SJ Sports: Inside Cherry Hill Sports

The South Jersey Maccabi tennis team traveled to Montreal, Canada, in late August in the hopes of continuing one of the area's great sporting traditions. The team was guided by Dr. Steven Davis, a former college player at La Salle University and one-time professional player on the satellite circuit. Tryouts were held in February and March and after that Davis has been conducting weekly practices at Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill.

The Maccabi Games is an Olympic-style sporting event featuring Jewish athletes from North America, and in alternating years, from across the world. The 13-16 year-old athletes stay with host families for the duration of the games. Each year the host city for the event changes. "I think the Maccabi Games really serve a valuable purpose," said Davis, a cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon in Cherry Hill. "It fosters everything positive in sports that I can think of. I think the South Jersey tennis program is getting stronger and stronger."

The South Jersey Jewish Federation, located in the Katz JCC, sponsors the region's entry into the Maccabi Games, which features a cross-section of boys and girls sports from traditional ones such as basketball and soccer to emerging sports like roller hockey. Although the South Jersey area has always been strong in regard to fielding a tennis program, the Federation's increased activism has made training and participation in the Maccabi Games a year-round event.

According to Davis, one of the distinguishing characteristics of Maccabi tennis is that it creates a team context for a sport dominated by individual accomplishments. While there have been some recent discipline problems in other Maccabi sports, Davis has never had a problem with one of his athletes during his six-year tenure as coach. "Tennis has always been a gentleman's game. The game has sportsmanship fixed into the sport. Also the Maccabi Games feature a rachmanus rule, which means the athletes are told to respect and understand their opponents. We don't believe in running up the score or showing up an opponent."

While Davis stopped playing professional tennis some time ago, the sport has stayed with him. He realized how much he enjoyed teaching the game and helping junior players with the mechanics and mental preparation needed for competitive tennis. The allure of tennis, to Davis, is that it is a sport that can be played at in any age. The individual nature of the sport prepares people for competition, challenges and mental acuity needed in daily life.

Davis started playing basketball and baseball as a youngster, but the individual nature of tennis quickly cast its spell. "I think the individual sports setting will help you in your career, I know it has helped me as a surgeon, where the responsibility falls on me in the operating room." Davis continued, "In tennis you have to be a really good athlete. You've got to be really fit. We're not just running, hitting balls anymore, we're conditioning. The athletes just love the Maccabi games and for me it is one of the most exciting times of the year. The way that the Maccabi is set up, there is a higher purpose. The athletes from different areas of the country really bond together, and ultimately that makes the competition even greater. There really is a worthwhile concept for team tennis and I'm happy to be a part of it."

Win or lose, the South Jersey tennis squad will be competitive and will receive memories that will endure far longer than the score of a particular game. Ultimately, the Maccabi games seek to foster values and community for its athletes as much as competition.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: SJ Sports Club-Adam Abramowitz