Not so long ago, if someone had asked for my thoughts on the future of Jewish sport, I'd probably have looked to the heavens and said a little prayer. The signs did not look good, but it appears that my prayers have been answered.
The summer months are traditionally the quieter ones on the sporting calendar, but the healthy sprinkling of top young talent on these pages only scratches the surface. We have some outstanding young sportsmen and women across the board.
In table tennis, I recently saw Zak Zilesnick win a hat-trick of gold medals at the European Maccabi Games. Young Zak also excels on the national stage and is clearly destined for great things. Swimmers Hollie Fisher and Naomi Ayrton, along with badminton player David Garcia, were other star performers in Vienna.
There there's Josh Paris, who hopes to compete in Junior Wimbledon over the next couple of years. Ranked in the top 10 in Europe, he oozes star quality.
Golf prodigy Marc Brenner, Junior captain at Abridge, has received rave reviews following some excellent rounds on Championship courses, while trampolining starlet Josh Newman's rise can only be described as meteoric.
In athletics, Richard Goodman and Ellie Edwards continue to impress, and the list goes on. Big things have been predicted of Saracens-bound Scott Spurling, who has already earned several England caps at Under 18 level, while Jake Furman, the younger brother of Oldham captain Dean, was recently appointed skipper of the first team at Nottingham University.
So the message is clear. The future is not as bleak as some are making out. Not all youngsters are sitting on their sofas playing computer games. Anglo-Jewry has talent.
● Maccabi GB have received a letter of congratulations from the Ambassador of Austria. Commending the team's "outstanding performance", it read: "Overall, the Games were a particular honour for Vienna and Austria as a whole, as they clearly showed the vitality of Jewish sport and Jewish life in general, once more thriving in Austria."