My Final Away Game

One week from today, I will be boarding an El Al flight to Tel Aviv from Boston. It will be my first trip to Israel. Never did I imagine that my first time to my “homeland” would be with my hockey goalie gear in tow, let alone in a bag that read “Team USA”.

I have long heard about the Maccabi Games. My wife Abby had played soccer in a regional Maccabi Games in her youth. And I recall hearing about the Games in 1997 when I was in college. As a player on the club ice hockey team at Penn, I was overlooked for a goalie position as most of the recruiting was done at the NCAA D1 or D3 level. Perhaps if I had pursued a D3 college goalie career, I would have experienced Israel 25 years ago, but such was the path I had chosen and with no regrets. In 2016, I recall seeing an advertisement on Facebook for tryouts for the 2017 Masters team. It was perfect timing in many ways as I would have just snuck over the age minimum of 40, meaning I was likely in my peak physical condition (or at least potential). Tryouts were in Philadelphia, at the Class of 1923 rink at Penn ironically. I recall thinking that it was a long haul to Philly for tryouts for a team and experience that I would have to commit two weeks away from my family for the summer. Seemed like a tough ask. Tyler and Jack were 5 and 8 at the time, and I was busy coaching Tyler’s lacrosse team. Either due to laziness or lack of perspective, I felt the timing wasn’t right and I let the opportunity pass.

Fast forward to February 2022. I was at my men’s league hockey game at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline. Our team was shorthanded that night so a few guest skaters played with us. One of them walked in with a Maccabi Team USA bag. It turned out that he was one of the best players on the ice that night (Jeremy Freid) – yes, a Jewish guy in a men’s league that came nowhere near being able to form a minion. After the game, I struck up a conversation with him and asked him when he played. It turned out, not only did he play on the 1997 and 2017 teams, but he also belonged to our temple. We both admitted our attendance at Temple Shalom was sparse, especially during COVID, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise that we didn’t know one another! I commented to him that I always wished that I played hockey in the Maccabi Games and regretted not trying out in 2016 (or realizing there even was a tryout in 2021). He informed me that one of their goalies from 2017, a guy who played varsity at North Dakota nonetheless (!), had just backed out of playing this year and the team was looking to add a goalie. A few days later I was on the phone with the Masters coach, Josh Petersohn, and was invited to the team’s next training camp in Fort Lauderdale for a tryout.

Finally, the timing seemed right. The boys would be at Camp Robin Hood during the Games in July. And Abby had just been to Israel on a remarkable trip with CJP where she bonded with an incredible group of women who she now considers some of her closest friends. She wanted me to have a similar experience in Israel and build bonds with Jewish peers.

We played four games in 3 days in Fort Lauderdale. The talent level was much better than I anticipated but I was able to hold my own. After being told I made the roster on our last day in Florida, I was in full training mode. Even prior to the Florida camp, I was training with a real athletic goal in mind for the first time since my lightweight football career at Penn. I found myself on Wednesday nights working with a goalie coach (thank you Coach John and Bass) on more modern goaltending techniques (ask me about “Finnish fingers”). On other nights, I was renting myself out to any men’s hockey team that needed a goalie. In between, I ran, I stretched, I bounced lacrosse balls against a brick wall for hand-eye coordination, and followed numerous goalie focused Instagram accounts (thumbs up to Maria Mountain – Goalie Training Pro) in attempt to enhance my goalie training and IQ.

All of this brings me to today, one week from departure. I have gotten to know my teammates through two weekend long training camps in Ft. Lauderdale and South Bend. We have bantered on our WhatsApp group almost every day since April. I feel like we have really bonded as a team. It is a great group of guys who are all exceptional hockey players (several of whom have had pro careers) and who all happen to be Jewish.