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. THE SPIRIT OF A PIONEER. Walk. Run. Bend.Turn. Most of us don't think about simple mobility and flexibility until our later years. But when joint and bone pain are a part of everyday life—suddenly, these simple movements become nearly impossible. Our experts are among the first in the country to use sophisticated procedures like the Birmingham Hip resurfacing and iUni knee resurfacing. Cutting edge techniques developed to get our patients to walk. run. bend, turn...and live life to its fullest again. Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital At Huron Valley-SinaiHospital, caring is critical. AY\ CRITICA PIONEERING ADVANCES IN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY THE EXPERTISE OF THE DETROIT- IN OAKLAND COUNTY. For a physician referral call 888-DMC-2500 www.hvsh.org I 248-937-3300 I 1 William Carts Drive, Commerce, Michigan 1553830 48 March 11 ' 2010