Finding His Thrill in Cherry Hill
New Jersey that is. Adam has booked another Coaching Ira talk for Sunday, November 20th at 9:30 am. Adam will be addressing Temple Beth Sholom’s Men’s Club and USY chapter at a breakfast and, as of now, will discuss the origins of Ira and read selected passages from the book. More information about the event will be posted on this site, so check back frequently for more details. For more on Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, NJ, visit www.tbsonline.org.
Says Adam, “I know this event isn’t till November, but that’ll give me about four months to read Coaching Ira again and remind me of what I wrote.”
Adam Makes House Calls
On Sunday June 5, Adam will be visiting the New Jersey home of a book club organizer to discuss his debut novel Coaching Ira. He will also read from the book. The meeting will involve ten to twelve people and should allow for more of a conversational atmosphere and less of a random Q&A session that occurs during bigger book talk events. Says Adam, “The big speaking enagements are a great way to reach larger audiences and sell a lot of books at one time. But these book club meetings are more intimate. You can field more questions, discuss the book in greater detail and build substantial relationships with the reader base. Sheesh, listen to me. That almost sounded all grown up and stuff.” Contact Adam if your book club would like him to speak at your next meeting. He promises to wipe his feet before entering your home.
Home Game For Adam
On Tuesday, November 16, Adam will be speaking at the Jewish Community Center, Metrowest, in West Orange, NJ at 7:30 pm ET. He will be speaking about the origins of Coaching Ira and signing books afterwards. Adam will be sharing the floor with Chickie Rosenberg, author of several snowboarding books for men and women, as part of the Sports and Fitness program for JCC Book Fair Month.
Says Adam, “I grew up at this JCC and I just joined as a member again. It’ll be exciting to address this crowd because these are the people that I wrote about and grew up with. It’ll be fun to come back and be part of an event that serves the community of my roots.” Books will be on sale at the fair.
ADS at LBI, The Sequel
A reminder for all you South Jerseyans. Adam will return to the JCC of LBI on Sunday morning, October 24, for a visit with the center’s men’s club. He’ll lead a discussion on Perceptions of Jews in Sports and will have copies of Coaching Ira available for purchase.
Remember the Ira-mo
Adam has officially agreed to speak at the Barshop JCC of San Antonio Book Fair on Thursday night, November 4 at 7 pm CT. He will lead a discussion on the Perceptions of Jews in Sports, which will include a brief history of the People of the Book when they were the People of Bats and Balls. Adam will also read some excerpts from Coaching Ira. Says Adam, “I’m thrilled to be part of the JCC’s book fair. I’ve also never been to San Antonio, so this trip will be kind of an adventure for me. I plan on visiting the Alamo, but I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just a car rental company.”
A.D.S. IN L.B.I.
Adam heads southbound on the Garden State Parkway for a Coaching Ira talk at the Jewish Community Center of Long Beach Island (New Jersey). On Sunday morning, July 25, Adam will discuss the origins of his debut novel Coaching Ira with congregants at a brunch as well as read a few passages from the book. For more information on this and future events, contact Adam.
“Shore” Enough
Adam will don his board shorts (circa 1988) and splash on a little SPF 15 as he heads to the Jersey Shore for another promotional stop on the Coaching Ira tour. On Sunday morning, July 25, Adam will be speaking to members of a synagogue in Long Beach Island, NJ at their membership brunch. Specific details, like time and exact location, will be posted to this site in the near future, so make sure you check back!
Contact Adam for more information about Coaching Ira, press inquiries and speaking/reading engagements.
Island Hopper
Long Island, that is! Adam will be speaking at the Metro New York USY Chapter Spring Kinnus, or weekend convention, at Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn Heights on March 28. The talk is scheduled for 10:30 AM. The author of Coaching Ira will discuss his favorite topic (next to cereal and comic books), “Perceptions of Jews in Sports”, and will read a few passages from his critically acclaimed debut novel.
“I’m excited and honored to be speaking at another USY (United Synagogue Youth) event, especially a convention of this size.” Says Adam, whose novel, Coaching Ira, is loosely based on his own experiences as a USY teenager. “These kids were like me when I was their age. Except they probably have better hair than I did. Probably better dancers, too.”
Ladies Night, An Evening With Hadassah
Adam has scheduled another speaking engagement in his hometown of Livingston, NJ. He’ll be speaking to members of the Livingston chapter of Hadassah, a Jewish women’s organization, on Thursday night, January 22 at 7:30 PM, at Temple B’Nai Abraham, 300 E. Northfield Road. Adam’s novel, Coaching Ira, is loosely based on his teen years growing up in Livingston, so he’ll talk about the influence the township had on the story, as well as read a few passages. For more info, contact Adam.
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.