SRI Travel & Promotion, Ltd. saw how much fun the games were and joined the girls' basketball team this year, now that she is 13. Friends Far And Wide Many friendships are created during the games, some pals from the com- petitors' own city and others from more far-flung places. Volleyball player Amee Joshi, 16, of West Bloomfield, a Walled Lake Western High School student, said, "The actual athletics are fun, but it's meeting all the people and just hav- ing a great time" that she cherishes most. "I have a friend that I met last year," Joshi said, "and he's going again this year. We keep in touch through e-mail. The only times we see each other is at the games and this is my last year." Track coach Joel Kashdan of Birmingham recalls a girl on his team in Houston last year who met a boy there and later returned to Houston to attend his prom. "That's kind of cool," Kashdan said. Friedman, a bowling coach and this year's Richmond delega- tion head with Karen Gordon, said, "These kids are hav- ing an opportunity to meet kids they probably would never have a chance to meet. There's tears at the end of the games because they're going to miss each other until next year or whenever. "As far as the competition, obvi- ously we've won gold medals and things like that. But if we can estab- lish that bond, that little light in the kids' eyes, then we've more than accomplished our task." Coach Meyers added, "Whoever thought up the idea of Maccabi did a good job, because it's something that a lot of kids will never get to experi- ence again. The friendships, the camaraderie, the team effort — all of that combined with the Judaism aspect is something unparalleled. It's just a really, really cool idea. "I have friends that aren't Jewish and they say they wish they had something like this. There's no other religion that does anything like this. There's nothing else that you can compare it to." ❑ Servi Maccabi joy means so much to a coach, because you feel you've helped them achieve their goal. In the end they're hugging me, saying, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you."' Jewish identity and love of But Maccabi has always been about more than sports. "I would say that one of the girls' goals at night is to dress up and meet boys," said Genny. "That's part of the reason I did it. "With my team, I feel that I'm not only a coach, but a mentor. They can come to me for things other than volleyball. It's not that long since I was in high school and suffering the heartache of breaking up and of graduating and leaving your friends. I've been through all that. "Ironically enough, the person I'm dating now, Jarrod Roth, I met through the Maccabi Games. "He was a volleyball player," Genny said. "I met him through vol- leyball when we were 16, and then we met as coaches a few years later." Jerrod is coaching Detroit's outdoor beach volleyball team this year. sports are happy returns. DAVID SA.CHS StaffWriter F or some participants, the Maccabi experience can have a lasting impact. Gennifer Bertin was 14 in 1990, when her dad Ken Bertin was coach- ing Detroit's Maccabi volleyball teams. He asked her to play in that year's games in Detroit. "I was very apprehensive," she said. "I was not an athlete and didn't want to become one. Social Aspects Camaraderie Abounds - Gennifer Bertin, volleyball coach "He kept saying, You got to do it. It's not so much about the athlet- ics, it's more about the Maccabi experience. It's about meeting peo- ple, everybody coming together, peo- ple of your faith.' "I was not religious and I really didn't want a whole big part of reli- gion," she said. "But I recruited some of my friends and I had a won- derful time, and I did it the next two years, too." Genny, 24, remained active in Maccabi and is now in her fourth summer of volleyball coaching, still with her dad. "It gives us time to spend together," she said. The core of their team has been together those four years and is poised to snare a gold medal in Cincinnati after finishing in second place last year. Genny said her team's success has been thrilling. "Seeing their tears of Coaches also serve as chaperones during the nightly Maccabi social events. They share camaraderie with their counterparts from other locales and swap team pins, hats and warm- ups. "I traded my jersey to get this one from St. Louis," Genny said. The Maccabi experience intro- duced Genny to athletics, eventually helping her to become a sports jour- nalist. She is currently a producer of in-house video for Palace Sports and Entertainment in Auburn Hills, working with the Detroit Pistons (basketball), Shock (women's basket- ball) and Vipers (hockey). "I consider Maccabi a culturally Jewish experience. It didn't start out that way for me. It was more social," she said. "I think it's an important way for people to meet others of their back- ground. As a teenager, I didn't appre- ciate my background and almost tried to shy away from it a little bit. I think the Maccabi Games have helped me not to. "I don't know if everybody goes away with the same experience I have," Genny said. "But this is my contribution. I'm helping young boys and girls learn to play a sport and helping them be teenagers." ❑ International Travel Specialists Please call for information on our December 19 deluxe trip to Israel X 2999 00 per person Space is still available. We specialize in customized tours to Europe & Israel. 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