Inside San Francisco’s AT&T Park, the wind was blowing briskly off the Bay, the seagulls were in flight, there was music playing, and the energy in the air was electric. As we sat in our seats, eating all of the wonderful ballpark food, I gazed out onto the kids and adults who I had spent the past week with and thought, “This is about as good as it gets.” Everyone looked so happy, but I was a little sad. It was hard to believe that the 2009 JCC Maccabi Games were almost over, and we had arrived at the closing ceremonies.  

Throughout the evening, athletes and coaches described what a great time they had had in San Francisco.  I listened to their stories and thought that while each one was different, they all had one thing in common. Each athlete said, “Jeff, the Games were amazing, my host family was amazing, everything was just amazing!”

I think about those words and think how lucky I was to serve as the delegation head, and to have had such great kids and coaches with me.  Serving as the DH for the Valley of the Sun JCC has helped me become a better person and a more knowledgeable sports director.

What makes the JCC Maccabi Games so great?  I think that the most important thing is that you have parents who understand what the Games are all about.  Parents understand that the Games are a Jewish program with athletic competition, not an athletic competition with Jewish programming. It is about relationships, community service, and a lifetime of memories.

I did my best to convey this philosophy to my athletes and coaches just before their community service project during the Days of Caring and Sharing. All the athletes worked with volunteers from the Neighborhood Parks Council and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks staff to clean and beautify 16 city parks.  I told the athletes that their physical abilities were not as important as their characters, and that Judaism stresses being a good person and serving the community.  

I want to thank all of the coaches who put in countless hours practicing and making the athletes improve as young people.  I am very grateful for their efforts to instill in the athletes the overriding idea of compassion, and that they prized teamwork, sportsmanship and respect for opponents over winning at any cost. I look forward to next year in Denver and the community’s support of this important athletic competition, which brings Jewish values to life.