Bouncing back: top coaches rejuvenate basketball club

Sunday morning sessions take place at Copthall and Kilburn, for ten to 14-year-olds and 14 to 18-year-olds respectively, with 18 to 55-year-olds meeting up in Finchley on Sunday evenings. In addition, there is elite training for the open men’s age group also in Kilburn on Sunday afternoons, while Wednesday evenings, at the same venue, hosts a central league.

The club’s U14s have regular competitive friendlies against local teams, including Enfield Scorpions, Cruz Basketball, Barnet Bulldogs, Bedford Thunder, Oakland Wolves and Herts Warriors.

Noah Binun[Missing Credit]

Tannenbaum says: “We have some extremely passionate coaches who believe in what we are doing and just want to keep doing more for these kids.

“Joe Pearlman, a former Maccabi junior, used to regularly travel from Newcastle to London so he could train with Maccabi each week, while Guy Rundle, a former pro, offers more elite training for our 14 to 18 year-olds and open men age group, including one-to-one sessions upon request. We also have experienced coaches Josh Smith and Tamir Grant to offer further guidance.”

A typical Sunday can see the club have 60 kids competing across all age groups, which Tannenbaum says “is a far cry from the days when we were trying to find kids to play”. Excited by what he sees, he continues: “We have a lot of regulars aged 12, 13 and 14 years old and it creates a bright path for representing Maccabi GB in future years at JCC Maccabi Games, European Maccabi Games and Maccabiahs in Israel.”

Eli Shemer Zardok[Missing Credit]

There are also numerous success stories that have emanated from the club. Their former U18 captain Ori Vahap now plays in the 1st team at Birmingham University, and will be joined by players who were in the U16s, while three boys from the JCC team that went to Pittsburgh last year are primed for college scholarships.

Eli Shemer Zadok, 18, has joined pro-team London Elite and will be eyeing up a college scholarship in the US next year, while point-scoring superstar Noah Binun was named in the top 50 players in the UK for his age group and turned down a high school scholarship in the US to finish his studies in the UK before going to college in the US in September 2027.

In addition, Ariel Choumon spent the summer with various AAU teams in the US and basketball camps, spending one more year in the UK before going to a US college in 2027, Nathaniel Djanogly is starting his first year at Bethlehem University in Pennsylvania with a Division 1 NCAA Scholarship, while Omer Shemer Zadok won the national title in the UK with London Elite under 16 and was named MVP. He has turned down scholarships to academies across Europe and US to stay in the UK a little longer.

Describing how popular the sport is in the community, Tannenbaum says: “We are always getting fresh faces, whether the families have Israeli or American connections.

“But also, for those kids that are not part of the football fraternity, they can often feel left out if they are not playing football, watching football or playing Fifa with their friends. But when they discover basketball and other people their age that are also in love with the game, it’s a beautiful friendship, connection and social life that is made. We love hearing that some of these boys are meeting up independently in the park or going to basketball camps together – and it’s those relationships that last a lifetime. We’re a tight-knit group. One of our players had an 18th birthday and invited everyone from the club, regardless of age and another boy moved to Israel last year and everyone got excited when he came back to visit this summer.”

And as if there wasn’t enough excitement with basketball, another form of the sport, 3x3 basketball, is also proving popular.

“It’s very fast-paced and enjoyable and you get more of the ball and more opportunities to shine, while combining a love of park basketball or streetball with a more structured game”, Tannenbaum says. “We have a 3x3 tournament each term and more than 60 people of all ages attended our event last December. During our summer tournament, we had people coming back from travelling and university and they were just excited to see each other and hang out.”

With more tournaments coming up and regular friendlies staged, as well as the preparations for the JCC Games, which take place in Texas next summer, the courts around north London are set to be an exciting place to be.

For details about how to get involved, visit maccabibasketballgb.co.uk.