Broken Nose, But Not Spirit

In news on Benjamin, they lost their last game in a very close match with Brazil 1-0, leaving them in fourth place. Unfortunately we spent the afternoon yesterday at Meir hospital in Kfar Saba due to Benjamins broken nose early in the Brazil game. Likely an elbow from a Brazilian defender. He is doing ok.

More to come!

Exciting Week at Wingate

Well, no doubt it has been an eventful week and busy as well. Shabbat is over and I will try to catch our readers up on the news. First of all I want to invite anyone reading this to the shutterfly share site http://maccabiahusasoccer2009.shutterfly.com/ Which is where I am loading my full photo collection of the games and events. Yes, I am behind in that as well but hopefully by the time Shabbat is over in the USA, it will be improved.

Right now the USA junior team is 4 wins and 1 tie with only two goals scored against us by the German team. tomorrow (Sunday) at 11 AM begin the Semi finals. We will be playing Argentina with the other run off between Israel and Brazil. The boys ended the tournament on a very upbeat note with a strong game against S. Africa. So far only one significant injury I know of is (unofficially) some type of hand fracture for Jake Weiss (our first goal scorer) and he was still able to play yesterday. Benjamin has yet to score his first goal but had some strong shots in the last game including a one on one with the goally in the final minutes against S Africa that was blocked.

So here is the "back log": Following the Opening Ceremony break on Tuesday, we played Mexico. This game was on a new field at Neurim north of Netanya, a facility for troubled youth. Well, we came away with the win at 1:0 but I have to admit the Mexico team were definitely troubled. In a low point of the games for us these kids proceded to spit and curse at our boys, ultimately resulting in a Yellow and a red card.

The next day we played Germany(Deutschland) in what turned out to be a very competetive match and resulted in the first and only two goals scored against us. By Friday the heat had eased up a bit and we again suceeded against S. Africa.

For more detailed information about scores in soccer (football) and other sports see the Maccabiah website:

http://maccabiah.com/maintxt.asp?cid=342&parents=&psn=342&maincatid=342

My understanding is that USA is doing very well just behind Israel for Gold medals so far. We have had particular success in Basketball and track.

We were happy to pick Benjamin up and bring him to Netanyah for a little rest on Tuesday and again Friday afternoon. Tuesday, we make it to the beach at Netanya for some good wave jumping and body surfing. Mostly he wanted to hang out, read a book and get a felafel to eat. His sister Elizabeth doted over him serving him sandwiches and drinks, Barbara did a pile of laundry (Benjamin and his rooomates'). After a quick Shabbat Kiddush, we dropped him back at Shefayim before the 10 pm curfew.

Today Benjamin reports some competetive Ping Pong back at Shefayim and Pizza in the cafeteria. Hopefully the boys will have their full game going again tomorrow morning against what is reported to be a highly competetive Argentina team! Bye for now. Don't forget the Shutterfly site.

Opening Ceremonies, & Thanks for the Funding!

Last night's opening ceremony was incredible with 50,000 people watching as all the athletes from more than 60 countries took the floor at the stadium in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv. It was inspiring and fun and made me appreciate all the people that got me to Israel. I'm so thankful to all my family and friends who donated to my trip and supported me. Also, I wouldn't be here without the Jewish Federation and its supporters who have helped me so much in my efforts to represent the great Jewish community of St Louis, my state and my country at the international level. --Benjamin, team USA

Day off today following Opening Ceremonies

Just brief update. Opening ceremonies yesterday evening at Ramat-Gan National Stadium were quite a spectacle. Thousands of athletes from all over the world, Jason Leezak, Benjamin Netanyahu prime minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, president of Israel and many famous performers, singers, musicians and acrobats. Spoke with Benjamin about the experience this morning. He reports USA shirts were in high demand. He managed to participate in the international shirt swapping tradition, snatching an Aussie shirt, a Brazil shirt and a Brazil team cap. I will post a few photos later. The team got back very late but has a rest day today. We are going to pick Benjamin up shortly at Shefayim and will hopefully take him to the beach and spoil him a little until bringing him back this evening. Tomorrow they play Mexico at Hadassah Neurim fields north of Netanya. For those who would like to see more photos, I have loaded a few shots with more to come onto shutterfly site. Le'hitraot.
http://maccabiahusasoccer2009.shutterfly.com/

