40 | JANUARY 16 • 2020
BY STEVE STEIN
sports HIGHlights
brought to you in partnership with
F
rom tragedy to tradition.
That’
s the story of the Kenny
Goldman Basketball League, which
has been a year-round staple at the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield since
1984.
Hundreds of basketball players ages 4-25
play in the league during its fall, winter,
spring and summer seasons, filling the JCC
on Sundays.
Players in house and open divisions learn
basketball fundamentals, play games, receive
trophies and medals, and win champion-
ships.
Just as importantly, players, coaches and
parents must abide by a code of ethics to
keep the games fun and in a spirit of friendly
competition and camaraderie.
Here’
s one code requirement for players:
“I will never yell at my teammates or blame
them for mistakes or missed plays. I will
refrain from boasting and trash talking to
members of other teams. I will graciously
accept defeat, and I will refrain from brag-
ging when my team wins.
”
Here’
s one code requirement for coaches:
“I will never argue with or complain about a
referee’
s calls or decision.
”
Here’
s one code requirement for parents:
“I will not place a burden on my child to
win games. I understand that the purpose of
youth sports is to develop physical, mental
and social skills.
”
So, who was Kenny Goldman?
A young man who loved basketball, who
played for hours with friends on his family’
s
driveway in Farmington Hills.
“Kenny was short and skinny, but at 10
years old he could shoot better than me
from any distance,
” said his brother, Arnie
Goldman.
Kenny Goldman died July 21, 1982, at age
13, one day after he was injured in a car acci-
dent at 11 Mile and Inkster roads. He and his
father were on their way home from attend-
ing a Detroit Tigers game at Tiger Stadium at
the time of the accident.
Milt and Rochelle Goldman, Kenny’
s par-
ents, wanted to preserve their son’
s memory.
Mort Plotnick, then the JCC director, sug-
gested forming a basketball league in Kenny’
s
name. They liked Plotnick’
s idea, founded
the league and endowed it through the JCC’
s
Kenny Goldman Athletic Fund.
“Kenny died a few months after his bar
mitzvah, and the emptiness was unbearable,
”
said Arnie Goldman. “But my parents perse-
vered and started something that preserves
Kenny’
s memory and gives kids a chance to
learn about and play something they love.
”
quick hits
NMLS#2289
Bouncing Back from Tragedy
Kenny Goldman Basketball League still going strong at the JCC.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PAUL KATZ
It will be a learning experience
this season for the Frankel
Jewish Academy boys
basketball team.
With many of the key
players from last year’
s
Catholic League playoffs-
qualifying team gone because
of graduation and new coach
Nehemiah Crowder at the
helm, the Jaguars are getting large doses
of on-the-job training.
They were 2-2 before the winter break.
“Our players are getting used to their
roles, getting to know each other on and
off the court, and learning my coaching
style,” Crowder said.
And what is that coaching style?
“Having freedom within our system,”
Crowder said. “The guys need to run my
plays, but they’
re basketball players and
the game can change at the drop of a
dime, so they must be able to
adjust.”
Crowder said his players are
getting better at making those
adjustments.
FJA’
s roster includes Caleb
Kleinfeldt, Jeremy Jenkins,
Merrick Michaelson, A.J.
Goodman, Mitch Blackman,
Adam Levitt, Ethan Mostyn, Aidin
Kleinfeldt, Will Bloomberg, Morgan Reifler,
Daniel Klausner, Raphy Ifraimov, Brandon
Gladstone and Charlie Tobias.
Crowder was a member of the 2009
state champion Melvindale Academy for
Business and Technology basketball team
in high school and he played college and
semi-pro basketball before getting into
coaching.
He was an assistant coach for the
Amherst (Pa.) College women’
s basketball
team last year.
Nehemiah Crowder
Teams are needed for the 44th season
of the B’
nai B’
rith basketball league.
Only four teams had signed up as of
last week.
“It would be great if we could have
seven teams in the league like we did
last year, but six is actually the perfect
number because we have a three-hour
block of time for games Sunday morn-
ings,” said league organizer Gary Klinger.
League games are played at the
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
Regular-season league games will
begin Jan. 19 and continue for 10
weeks. Playoffs will be held March 29.
Interested in joining the league?
Contact Klinger at gkslurpee@aol.com
or (248) 229-1816.
League organizer Gary Klinger
(center) is among those trying
to rebound a shot by Scott
Kapeller (not pictured).
ARI KLINGER
Ami Katz shows off the Kenny Goldman
Basketball League shirt his father Paul Katz
wore when he played in the league in the 1980s.