Scobel Wiggins Photography

I travelled to Israel to play Ultimate in the Fall of 2005. Our (sort of) all-Jewish team, Motza Balls, had competed since 1995 in various incarnations at the West Coast April Fools tournament in Santa Cruz, California. Word of our existence had somehow spread to Israel; probably through our fearless leader, David Barkan. The director of a beach tournament to be held about half an hour north of Tel Aviv invited us to compete and run a skills clinic. Four of the Motza Balls that travelled to Israel had previously coached on the "Japan Friendship" ultimate tour in the early 90's.

Upon arrival at the beach, it immediately became clear why the tournament was held in the Fall, rather than the Summer. Although it was late September, the temperature hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit before lunch. Periodic dips in the Mediterranean Sea provided little relief, as the water was warm.

Prior to the tournament, Motza Balls ran two skills clinics; an intermediate clinic for the local men's team (The Holy Landers) and a beginner clinic for the teen players. Boding well for the future of Israeli ultimate, most of the local players in the tournament were under the age of twenty-five, many of them in their early teens. The beginner clinic was not anticipated, and was hastily thrown together. The kids were fairly patient as we rotated them through some basic drills and explanations of game strategy, but we struggled to keep them focused. They had much more fun taking part in a post-tournament lay out fest in which we fed them leading passes, and in a youth all star game that featured a couple of kids with exciting potential. The following link contains some still photos taken at the beginner clinic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BUBPIkRZyY

Although we had anticipated competing as a team in the Men's division, this plan changed when we learned that there was no Men's division. This turned out to be a good thing, as splitting our dozen or so members up among the various Co-ed teams led to more even competition and allowed us to better get to know our hosts. Each Motza Ball player became a sort of de facto captain of their team. Conveniently for the mostly non-Hebrew-speaking Motza Balls players, the Israelis spoke English.

While they were fit and relatively enthusiastic, the Israelis played a fairly raw game, leading to multiple turnovers. I'm not certain if this is any reflection on Israeli culture, but I did not witness a single instance of a player chastising their teammate for making a sloppy or dumb throw (this is not to say that there was no inter-team conflict, just that the players quickly and without complaint accepted the adjustment to playing defense).

The team that won the tournament was captained by Mike and Nancy Glass. 7 Mike was a key player on the Chicago Windy City team which won Nationals in 1983 and 1986. Nancy was a star on Nemesis, the Chicago women's team. They were joined by their son Zevin and daughter Tala.

A more compelling draw for spectators than the tournament finals was an exhibition game between Motza Balls and the Holy Landers. Most of we Motza Balls were past our playing prime, but we were still able to defeat the Holy Landers, who did not have much competitive experience. While the exhibition turned out to be an anticlimax, I have a feeling the bitter taste we left in the mouths of the Holy Landers has provided the motivation which may lead to them beating American teams in the future.

Soon after our trip, an Israeli youth team called The Prophets was formed. They travelled to the 2006 WFDF Juniors Championship in Devons, Massachusetts. Matza Balls provided sponsorship and coaching. hey did not win any games, but took second place in spirit of the game voting. The Prophets managed to recruit some more athletic players and had their first international win (and a few very close games with top teams) at the European Juniors Championships in 2007. Israeli youth ultimate is steadily growing in schools and league play.

2008 Potlatch finalists Jewbilation have been invited to Israel for another clinic and tournament in April 2009. The Israelis have committed to help fund the trip, which will include "Ultimate Peace," where Palestinian and Israeli children will learn and play ultimate together. The themes will be friendship, sportsmanship, and camaraderie.

Jacob is an active and longtime Bay Area elite player, having played most recently with Jam and in college with the Slugs of Santa Cruz.