THE
ROEPER
SCHOOL
sports
No Hockey Medal For Detroit,
But Many Good Memories
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Where Gifted Students
Love to Learn
If there’s a student who embodies
the Roeper spirit and philosophy
in its purest form, it’s Elliot Silk.
He’s been a positive presence in
the community since joining
Stage II. A voracious learner,
Elliot gravitates towards world
history and science. But a busy
class load doesn’t stop him from
pursuing other passions, as he
loves to cook, workout, and sling
espresso as a barista. When asked
what makes Roeper special, he
says, without hesitation, it’s the
faculty. “The teachers make
Roeper what it is. They are so
qualifi ed and form the backbone
of the school.” These relationships
have nurtured Elliot’s soul and
allowed him to grow into a true
citizen of the world. Summing
up what it means to carry that
mantle, he says, “By teaching
people how to love and respect
each other you can contribute
to something greater.” A born
leader, Elliot exudes a charisma
and a self-assuredness that lends
itself to people wanting to follow.
We know we’ll be following him,
watching him grow as he begins
his next chapter at the University
of Rochester in New York. He’s
a RoeperKid.
Is your kid a
#RoeperKid?
Join us for an Open House
Middle/Upper School: Oct 24
Lower School: Nov 13
Or schedule a Personal Interview
www.roeper.org
38
August 23 • 2018
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D
epending upon who is asked,
Morgan Leib is either the sec-
ond or third girl to play hockey
in the JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest.
She’s definitely the first girl to play
for Detroit in the three years hockey
has been part of the
Maccabi Games.
And there’s no
doubt Leib and her
Detroit teammates
split their six games
earlier this month in
Orange County, Calif.,
coming up just short
Morgan Leib
of making it to the
medal round of the
11-team tournament when they lost in
the quarterfinals.
Here’s another truth: Detroit’s wins
and losses at the Anaheim Ice facility
and Leib’s place in Maccabi Games his-
tory will fade as the years pass, their
places taken by the memories and
friendships made off the ice.
“Hockey brings the hockey players
to the Maccabi Games, of course, but
it seems like hockey is about 2 per-
cent of what they do there,” said Mark
Weiss, who has coached the Detroit
team all three years.
“The camaraderie, meeting players
from other teams, is a much bigger
part of your time,” Weiss said.
Leib agreed with her coach.
“I had an amazing time,” she said. “I
was at the rink every day from 8 in the
morning until 4 in the afternoon and
I made friends with so many people.
I’m a very social person, so I had a lot
of fun.”
Anaheim Ice is the practice facility
for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Ryan
Getzlaf of the Ducks was in the facil-
ity working out during the Maccabi
Games and several Detroit hockey
players including Leib got to meet
him.
“He’s very tall,” Leib said.
Getzlaf is 6-foot-4.
Weiss said Detroit’s hockey players
once again represented the Motor City
well on and off the ice.
“They’re great kids,” he said.
The other Detroit players were Ryan
Becker, Ryan Berke, Henry Ellenbogen,
Alex Engel, Ty Esterline, Adin Lofman,
Lance Markowitz, Jonah Stein, Jonah
Stern, Robert Victor and David
Wrotslavsky. Mark Berke also was a
coach.
THREE SOFTBALL CHAMPS
Morgan Leib had to watch the game from the
penalty box while her Detroit teammates killed
off a hooking call against her.
One of Detroit’s wins was a thrilling
4-3 overtime victory over a combined
Northern Virginia/Cleveland/Oregon/
Albany-Schenectady team that sent
Detroit into the quarterfinals. Budabin
scored the OT goal.
Detroit ran into a tough Toronto Blue
team in the quarterfinals and lost 6-2.
Toronto Blue won the bronze medal.
“The talent level in the teams of
the tournament was high once again,”
Weiss said.
As for Leib, she had two goals and
three assists in Detroit’s six games.
And the forward picked up a pen-
alty. She was called for hooking in an
early game and spent two minutes in
the box while her teammates killed off
the penalty.
“I hooked a kid by accident while we
were battling for the puck,” she said.
So what’s next for Leib?
The 16-year-old Farmington Hills resi-
dent is in training camp with the Little
Caesars U19 AAA hockey team getting
ready for a season-opening showcase
tournament in Vermont and she’s pre-
paring for her senior year at the Detroit
Hockey Academy in Wixom.
She wants to play for Little Caesars
for two seasons, take classes next year at
Wayne State University, then move on to
a Division I college hockey program as
she pursues her off-ice goal of going into
the medical field.
There’s also the 2019 Maccabi Games
& ArtsFest in Detroit. She’ll be too old to
play a sport, but she’ll be a participant.
“I’m going to do ArtsFest,” she said.
“Sports reporting.”
Three division playoff champions
were crowned Sunday in the Inter-
Congregational Men’s Club Summer
Softball League.
In high-scoring games, Temple Israel
No. 6 outslugged Temple Israel No. 2
22-13 for the Greenberg Division cham-
pionship and Young Israel of Southfield
defeated Temple Shir Shalom No. 2 23-5
for the Rosen Division title.
The Koufax Division championship
game was the most competitive of the
three, all played at Community Sports
Park in West Bloomfield.
Temple Beth El slipped past
Congregation Shir Tikvah 7-3, winning
its second straight Koufax playoff title.
This was the second year the 18-team
league was split into three six-team divi-
sions based on competition levels. The
new setup has produced parity.
“Last year not one of the three reg-
ular-season champions also won the
playoff championship in its division,”
said Steve Achtman, one of the league
directors.
“This year, only one team won its divi-
sion regular-season and playoff champi-
onships: Temple Israel No. 6,” he said.
Shir Shalom No. 2 and Shir Tikvah
were regular-season division champs
this year, but lost in playoff champion-
ship games.
Young Israel of Southfield won its
division playoff title after placing third
in the Rosen Division in the regular sea-
son with a 7-10-1 record.
The Inter-Congregational fall league,
organized by Achtman, begins play Sept.
9 at Community Sports Park.
For more information on the league,
go to mensclubsoftball.org.
SILVER IN ISRAEL
Coach Karen Gordon’s 16U USA girls
basketball team won a silver medal at
the inaugural International Maccabi
Youth Games held last month in Israel.
Gordon coached the team just before
heading to California for the JCC
Maccabi Games & ArtsFest, where she
served as Detroit’s co-delegation head.
“FIBA (International Basketball
Federation) rules and their interpre-
tations got the best of us (in Israel),
but our girls were amazing,” Gordon
said. •
Send news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.