USA defeats Israel 1-0

In a very exciting match today, USA scored a goal late in the second half today. More to follow with photos. The argentina team and the Junior USA girls soccer team helped us cheer them on and celebrate after. It was a very thrilling moment for the boys. More soon with photos of the game. Benjamin says: "It's a whole lot better to win". Tonight opening ceremonies at Ramat Gan National stadium. It will be televised on cable and internet on JLTV.com Please check Maccabiahusa website.

Game one vs Canada

The team looked good today. Some technical challenges but overall a strong performance according to Ben's Abba. Several great chances were unfortunately missed and the game tied 0-0 The team showed up well in their Red White and Blue uniforms. Families collected at the Wingate field. Most meeting for the first time. At first we were allowed on the edge of the field but when too many got too close we were sent behind the fence in the sand. Nonetheless it was quite exciting to be here. There is lots of camera power including video being shot. After the game the boys ran a "warm down" then were greeted by parents and family and quickly shuttled back to Shefayim for some lunch and rest. Opening ceremonies tomorrow night. We play Israeli team in the morning.

Benjamin was spotted today

Well, Ben's Abba is writing in Benjamin's stead today as I along with Eema Barbara and sister Elizabeth finally got to Israel and are settled in in Netanya. We met up with Benjamin yesterday at Shefayim, his new Kibbutz run hotel base. He reports that all is well in general. The boys are adjusting to the new surroundings, although adequate they are quite a step down from the excellent accommodations and food at "Kfar" Maccabiah the past two weeks. Some of the boys have a brief stomach flu but are mostly recovered now. It was a pleasure to see Ben, several of his teammates and coaches looking tanned and happy. We traded Ben some supplies from home for a large load of very wet, smelly laundry for him and for Eyal his teammate; apparently they attempted to wash them but "something went terribly wrong". Internet access at both Kfar and at Shefayim has been spotty although the Coach tells me they are trying to work somehing out soon. Benjamin has been very pleased with the team's progress and feels they are working well together. He tells me has great respect for all of these boys and the skills which they brought with them to Israel. He tells us that they have had to be flexible with conditions as it has at times been very hot for training. Yesterday's training at Shefayim went well but he described the location as more of a desert than a soccer field. We left him with the team and coaches at Sbarro in the mall after they walked there from Shefayim and enjoyed a restaurant meal and a little shopping together. They are all "psyched" for the big first game at 9 am against Canada at the Wingate fields. I plan to be there with my camera in hand for a few good shots. Until then, keep your eyes on the blog for more.
Douglas Berson

The Night Before

Tomorrow morning (today?) I leave for Newark to fly to Israel. I'm finally done packing and I can't wait to leave. We are all wearing the same pants and shirt as a team and we are all flying el al from Newark together. Last week 8 of us out of the 20 were at a training camp at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama where our coach, Preston Goldfarb, coaches the college team. It was really hot, reaching 103 degrees one day and very humid. The players I met were all great and we became fast friends. The rest of the team couldn't make it because of school and other reasons. We are going to have 2 weeks of training in Israel before our first game on July 12 against Canada. I am so excited and ready to play. We have training in the morning and evening with touring as a team between. We are staying at a hotel/resort with the teams from Australia and Scotland at a kibbutz called kfar shefayim. I'll check in again later from Israel. Go USA!!

Training Update

I've been running a few miles every day, regular practice is being rained out. No practice again tonight, but hopefully we'll have a game this weekend. I've got a paper to write for tomorrow, so thats all for today.