My Maccabi by Dan Seidler

I grew up hearing stories about the Maccabiah Games from my father. He was born in Haifa, came to the US in 1960 and played for the US Soccer team in the 1969 and 1973 Maccabiah Games. As a kid, I would wear his USA Soccer warm-up jacket while kicking a soccer ball around the house. I’d make believe I was on the team, scoring important goals in big games.

When I was 16 I represented Long Island, NY at the North American Maccabi Games in Toronto. We won the gold, beating the team from Mexico in the finals. I went on to play college soccer at the University of Vermont and had hopes of finally representing the United States in the 1993 games before incurring a ski accident in Colorado during the winter of 1992.

I hadn’t thought much about the Maccabiah in the past 20 years until Rabbi Darren Levine invited me to a meeting with Jeff Bukantz and Ron Carner from the Executive Office to discuss the US Triathlon team. Memories flashed through my mind. Stories my father used to tell me - I think his team lost every game both times he played - but each time was a special part of his life. I felt an attachment to Maccabiah. I wanted to be a part of this. I considered being a Masters athlete, but that wasn’t going to work out this summer. Fortunately, the opportunity to chair the Open team was offered to me and we were off and running.

I’ve met so many great people so far on this journey and I expect that will continue. Darren and I have had numerous conversations with past athletes, coaches and chairmen. They’ve been so supportive and helpful. We couldn’t have gotten this far without them. Our captains, Chad and Heather are passionate triathletes and experienced organizers. They want nothing more than to make this experience a tremendous success for the entire USA Triathlon team.

Join me in wishing the teams the best of luck. Support them in any way you can by either donating to the team, rooting along the way, or just by following their progress in this blog.Together we expect the entire team to train hard, perform their best and have an experience in Israel that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Dan Seidler - Maccabi USA Open Triathlon Team Chair