34 | SEPTEMBER 19 • 2024
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lenn Bednarsh played
basketball for Detroit in
the inaugural JCC Maccabi
Games, held in Memphis in 1982.
His son Shay Bednarsh played on
the Los Angeles 14U basketball team
in the 2019 Maccabi Games, hosted by
Detroit. Glenn was there as a fan.
Neither father nor son won a medal
when they played in the Maccabi
Games as teenagers. And they didn’t
win a medal in the Maccabi Games
hosted by Detroit this year. Glenn was
the coach, and Shay was the assistant
coach of the Detroit 16U basketball
team.
But the Maccabi Games are more
than just a quest for a medal. They’re
also about people and relationships set
against the background of the love of
sports in the Jewish community.
“My father and I are closer than

peanut butter and jelly. He’s my best
friend. So being able to coach with him
was truly something special,
” Shay said.
“We may be the first father-son
coaching duo in Maccabi Games
history, and both of us played in the
Maccabi Games, too. Firsts always
make for a good story.
”
Officially, Glenn was the coach and
19-year-old Shay was the assistant
coach of their team because Shay isn’t
old enough to be a Maccabi Games
coach. In reality, they were co-coaches.
“Shay ran the practices and drills,
designed our offenses and defenses,
and was the coach in more than half of
our games,
” Glenn said. “Because he’s
19 and because of his knowledge of the
game, Shay related well to our players.
The kids really took to him.
“We had a great group of kids.
They’re intelligent and hard-working.

BAILA JASGUR
AVA ASHMANN

The father-and-son coaches of the Detroit
16U basketball team at the JCC Maccabi
Games played basketball in the Maccabi
Games when they were teenagers.

Full Circle

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

quick hits

BY STEVE STEIN

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
Detroit’s Lance
Kukes ponders
his next move
vs. an Israeli
player.

Hudson Rosner (left), Jack Soble and Jake Pitler
wait to enter Detroit’s game vs. Los Angeles.

Riley Agrest
looks to pass
to a teammate
during Detroit’s
game vs. Israel.

Detroit Hockey Team
Was ‘Competitive’
at the JCC Maccabi
Games

The Detroit hockey team
didn’t win a medal at the JCC
Maccabi Games hosted by
Detroit earlier this summer, but
it finished strong in the 12-team
competition, making it to the
bronze-medal game. After
going 1-3 in pool play, the team
was 2-2 in bracket play over
the four-day competition. It lost
to Philadelphia in the bronze-

medal game.
“We were competitive,” said
Coach Mark Weiss.
Perennial power Toronto won
the gold medal. Montreal won
the silver medal. All the games
were played at the Detroit
Skating Club in Bloomfield
Hills.
Weiss’ assistant coaches

were father and son Ryan
and Noah Tracht. The Detroit
players were Anthony Pipia,
Ari Kheynson, Brad Bellinger,
Dylan Levin, Ethan Goel, Gavin
Schwartzberg, Isaac Hosfield,
Issac Smolitsky, Jack Shenkan,
Jake Farber, Jayce Roth, Logan
Newman, Micah Zachs, Quentin
Schwartz and Ryan Diskin.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Meet the Detroit hockey team that competed in the JCC Maccabi Games.

Brooke Soper is on the Run
and Back in the Classroom at
Western Michigan

Brooke Soper is back run-
ning for the Western Michigan
University women’s cross
country team, taking advan-
tage of an extra year of eligi-
bility NCAA athletes received
because of the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
Soper is attending Western
Michigan during the fall semester to complete
her graduation requirements. The multiple-time
Academic All-MAC Team honoree’s major is
digital media and journalism.
Soper finished 25th in 18:50 in the Winrow-
Valparaiso Open, the Broncos’ first meet this
season, held Aug. 31 in Valparaiso, Ind.

Brooke Soper

WESTERN MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY