Two weeks ago we had High School sports week. TGR reached out to three juniors (Aaron Cohn, Adam Seidenberg, and Zach Spellman) at Chicagoland Jewish High School. They have been playing together ever since I have known them. Whether it be camp, school, or the Maccabi games these three are always together with a ball in their hands. I have witnessed all of their games improve and I am quite impressed. I interviewed the three about their basketball lives and what it means to play for a Jewish high school. There was what they had to say:
1) 1) How long have you all been playing together and where?
Cohn: Zach, Adam, and I have been playing together since 4th grade at the JCC basketball league. I played there through sixth grade playing on house league and travel teams, and then in 7th grade all three of us made the Schechter basketball team. All three of us made the team again in 8th grade. Freshman and sophomore year, the three of us played both JV and Varsity together on the CJHS basketball team, attending the YU tournament in NY freshman year and the Cooper Yeshivah basketball tournament in Memphis sophomore year. After sophomore year, Zach, Adam and I all made the Maccabi basketball team. This year, the three of us play Varsity together and are all on the starting lineup, and are excited to once again attend the YU tournament in March.
2) Who is the go to player on your team?
2) Who is the go to player on your team?
Spellman: This year our go to player is up in the air, its between Aaron Cohn and Daniel Eisenberg. Whoever is hot in the game will get the ball from me.
3) How has it been being the new kid of the block with Ida Crown and Yeshiva around?
Seindenberg: It is tough being new with ICJA and Yeshiva. Freshman year we got killed by Ida crown every time we played them for JV. And we beat Yeshiva once and lost once. Last year we beat Ida crown for the first time since CJHS created a JV and varsity team. This year’s games should be really close. Also, my close friends from Schechter go to Ida Crown so it is very strange playing against them.
4) What is it like playing for a Jewish school? Have there ever been any issues caused by other teams?
Spellman: I think it’s a very unique opportunity to represent a Jewish school. While we may not always wear kippahs when we play, we have a reputation for being Jewish. In the past few years we have had some struggles with the Muslim schools we have played. There have been numerous occasions on the court where elbows or even punches were thrown, and last year there was an incident off the court where they wrote degrading and racist slander on one of our teammate’s car. This caused us to drop out of the league we were previously in.
4) What is it like playing for a Jewish school? Have there ever been any issues caused by other teams?
Spellman: I think it’s a very unique opportunity to represent a Jewish school. While we may not always wear kippahs when we play, we have a reputation for being Jewish. In the past few years we have had some struggles with the Muslim schools we have played. There have been numerous occasions on the court where elbows or even punches were thrown, and last year there was an incident off the court where they wrote degrading and racist slander on one of our teammate’s car. This caused us to drop out of the league we were previously in.
5) Do you have pregame music, snacks, or rituals?
Spellman: When we have away games somebody usually gets pizza for the bus rides, but that’s cause we're pigs. I always listen to music before the games. Before the games I listen to chill music like Dave Matthews, but come game time and warm-ups I like listening to Rap and Hip Hop. During then I typically listen to Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.
Spellman: When we have away games somebody usually gets pizza for the bus rides, but that’s cause we're pigs. I always listen to music before the games. Before the games I listen to chill music like Dave Matthews, but come game time and warm-ups I like listening to Rap and Hip Hop. During then I typically listen to Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.
6) Who is the best Jewish player you have ever seen?
Cohn: The best Jewish player I have ever seen is a kid named Max Feldstein, a Senior at Ramaz high school in New York. I saw him play in the YU tournament freshman year, and randomly met him on the courts in Jerusalem during a Pesach break, and again at maccabi two summers ago.
7) Why is basketball important to you?
Spellman: Besides the fact that its an awesome recreational sport, I’ve learned many things from it. It has instilled upon me a work ethic and determination that I would never have obtained. Also, it’s a great game to play with friends and I enjoy just playing pickup whenever I can with my buddies.
8) Why is it important playing for a Jewish team?
Cohn: It’s important to me to play for a Jewish team because it is a way of representing the Jewish community at large. A lot of the schools that we play against do not have a lot of exposure to Jewish culture, and by playing those schools we give them a taste of what it is. However, this also comes with responsibility. If we aren’t respectful during the games, we could skew their view of Jewish people forever because this might be their only opportunity to be with Jews.
9) What is the Jewish sports world missing? How could you as players benefit from more exposure, camps, tournaments, etc?
Seidenberg: The Jewish sports world is missing height. Jews are typically short and that is why competition isn’t as hard. The Jewish sports world is just as competitive and I don’t think it is missing anything too significant.
And Let Us Say...Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
0 comments:
Post a Comment