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11th Pan-American USA Maccabi Indoor Volleyball Review by Sam Shweisky (UNLV Assistant Volleyball Coach) DEC. 23, 2007 - I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to coach, compete and represent the USA in the Pan American Maccabi games. True to form, the games were an amazing combination of cultural, athletic and religious energies. On the night of opening ceremonies all the athletes gathered in one stadium conversing in their respective languages when suddenly they began to play the Hatikva (Israeli National Anthem). It was amazing to see all the Brazilians, Mexicans, Argentineans, Israeli’s, Columbians, Americans, Canadians, South Africans, Chileans, Australians and Britt’s all singing in unified Hebrew. The standard chill went down my spine, as I felt connected to thousands of Jewish athletes from across the globe. It reminded me why I love being a part of the Maccabi games and why they touch me as a Jew, a volleyball player, and an American. The Maccabi games are an amazing opportunity to be an ambassador of goodwill for Americans and the sport of volleyball: spreading good energy for all aspects of my identity as an American Jewish Volleyball coach/player. The tournament began smoothly with the indoor men beating Columbia 3-0 and Argentina C 3-0. The indoor women also started out well, easily beating Columbia 3-0. The breakdown in public relations came when the indoor Brazilian women’s team decided not to show up for our 9:00am match, because they had a long match with Argentina the night before and did not want to abide by the new agreed upon schedule. The match was forfeited, and the USA indoor women went on to defeat Mexico 3-0 with the entire Brazilian women’s team in the stands yelling and cheering against the USA. Meanwhile, the USA men lost to Argentina B, 3-2, 15-11 in the fifth game. This put the USA men against Argentina A in the semi’s which proved to be too tough of an opponent, USA losing 3-0. In a display of great diplomacy, the USA women’s team agreed to reschedule the Brazil match even after the Brazilians had behaved so poorly. Thanks to many USA supporters and a hard fought battle, the USA women won the match 3-1 to guarantee their spot in the finals against Argentina. The USA women put forth a valiant effort but fell to the experienced Argentine women’s team 3-0 to earn a silver medal. The USA men were pitted against Argentina B once again, in a grudge match for the bronze and came out victorious winning 3-0. It was a great tournament for USA volleyball with regards to competition, friends made, and the spreading of good will. We came away with some good hardware, but more importantly, we came away having given the other countries a good perception of America and Americans. In a day and age when the world’s perception of Americans is not often held in high regard, it is nice to be able to play a part in spreading a better image of who Americans are and can be. 11th Pan-American USA Maccabi Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team Head of Delegation: Mike Spector Women's Results 11th Pan-American USA Maccabi Men’s Indoor Volleyball Team: Head of Delegation: Mike Spector Men's Results |
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