Special Basketball at the JCCA

The Westside Jewish Community Center on Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles hosted its 12^th annual basketball exhibition game Saturday evening March 3, 2018 between the Special Macabees and the Santa Monica West Side Special Olympics All-Stars. It was a rainy evening, but the excitement inside the JCCA was palpable.

Athletes on both teams ranged in ages from 20-45 and they either had Downs Syndrome or other developmentally delayed condition. However, the three hundred visitors watching the event learned something about sportsmanship.

First, three players of the opposing team failed to show, so volunteers from the Special Macabees joined their opponents to start the game. One Macabee player was a no-show at the event due to his fear of lightning.

The leading scorer on the Macabee team was Avremel (pictured at right). This young man managed to get frequent control of the basketball and make scoring shots. In one move he approached a dormant member of his team, handed him the ball, then pointed to the basket. This Macabee happily ran with the ball, without dribbling, stopped, and took a cautious shot. He missed. So the ref returned the ball to him and said, “Try again.”

The crowd could care less who scored a point. They applauded every athlete who tried.

Coach Keir Jarett has been with the Special Olympics All-Stars for 12 years volunteering his time Saturday mornings and Monday evenings. Coach Keir is a metal contractor for K. Jarett Sheet Metal.

Twelve years ago Jeff Liss, a sales consultant, and his wife Liz saw the need for a sports program for men and women with special needs. Since nothing like that existed in the Orthodox Jewish movement, Liss organized the Special Macabees recruiting coaches, athletes, funding, and synagogue support.

Two of the coaches recruited for the Special Macabees were retired engineer Yossie Bock and printer David Jones of YSI Printing. Both men have been volunteering their time at the JCCA for more than a decade.

During half time the baskets were lowered for a 15-minute exhibition game featuring the Special Macabee girls. Like the boys before them, the girls shared the ball and helped each other score baskets.

The final score between the Special Macabees and Special Olympics was 63-47, a Special Macabee victory. However, the athletes didn’t seem to care. At game’s end they congratulated each other and then lined up with their team as Olympic gold medalist Lenny Krayzelburg handed out medals of participation. Krayzelburg, once billed as the world’s fastest swimmer, hosted a yummy pizza party after the game.

It’s refreshing that during this competitive age basketball teams filled with intellectually challenged men and women can teach the rest of us a thing or two about sportsmanship. As Coach Yossie said, “It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about playing the game.” And those special athletes do it with panache.