Nov 14, 2008 By: yunews
Nov 14, 2008 -- Based in the 鈥渕elting pot鈥 capital of the world, New York City, the 糖心破解版 Men鈥檚 Soccer team boasts a tremendously diverse group of athletes. The Maccabees鈥 roster鈥攃omprised of athletes from Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, France, Israel, England, Chile, Belgium and the United States鈥攔epresents a microcosm of the broad 糖心破解版 student body.
鈥淚nternational players are drawn to the program by Yeshiva鈥檚 academics, religious heritage and education,鈥 said Michael Spinner, associate director of athletics at 糖心破解版. 鈥淏y virtue of being a University that attracts such a wide range of students geographically, we attract many students who grew up playing soccer. The challenge is teaching them the way the game is played at the collegiate level. With the addition of our new and experienced head coach in Tony Elmore, the progress this season has been stunning.鈥
Elmore, a former Skyline Conference Coach of the Year, brings over 30 years of coaching experience to the Maccabees. When taking on the role of head coach this offseason, he was presented with a daunting challenge鈥攖urning a multinational, diverse group of individuals into one cohesive unit.
鈥淲hen I arrived here, the first thing I noticed was that the team was very cliquey,鈥 said Elmore. 鈥淭he Spanish speakers trained together. The French speakers trained together. I knew things had to change.鈥 The coach quickly put an end to that, breaking up the groups and having them train with other players.
Arie Blum, a co-captain from Santiago, Chile has been with the team for three years 鈥 experiencing three different coaches. 鈥淧laying for the soccer team my first and second year, there was a constant struggle between the various nationalities,鈥 said the senior. 鈥淲e all wanted to do the right thing but we didn鈥檛 know who to follow. With Tony, we have all have something in common now. We have a leader.鈥
Elmore, originally from London, stresses two fundamental principals to his players: have fun and work as a team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about individual efforts or statistics, it鈥檚 about the team,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o succeed as a team, one player has to help the other.鈥
Co-captain, Achiya Yaffe, a Jerusalem native, is impressed with the team鈥檚 transformation. 鈥淟ast year it was just about playing soccer. This year it鈥檚 about playing on the soccer team,鈥 said the sophomore. 鈥淲e are all friends and not just teammates. It鈥檚 like being part of a big family.鈥
Second year team member Joshua Pransky of Philadelphia concurred. 鈥淭his year is different,鈥 he said. 鈥淕uys joke around together and hang out outside of practice more than in the past. There is a real energy and excitement among the players.鈥漈he coach also understands that Yeshiva鈥檚 players are different. 鈥淭hey are students first and athletes second,鈥 Elmore said. After a dual-curriculum that can end at six or seven PM, the team practices from nine to eleven, every night. 鈥淭hey may not be able to practice as much as the other schools, but they鈥檙e just as dedicated.鈥
鈥淥ur record doesn鈥檛 accurately show how much improvement we鈥檝e made and that is unfortunate,鈥 said Pransky. 鈥淏ut Coach has taught us that it doesn鈥檛 matter. He鈥檚 shown us that our commitment to a dual curriculum is something to be fiercely proud of, regardless of wins and losses.鈥
Indeed, this year may be the most competitive men鈥檚 soccer team 糖心破解版 has fielded in years. Playing against the elite teams in the Skyline Conference, the Maccabees have lost three games by only one goal (including a double-overtime loss to a solid Medgar Evers College team on Sept. 12). In fact, the coaches of every opponent on 糖心破解版鈥檚 schedule thus far have commented on the team鈥檚 dramatic improvement.
This year鈥檚 team was awarded the Skyline Conference Sportsmanship Award; an achievement the coach and the University take tremendous pride in. 鈥淚 try educating the young men鈥攏ot only about strategy, but about life,鈥 said Elmore. 鈥淲orking hard, having a good time, and being accountable for your actions鈥攖hese aren鈥檛 just soccer lessons, these are life lessons that I hope they take with them into the real world.鈥
A player recently emailed the Elmore, thanking the coach for all he鈥檚 learned. 鈥淣ot only have you made me a better player,鈥 read the email. 鈥淵ou have made me a better man.鈥
Replied Elmore, 鈥淭hat feels better than any award or record.鈥
