Long Island Boys Help Bring 

       Home Gold in 2007-2008

  Pan American Maccabi Games

January 6, 2008,  Holden Collick, 16, of Atlantic Beach (LWA), Ben Resner, 16 of Centerport (Harborfields) and Zach Libresco,16, of Mineola (Wheatley) playing for Team USA in Junior Boys Basketball (age 16 and under) in the 2007-2008 Pan American Maccabi Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, won the Gold Medal.  The team was undefeated against competition from Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and, in the final, Canada. Twelve boys from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and California made up Team USA.

“This was an experience of a lifetime.” according to Holden Collick, a sophomore at Lawrence Woodmere Academy.  “It was an honor to play for my country and win the Gold as well as a great opportunity to see how I stack up against players my age from all over the world,” he continued, “As a personal achievement, I was the number 1 rebounder of all teams competing in my age bracket. The best part (aside from winning) was exchanging uniforms with teams from other nations,” he concluded.

The team met in Philadelphia for four days of intensive practice prior to departing for Argentina on December 22nd.  They persevered under the expert auspices of very experienced and successful leaders, Brian Schiff, Head Coach, Susan Kardon, Team Manager and Rick Sheinson, Assistant Coach.  Coach Schiff has an impressive winning record including an undefeated run in Maccabi competitions dating back to 1999.

The 11th Pan American Maccabi games ran from December 26, 2007 through January 2, 2008 and included 475 male and female athletes representing the USA across many ages and sports.  A total 5,000 athletes from 19 nations, 12 from Central and South America and others from as far as South Africa, Australia and Israel competed in 21 sports, with Basketball and Soccer predominating.