The Yeshiva Years

I first realized that Hashem had blessed me with a special talent in basketball when, as a young kid growing up in Baltimore, MD, I started beating my older brothers and their friends in their pick up games. This realization filled me with a drive to use my talent to the utmost to become the first observant professional basketball player and to make a huge Kiddush Hashem through basketball. As a kid, I gave basketball all I had. I could be found at all hours of the day and night practicing moves and working on my game. All my hard work started to come to fruition when I was asked to play on the varsity Talmudical Academy Thunder team when I was only in sixth grade. From that early start my basketball career has progressed steadily towards my goals. I went from having a successful and high profile high school career, to playing Division 1 ball, to playing professionally in Israel’s top league. Despite playing at all levels of the game, the most memorable years of my career thus far were my tenth and eleventh grade years at TA. We had a team like no other. The guys on the team were committed to Hashem, their school work, and the team. We were teammates, but also a family. Our coach and teacher, Chaim Katz, made it clear from the beginning that if each player was not committed a hundred percent to the team, then he should go home. Our high level of commitment paid off because we became like a machine in which every player knew his specific role that was necessary in order for the machine to function successfully. Many times we would walk into opposing teams’ gyms and their players would laugh at us because of our lack of size and the kippas on our heads. Yet, after they lost by 15 points they were no longer laughing. Our yeshiva team managed to reach unprecedented levels of success because we had a perfect balance of our coach’s strong leadership and the players’ commitment to working hard each and every time we stepped on the court. When we got on the court everything just clicked into place. In those two years, the TA Thunder went 65-11 playing against the most competitive private and public schools in Baltimore City. We won the MIBL championship two years in a row, and both years I was crowned the MVP. In eleventh grade I averaged 36 points a game as point guard and I was ranked among the top 50 high school players in America. I was recruited by the University of Maryland and offered a full athletic scholarship after the assistant coach saw me play just one game. After our last game of the second year, we all realized that we had been part of something very special and that we were not likely to experience that again. The fundamentals I learned at TA--being a mensch, working hard, always being focused on the goal, trying to use my talent to the best of my ability--have stayed with me long after our last game. Staying committed to what I learned helped me to have a great game in the Michael Jordan Capital Classic and consequently be honored with the most valuable player award, it helped me to earn a starting spot on a Division 1 basketball team as a freshman, helped me to win the Coach’s Award during my freshman year of college, and helped me to land my first professional contract with European powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv. Throughout my career I have learned that basketball is more than just a game. It is also a tool to make a Kiddush Hashem, it builds character both off and on the court, it teaches some of life’s most valuable lessons, and just like in serving Hashem, there is always room to improve. Playing in a yeshiva basketball league is truly a great experience--a time to grow as a proud Jew, a player, and a person--don’t let it pass you by.