Notes from Fair Lawn/Glen Rock USY
You’re an up-and-coming pro athlete yearning for superstar status in your given sport. A very important game is coming up, where if you do well, it could mean big-time bucks, talk shows, kids wearing your jersey and the admiration of millions…not to mention your own teammates. But wait! You’ve just checked your PDA (or your publicist has) and realized that there is a conflict - in more ways than one! This crucial game is to be played on the holiest day of your religious calendar!
Quite the dilemma. So, what do you do? Do you surrender all the wealth, fame and fan adulation to spend the day in a house of worship, observing the faith to which you are so devoted? Or, do you skip the holy day - play instead of pray - in order to bring home the big check and make the fans and your teammates happy?
This question was posed to the bright and responsive group of high schoolers who make up the membership of Fair Lawn/Glen Rock USY. My November 9th speaking engagement was part of USY Awareness week, a program designed to increase the awareness of United Synagogue Youth - the international Conservative Jewish youth group that inspired my novel, Coaching Ira.
FLGR USY Education/Religion VP Danielle Montag presents Adam with a plaque of appreciation and a signed Mark Spitz card.
Other kids in the group went the “Sandy Koufax” route, claiming they would not partake of sports on the high holys regardless of the bounty they would receive at day’s end. Religious observances and spiritual well-being aside, these teens felt that by being in synagogue instead of in a stadium on the Day of Atonement, they would look better in the public eye; their uncompromising devotion to their faith and their non-negotiable decision to observe it would make a better story, and in time all the other aforementioned rewards would come.
After this rousing debate, we cooled off with some Jewish sports trivia, which I purposely made neither too Jewish nor too sports. Multiple choice made things a bit easier as well. Winners received Israeli Soccer Team t-shirts and an encyclopedia of Jewish athletes published by the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (courtesy of event coordinator Harry Melzer). Afterwards, Adam signed copies of his “Jewish basketball novel,” Coaching Ira, the story of a quirky team of USY basketball players which is based on the author’s own playing days.
Fair Lawn/Glen Rock USY is an exceptional group of kids and their enthusiasm during the discussion was overwhelming. Best of luck to Chapter President Melissa Zeevi and Religious/Education VP Danielle Montag in their future plans, and thanks to Harry Melzer, Miriam Zeevi and advisor Darin Gaba for inviting me to speak.
Having Your Judaism…and Your Sports, Too
As part of USY Awareness Week, Adam spoke to members of the Fair Lawn/Glen Rock (NJ) chapter of USY on November 9th. The author served up a brief history of the Jewish sports experience and led a discussion and debate on the conflicts that arise when being a Jewish athlete.
Adam hits the road!
The author of Coaching Ira tries on the lecture and book signing circuit with two engagements for the month of November. On the 18th, Adam will be visiting Princeton University’s Hillel (Jewish Student Union) for a talk on Jews and Sports Culture. On the 26th, it’s a Coaching Ira book reading and signing at the New York offices of the American Associates of Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Those interested are welcome to attend either event.