Pittsburgh youths set to compete at 2022 JCC Maccabi Games

Twin brothers Eli and Zachary Coffey are set to travel across the country, heading to San Diego to compete in the 2022 Jewish Community Center Maccabi Games.

The 40th annual Maccabi Games, returning after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, will take place July 31 to Aug. 5.

Both Eli and Zachary are proud to be a part of the group of participants who are kickstarting the return of the Maccabi Games.

“It’s something special,” Eli said. “You don’t really get a lot of opportunities to travel across the country, playing sports and getting the opportunity with some of your friends and coaches to play somewhere that you’ve never played before. It’s something special, and it’s nice representing Pittsburgh again after that hiatus.”

The JCC Maccabi Games will feature more than 1,500 participants ages 12 to 16. They are an Olympic-style event with opening and closing ceremonies and a community service day.

The Games feature team sports such as baseball, basketball, flag football, ice hockey, soccer and volleyball. There are also individual competitions in dance, eSports, golf, tennis, table tennis and swimming.

The Coffey twins, who are 14 and entering their freshman year at Allderdice, will compete in the basketball tournament. The twins are representing Pittsburgh and know their teammates since they played AAU basketball together with the 412 Hoops Ambassadors.

“We were the main ones getting (the players) there, so we were confident to play with them,” Eli said. “We’re confident in our abilities, we’ll be able to blend well together and the chemistry will be there.”

The team practiced over the summer and is preparing for the prestigious event. In the JCC Maccabi Games, there are FIBA regulations, which makes this tournament different than traditional AAU or school sports basketball due to some rule differences.

“We’ve had a few practices, nothing special,” Zachary said. “The one problem is we’re switching from a men-sized ball to a women-sized ball because of FIBA regulations. That’s the main thing that we’ve been practicing. We’ve had six or seven practices where we just worked on some 3-on-3 play or 5-on-5.”

The Coffeys are excited about the competition and attribute a lot of their success to their parents, Hal and Erica Coffey. Hal coached them in baseball and both helped them with training.

Jack Higgins, a former basketball player from Cleveland State and Duquesne, and Hal Shapera, their AAU coach, have helped the Coffeys grow in basketball. Shapera owns 412 Hoops Ambassadors and Higgins is an ambassador for the organization, which is a nonprofit that provides basketball training.

Eli and Zachary also attribute their success to each other. They also noted they both push each other to get better and that their friendly competition helps them in the long run.

The Coffeys are prepared to take their talent to the west coast and both are grateful for the opportunities that the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh offers.

“The JCC is a nice place to go with friends all the time and also for just hanging out and playing basketball during the summer,” Zachary said. “There are snacks across the road in Robinson and then with Maccabi, it’s fun to get the cross-country experience.”

Eli sees this experience as something a lot different than traditional AAU basketball.

“I think it’s something special to have the experience to play with people with the same religion and culture,” Eli said. “You want to play more with your heart, and it’s different than when you normally play.”

The Coffeys and their teammates will be staying in the dorms at San Diego University. They are overjoyed that they will get to create new memories with their friends.

They are also excited about the opportunity to meet new people and to bond over sports. There are teams from the area competing in numerous sports, and they’re excited to hear stories from the competitors.

“I’m someone that likes to be outgoing and likes to meet new people,” Eli said. “For Maccabi, there are supposed to be ceremonies and things for you to meet other people. I don’t know how many new people I’ll meet, but I’m excited to meet new people and meeting the teams from our area because we haven’t met yet. And just meeting people, I think it’s nice to learn about people.”

The Coffeys have confidence in their team chemistry and expect big things out of themselves and the team at the JCC Maccabi Games.

“I think we’re going to do pretty well,” Zachary said. “I think we got some pretty good chemistry. We played together before, we are pretty quick and we are pretty smart.”