Maccabi Coaches Prepping For 14U Baseball Tryouts

Even though this winter has delivered the typical harsh snowstorms and sub-zero wind chills, several boys around Chicagoland will spend a part of the cold season throwing, hitting, and dreaming of summer. On February 22nd and March 1, boys wanting to tryout for the 2015 Chicago 14U Maccabi baseball team will converge on the Frozen Ropes Training Center on Touhy in Chicago, hoping to earn a coveted spot on the roster. Baseball players who will be 14 and under on August 1, 2015 are encouraged to tryout for the team, which will be made up of approximately thirteen athletes.

The Maccabi Games are an Olympic-style sporting competition held each summer, and are one of the largest organized sports programs for Jewish teenagers in the world. Over 6,000 teens from delegations across the world, ranging from 13 to 16 years of age, participate in the Games each summer across multiple North American sites.

The Maccabi Games will be held in three different American cities, with the Chicago 14U baseball team competing in the Fort Lauderdale games from August 9th through the 14th.

This year’s coaching staff is made up of returning Coach Matt Schoner, as well as Coach Paul Chanan, who was added over the fall.

Schoner, who led last season’s Chicago 14U team to a bronze medal in the Maccabi Games in Detroit, currently coaches with the Homestead Ranchers Baseball Club. He formerly coached with Skokie Youth Baseball.

Chanan is in his sixth season coaching with the Deerfield Warriors Travel Baseball program (DYBA), and currently sits on its Board of Directors. He is also involved with the Highland Park Feeder Basketball program.

“Last year’s team had a great run in Detroit,” said Schoner. “I expect the competition to be very strong in Fort Lauderdale, so we’re looking to roster a very solid group who will be ready to go down there, compete hard, and have a great time.”

“I’m honored and excited to join Coach Schoner and Chicago 14U baseball,” added Chanan. “I love Maccabi’s dual mission of competition and sportsmanship, and Matt and I are planning to roster a team of guys who will excel in both of these areas.”

The 2015 Maccabi Games will take place in August in Dallas, Milwaukee, and Fort Lauderdale. The Chicago delegation will be participating in the following events:

Boys Baseball (14U, 16U)

Boys Basketball (14U, 16U)

Boys Lacrosse (16U)

Boys Soccer (16U)

Girls Basketball (16U)

Girls Soccer (16U)

Girls Volleyball (16U)

Inline Hockey (16U)

Flag Football (16U)

Swimming

Tennis

Track and Field

Golf

Dance

TRYOUTS: 2015 tryouts for all events will be held in February and March in locations throughout Chicago and the suburbs. For more detailed information, contact Shelby Jacobson at sjacobson@gojcc.org, or visit the Chicago Maccabi site at gomaccabi.org. For more general information about the 2015 Maccabi Games, visit jccmaccabi.org.