With the start of this year’s JCC Maccabi Games fast approaching, we start our preview of the Team Maccabi GB squad who will be heading to Toronto next month by focusing on the first of their three football teams.
Jacob Barron is managing one of the U15 boys’ football sides – the “green” team – and hopes his team will come back home with a gold medal.
Delighted with the squad he’s assembled, he says: “I’m incredibly happy with the team we’ve chosen, all the boys are super hard working, talented and full of personality which is always a benefit on and off the pitch.”
Those selected for the team are all based in London. “It was easy choosing the team as there are some returning faces from last year that showed great potential on the pitch, whilst the new faces put in maximum effort when it came to the trials.”
Those returning players will bring experience of playing at this tournament, however, as Barron says: “Some will though only have experienced the campus games that ran last year, whereas this year the players will be staying with wonderful host families, who will be welcoming our boys into their homes.”
With the start of the tournament fast approaching, preparation has also intensified.
“We started with one training session a month after the trials but have now begun ramping this up to at least once every two weeks if not every week,” he says.
Looking forward to representing their country on the international stage, Barron says: “The boys are incredibly excited. They really thrive when they are on the football pitch and it’s amazing to see from both an off-the-pitch and manager perspective.
“The main thing that I hope they gain from these games is the experience to meet like-minded Jewish sportspeople from other countries, whilst also having the chance to take part in a very competitive, fun and exhilarating tournament.”
While excitement is taking over his players, his over-riding emotion is pride. “On a personal level, it’s an honour to be able to manage this team”, he says. “Not only because I have built a great rapport with the boys, but also because it allows me to give the boys an unbelievable experience that I know many teenagers who have come before say is one they never forget for the rest of their life.
“Of course my main goal is for our boys to come home with gold swinging from their necks, but at the same time, I have seen in previous years how amazing the social aspect of the games really is and how many of the athletes who attend maintain contact with friends they make at the games.
“Whilst the games are a competitive tournament, it can be very easy to lose sight of what the Games are actually there to achieve, which is to bring Jewish athletes from around the world together to connect and make long lasting relationships.”
Squad: Tal Coutts (goalkeeper), Jamie Gershon (captain), Zac Lissner (vice-captain), Vincent Genteley (vice-captain), Rafi Toffel, Danny Gershon, Noah Landau, Asher Berman, Gabriel Suskind, Rafi Selig, Josh Binstock
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