This is the second in a series of blogs submitted by Connor McAdorey, a 16-year old Rising Junior at American Heritage in Delray Beach as he competes in the upcoming Maccabi Games. For those who are not familiar the Maccabi Games are an annual gathering of Jewish athletes in Olympic-style action. We thank Connor and his family, which are very involved in local lacrosse community, for agreeing to produce this for us and giving our readers at FLN another insight into how the sport of lacrosse continues to grow. Don’t be surprised if 8 years from now someone from this year’s Maccabi event doesn’t show up on Team Israel for that tournament.
Uniforms, equipment checks, stringing sticks, EMO and Man Down practice, housemates and host families; this last week as been a little more active than normal on the Maccabi front.
Players coming back from camp or from injury have added some confusion as the coaches try to cement our offense and defense and put players on teams and in position to succeed.
The Fort Lauderdale delegation is sending two lacrosse teams this year and the coaches have been trying to decide who is on each team. The coaching staff split the two teams based on those that have played in the Maccabi Games before, The Blue Team or the “Legends” and those that are going to the games for their first time, The White Team or the “Rising Stars”.
Blue Team or Legends:
| Number |
Player Name |
High School Name |
Position |
| 00 |
Jason Wyner |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas |
Goalie |
| 7 |
Eric Savotinsky |
University School |
Defense |
| 19 |
David Landess |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas |
Defense |
| 2 |
Connor McAdorey* |
American Heritage Boca/Delray |
Attack |
| 10 |
Noah Reimer* |
St. Thomas Aquinas |
Attack |
| 6 |
David Tescher |
Pine Crest |
Midfield |
| 9 |
Josh Bernstein |
The Saint Andrews School |
Midfield |
| 18 |
Quinn Spey* |
Pine Crest |
Midfield |
| 3 |
Jake Bernstein |
The Saint Andrews School |
Midfield |
| 29 |
Kevin Hurrowitz |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas |
Midfield |
| 15 |
Jordan Schwartz |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas |
Midfield |
White Team or Rising Stars:
| Number |
Player Name |
High School Name |
Position |
| 0 |
Jack (JY) Young |
The Saint Andrews School |
Goalie |
| 22 |
Bryce Daub |
David Posnack |
Defense |
| 57 |
Jacob Schiff |
Pine Crest |
Defense |
| 35 |
Bryce Nabridge |
Westglades Middle School |
Defense |
| 21 |
The Max Brown |
Nova High School |
Attack |
| 44 |
Drew Hoffman |
University School |
Attack |
| 29 |
Justin Oletsky |
Pinecrest |
Midfield |
| 5 |
Shane Kreutzer |
Cypress Bay |
Midfield |
| 31 |
Cole Becker |
University School |
Midfield |
| 1 |
Adam Brodsky |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas |
Midfield |
| 3 |
Ryan Goldstein |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas |
Midfield |
| 21 |
Andrew Hurrowitz |
University School |
Midfield |
| 1 |
Uriel Sicorsky-Brener* |
University School |
Midfield |
*Injured Reserve
Throughout this final week of practice we have had four players on the IR. Three have had surgery and one has a fracture We are hoping that two of the four will clear in time for the games otherwise each team will only have three subs – Maccabi limits the number of players per team to 12 for their 7 v 7 tournament; you can play with less but your active roster can contain no more than 12 players. Three subs may on the surface appear to be a lot but we play two games a day and our games are equivalent to the length of a high school game, so we really do hope to get those players back.
In this last week prior to the games everyone is worried about who he is going to be staying with. The last two years I was lucky enough to have great roommates; this year is no exception and I will be with two of my best friends Jason Wyner, our goalie, and Quinn Spey our FOGO. In the past, Jason and I were fortunate enough to be able to stay in very nice upscale homes in both Memphis and Orange County; and early indications are that Cherry Hill will not disappoint. This is probably not typical for most Maccabi athletes but Jason and I have enjoyed our string of good luck in this regard; and indeed, the host families have always been as nice as their homes.
Our immediate next Step is our flight to Philadelphia where after we check-in and receive our credentials and take the delegation picture. Then as a team we head to the lacrosse field to watch Team Israel play Team Greece and Team Philippines.
For our delegation it will be a fun opportunity to watch one of our Rising Stars Coaches, my brother Ian McAdorey, play for Team Israel along with one of his former Saint Andrews School teammates Jake Levine.
After the game we will have to get ready to march in with our delegation and participate in the opening ceremonies.
With the Maccabi Games starting in Boca Raton on Sunday, we as a team are excited for our adventure to begin in Cherry Hill.
