Hockey (cont...) (BACK
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“At Rambam,” says Scott Firester,
the Varsity Hockey Coach, “sports and team competitions
are an important part of our educational program, in
part because they teach our boys about leadership,
personal commitment, teamwork and, very importantly,
give them a perspective on victory and defeat.” “Both
winning and losing are important educational experiences,” says Avrum
Stein, the Varsity Basketball Coach. “Winning
gives boys a well-deserved feeling of accomplishment,
but also presents an opportunity to them to learn about
good sportsmanship and being cognizant of the feelings
of the losing team. Losing teaches boys not to engage
in finger-pointing and recriminations, but rather to
try to focus on the specific problems or weaknesses
that need to be addressed in order to improve the team’s
chances.”
Because we are a small school, yet offer a wealth
of extra-curricular programs, virtually all boys have
the opportunity to participate on a sports or academic
team. “There’s a very tight team spirit
here,” says Dov Weiner ('97),
the Junior Varsity Basketball Coach. “Because
our teams tend to be smaller than those of the competition,
our players get to play
more. That means they matter more than they might on
a big team.” “There’s no question
that teams include players who would not make it on
teams at other schools,” say Tzvi Hershenov
('98) and
Josh Heller ('99),
the co-Coaches of the Junior Varsity Hockey Team. “But
that’s
a reflection of our thinking about sports in the context
of a yeshiva.
We don’t see ourselves as being a better school
just because we win. We see ourselves as being a better
school because we give our kids a chance to get involved
and become part of a team experience.”
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