David Posnack Jewish Community Center’s delegation of 35 young athletes earned a silver medal in boys’ soccer and bronze medals in girls’ soccer and tennis at the recent JCC Maccabi Games in Columbus, Ohio.

The Posnack JCC delegation, which included boys and girls ages 13-16, also competed in basketball.

The boys’ soccer team includes David Amrani, Hollywood; Alberto Benarroch, Hollywood; Gil Ben-Ezra, Hollywood; David Nathanson, Cooper City; Andy Oliphant, Cooper City; Eric Pakowitz, Cooper City; Ben and Sam Schlang, Cooper City; and Robert Yanks, Hollywood.

The girls’ soccer team includes Brett Barash, Fort Lauderdale; Danielle Breitbart, Cooper City; Lindsey Krakower, Plantation; Jenel Lawson, Plantation; Leila and Ariela Mabourakh, Plantation; Miriam Mercado, Davie; Leah Samuels, Davie; and Alissa Silverstein, Parkland.

Joshua Fingles of Cooper City earned the bronze medal in tennis.

The Posnack delegation also included Jerri Bamberger, Jessica Brumer, Zachary Cohen, Nathan Enfield, Joshua Fingles, Alex Fried, Bryan Herman, Regina Jaffe, Mathew Joblove, Adi Kowen, Logan Lam, Josh Rosa, Jason Sheradsky, Jessica Sorkin, Scott Winer and Shaina Wolfe.

Coaches were Julius Sandi, boys’ basketball; Charles Fisher, girls’ basketball; Ron Yanks and Pete Schlang, boys’ soccer; Dale Mclean, girls’ soccer; and Esther Mercado, boys’ tennis.

Both of Cherie Joblove’s children have participated in the Maccabi Games. She said Maccabi is a wonderful experience for the kids. Herson Matt, 15, is a sophomore at Cooper City High School. He participated in the games the past two summers on the soccer team. This summer, he was a member of the basketball team.

” Matt loves Maccabi,” Joblove said. “He loves meeting people from all over the country and he loves to bond with the other athletes.”

The Posnack JCC delegation competed against athletes from the United States, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Great Britain, Poland, Australia and Venezuela. More than 5,000 athletes participated in the games this year, which were held in three host cities: Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and Boston.

The JCC Maccabi Games is an Olympic-style sporting event for Jewish teens that is held each summer in three sites in North America. Athletes may participate in one of 13 sporting events at one host site. The JCC Maccabi Games began in 1982.

Preparations for attending the Maccabi games take almost a year, beginning with tryouts and team selection and then continuing with fund raising. It costs between $900 and $1,000 for each athlete to participate.

For the adults traveling with the team, the experience is a memorable one.

Former Philadelphia 76ers draft pick Charles Fisher coaches basketball at the Posnack JCC. Going to the Maccabi games was a unique experience for him.

“It was one of the best experiences I ever had in my life,” Fisher said. “I was really impressed with the organization, the smoothness of how everything worked. The level of competition and level of skills was very high.”

Scott Rapoport, JCC assistant health and physical education director, echoed Fisher’s thoughts. Delegation head for four years, Rapoport said that the experience was phenomenal, especially for 25 of the 35 Posnack delegates who were new to the Maccabi Games this year.

“The new athletes didn’t know what to expect,” Rapoport said. “But they were so excited that once they got back home, all they could talk about was going again next year.”

In addition to participating in the competitions, all athletes take part in a three-day program called “Days of Caring and Sharing,” when the athletes join with local community organizations to work on social-action projects. The Posnack athletes worked with special needs children, participating in a Special Olympics. They also wrote letters to U.S. soldiers serving overseas.

The program’s purpose is to teach tikkun olam (Hebrew for repairing the world) through actions.

Joe Luciano can be reached at .