers. "Your time as an athlete
Gruca is a former Maccabi athlete who com-
comes and goes, but as a coach you can go on
peted in basketball and track. He coached girls'
forever," said Golding.
basketball for three years at Academy of the
His 15-16-year-old boys team this summer fea-
Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, an AAU team
tures five returning players who won silver in Mil-
in Waterford and is currently at Bloomfield Hills
waukee last year. Jordan Wiener, 16, a player at
Andover
High School.
Birmingham Groves High School, is the tallest
"The
Maccabi
talent is much better than I
Detroit Maccabi player at 6'4". He is going to be
expected"
Gruca
said.
Jordan Scheinfield, 14, will
participating in his third Games as the team's cen-
be on the 13-14 team for his second Games. He
ter.
thinks they can win gold, because :'we are a
"I went to Pittsburgh in 1993 to watch my sis-
smarter, stronger, and older team than last year.
ter Jamie play volleyball and decided it was some-
The new guys know how to play basketball."
thing I wanted to do," Wiener said.
Country Day's Mike Pullman is another "veter-
Berkley High's Richie Wallace plays on the
an"
on the team.
team at point guard. He also will be entering his
The
girls 13-16 team is co-coached by two
third Games. He is looking forward to "good,
first-year
Maccabi coaches: Emily Friedman and
strong competition and winning a medal," adding
Keith Levick. Friedman, a junior at Michigan
that he also wants to have a good time and repre-
State, participated in five Maccabis in basketball
sent his hometown.
and softball. The last time there was a Detroit
Also playing in his third Games is 15-year-old
girls basketball team, in Pittsburgh in 1993, she
Dani Wohl, a basketball team member at West
was
one of the players.
Bloomfield High.
"I've
always wanted to be involved after I was
The 15-16 team is small, with only Wiener
unable
to
play and this is the first summer that I
and Michael Patterson over 6 feet. They expect to
am here and can do it," Friedman said. "It is very
use their speed, pressing defense and force
weird" being a coach instead of a player. "We had
. turnovers to create opportunities for the offense.
to cut a lot of girls from the squad and it was hard."

1ff

.

Detroit's basketball,
track and dance teams
look forward to
next month's
Maccabi Games.

.

MIKKI MENTZEL
Special to The Jewish News