Opening Ceremonies

The saying "hurry up and wait" could never have been more true last night. After a morning at Wingate to practice and prepare for competition. We put on our white Adidas warm-up suites and Team USA gear and took off for Jerusalem.

We boarded a train in Tel Aviv while people cheered and greeted us with warm smiles and best wishes.  When we exited the train, Teddy Stadium was only a short walk away. 

We mingled with other athletes and coaches from every delegation involved. Met tons of new people and, of course, traded some gear.   The entrance of Team USA was met with the second loudest ovation (Israel took top honors).  It was a tremendous rush for all of us. 

The ceremony concluded with Aly Raisman lighting the torch and a spectacular concert.   It was a long night but an unforgettable one at that. 

Let the games begin!

- Jamie

Opening ceremony

We are on a train to Teddy stadium in Jerusalem for the opening ceremonies!

The team is eager to get the games rolling. We open up on the 21st against South Africa. More to come...

- jamie 

Touring days

The past two days have been very engaging, physically challenging, and emotionally introspective. It's great to see how young people react. We went from rubbing mud and floating in the Dead Sea, 

and standing on the top of Masada 

to taking in the powerful imagery of Yad Veshem (Holocaust museum). 

What a powerful two days capped with a B'nai Mitzvah celebration as the sun was setting in Jerusalem. 

In hoops,

Jamie

Best day yet

We knew that this trip was about so much more than just competing, today was one of those days in which we saw this first hand.  

As a basketball coach, I am constantly impressed by the attention span and focus of our group. We have such a strong sense of togetherness, on and off the court, which will hopefully translate to success on the court.  After our early practice, We left the hotel after lunch at 1230pm and headed to the holy city of Jerusalem.

We first headed to the water tunnels of Ir David (City of David), where water was funneled into the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked through the dry part of the tunnels (the parts still carrying water were a bit too short for many of our players). 

Following the tunnels we headed into the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall. The Kotel, as it is called in Hebrew, is the remaining western retaining wall that surrounded the second temple which was rebuilt by Herrod after being partially destroyed. The area is a site holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians and is one of the most introspective and spiritual places to visit. That was clear on the faces of the players after we left (thanks @elliotsteinmetz). 

It was a tremendous experience to see them have this opportunity to literally touch their past. 

In hoops,

- jamie

Touring and a day off from practice

Today was Shabbat. Most of the team went to visit the tank museum at Latrun as well as some caves near Tel Aviv.

Latrun is the area where a British fortress used to stand that Israeli soldiers attempted five times to conquer in the hopes of freeing the blockage by Jordanian soldiers of the road to Jerusalem in 1948. 

A number remained back in the hotel for Shabbat and spent the day using the pool and courts at the hotel. 

Upon the return of the tour, we had a big BBQ and party at the hotel with live music and dancing. A great spectacle as 900 of the American athletes and coaches got together for a fun and social evening.

 Tomorrow we go back to early morning practice followed by a tour through the water tunnels as well as a trip to Jerusalem. 

Practice day 5

An assist goes out to my assistant coach Elliot Steinmentz for documenting the history surrounding our Israel connect trip today. 

We have now moved on from training camp to the Israel Connect Program.  We were up for practice at 6:30 AM. 

Later, we took buses to Tel Aviv where we visited Rabin Square (the place of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination), as well as the house where Ben Gurion declared Israel's independence on May 14, 1948, a Friday, just like today.

In between, we visited the old city of Yaffo, an old port city right on the Mediterranean.  We ended the day with a Shabbat service outside at the Kfar Maccabiah followed by a delegation, Shabbat dinner. 

- Jamie

Day 4 training camp

In the gym at 6:30 AM today working to get better was just breakfast for us today. We laced them up at noon for a hard-fought exhibition vs the Israeli JR National team in their training facility. This team will be traveling to Macedonia next week for the World Championships. While we lost the game 66-64, we got a lot out of the exhibition.  Most importantly, we learned about our team and what we need to do to get better. Our Israel Connect program starts tomorrow with a trip to Tel Aviv.  Of course, that will only be after we get our 6:30 AM practice in. 

In hoops,

Jamie