I
1
Health & Fitness
SPORTS
Team
Building
Aiding Yad Ezra
helps our Maccabi
tennis team.
Steve Stein
Special to the Jewish News
E
ven though the JCC Maccabi
Games are a few months away,
Detroit's tennis players are
already getting into the spirit of the event.
Most of the 11 players, the mother of
one of the players and Coach Jodi Wolfe-
Neirynck will do volunteer work for 21/2
hours Sunday at the Yad Ezra kosher food
pantry. Yad Ezra, based in Berkley, pro-
vides kosher food to needy Jewish families
in southeastern Michigan.
"Besides donating non-perishable food,
we'll help separate food while we're there
said Wolfe-Neirynck. "Our kids will have
a chance to see Yad Ezra's clients, which
will make the experience even more real
for them:'
Maccabi athletes participate in hands-on,
people-to-people community service proj-
ects during a Day of Caring and Sharing at
each competition site.
Detroit athletes used to do mitzvah
work in the Metro Detroit area before
they left for their competition, but it is no
longer required. Wolfe-Neirynck hopes the
time at Yad Ezra will be a team-building
experience for her players.
"Tennis is an individual sport, but I think
ifs important for us to have team unity' she
said. "The coaches can't be at every match
because we usually play at three or four
sites. We want the kids who aren't playing to
support their teammates who are playing"
Wolfe-Neirynck said she tried to build
team unity last year by holding weekly
tennis/fitness clinics during the summer.
"The clinics went well and we had great
team camaraderie, but I wanted to get an
earlier start on that this year',' she said.
Detroit's tennis players will compete in
Richmond, Va., in early August. The group
of 13- to 15-year-olds includes Jesse Arm,
Ben Beltser, Daniel Eilander, Audrey
Elkus, Alex Gruskin, Josh Gun, Jacob
Kroll, Jack Kehnan, Bradley Levin,
Cameron Peres and Eli Sherizen.
Amy Goldfaden, Daniel's mother, will
join the players at Yad Ezra.
This is the sixth year that Wolfe-Neirynck
has coached Detroit Maccabi tennis. She
assisted Janice Bloom for three years
before taking over after Bloom retired.
Wolfe-Neirynck had five assistant
coaches and 90 players at the Detroit
Games in 2008. Eric Wolfe was her assis-
tant coach last year, when eight players
competed in Westchester, N.Y. She'll have a
new assistant coach this year.
Athletes Needed
Athletes ages 13-16 are needed for the
Detroit teams that will participate next
August in the JCC Maccabi Games.
Competitions will be held in Baltimore,
Md., Denver, Colo., and Richmond, Va., and
Detroit athletes will fly to all three sites.
For more information, contact Detroit
delegation head Karen Gordon, (248) 432-
5482 or kgordon@jccdet.org or go to
www.maccabidetroit.org.
Don't Apply Yet
The Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation
is revising the application process for the
Jewish News Athletes of the Year and Bill
Hertz Memorial Scholarship awards.
For information, check www.michigan-
jewishsports.org or call MJSF Executive
Director David Blatt, (248) 592-9323.
Heavy Medals
Two Jewish athletes — both from the
United States — earned medals at the
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Steve Meisler won a gold medal in the
four-man bobsled and ice dancer Charlie
White of Bloomfield Hills won a silver
medal with partner Meryl Davis.
Birmingham Groves High School
graduate Ben Agosto and his ice dancing
partner, Tanith Belbin, took fourth. They
won silver medals at the 2006 Winter
Olympics.
Israeli ice dancers Roman and
Alexandra Zaretsky, who are brother and
sister, finished 10th in Vancouver. Skier
Mikail Renzhin from Israel placed 35th
in the slalom and 55th in the giant slalom.
U.S. biathlete Laura Spector finished
65th and 77th in her two races. ❑
Send sports items to
sports@thejewishnews.com.
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March 11 ' 2010