My Super Bowl
Call this event my “Super Bowl”. It couldn’t have been a more perfect setting.
Congregation B’nai Israel (Rumson, NJ)’s state champion USY basketball team was having a dinner to honor its legacy of the last five seasons. They asked me to speak to their gathering. It took all of a millisecond for me to say ‘yes.’ This year, Rumson USY took home the crown with a victory over (ahem) Livingston (the team for which I played in my USY days. Don’t think I didn’t hear about it.).
The Rumson Jewish Basketball Machine is a serious one. The synagogue has its own gym! With banners from past successful seasons! Like the ol’ Boston Garden! My childhood synagogue had one hoop with a ratty, rusty chain net. Miss a shot, and you were running into the rabbi’s office to chase down the carom. I asked if anyone sneaks into the gym on Yom Kippur for a little Day of Atonement shootaround. I was informed the gym is used for services on Yom Kippur.
Yah, “services”. But really, I jest.
Rumson Jewish youth hoops is truly a “program”, in the truest sense of the word. They even have a farm system — yes, a minor league club in the Kadima league. Kadima is like USY but for middle school kids. Rumson Kadima also had a heralded year, finishing first in their respective league. The only dilemma for these kids? To stay the course at the next level (USY basketball) or go pro (high school varsity). Ah, the adulation of cheerleaders and the bright flourescents of the high school gym. Tempting.
My talk focused on the inspiration for Coaching Ira. Why did I write it? For whom did I write it? My answer was sitting out in front of me. I shared some of my USY hoops war stories with the group and read a passage from the novel that we could all relate to. (It had to do with poor sportsmanship among league participants — namely the coaches.)
When coaches Barry Lewin of Rumson Kadima and Barry Isanuk of Rumson USY reflected on their storied seasons, I was amazed at how their teams’ experiences paralleled my own. The camaraderie, the family element; the desire to win but not at all costs.
I don’t know if Sports Illustrated is planning to release the commemorative, hardbound souvenir honoring CBI-Rumson’s stellar year (I haven’t seen a commercial on cable yet, and I do watch a lot of TV), but the program’s accomplishments deserve saluting. Congrats! And keep up the tradition!
Special thanks to CBI-Rumson for the invitation. You did not send me home undernourished, emotionally or physically — I’m still trying to polish off the bottomless tray of ziti.
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Adam had one of his most rewarding talks in Rumson, New Jersey, on Sunday, May 4. He addressed the crowd of Rumson USY champions at Congregation B’nai Israel. USY Hoops is the same organization that inspired Coaching Ira, Adam’s novel about the adventures of a Jewish youth basketball team and their reluctant coach. It was a night of sharing great USY hoops memories…and tons of baked ziti.
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