Closing

Phew, finally managing to write this final post... I'm suspecting my procrastination had less to do with how busy it's been being back, and more to do with not wanting to admit the trip was really over.  Luckily, a continuing email chain with the team provides a daily reminder of all the great memories we had!

My last post ended with great anticipation for a final game, against Scotland.  That game was wild.  As we expected, Scotland was really gunning for a win, and I do think they stepped up their game since last we saw them.  They came right out of the gate with the first goal, and a few more after that, and somehow managed to keep around a three-goal lead for most of the game.

About halfway through the second half is when things started to pick up.  Coming from 6-3 deficit, each moment ticked away as we fought to close the gap.  With under a minute left, the score was 7-6, Scotland.  Adrenaline was pumping, fans were excited, and we weren't ready to quit just yet.  At 25 seconds left, Sam Ellis ripped through the defense to sink the goal that would take Israel and Scotland to overtime.  The game was not over yet.

Overtime in playoffs were the standard two three-minute periods (with no more than switching sides at half), followed by sudden death overtime, if necessary.

A Scotland goal was scored right in the first three-minute period, but a whistle for lightening at :03 left to go brought an abrupt pause (and momentum killer) to a game that kept getting more exciting by the  minute.  To avoid having to wait a full 30  minutes before resuming play, the officials shuffled the teams and fans into the indoor facility, where we probably spent at least 20 minutes passing around as they readied the field.

The overtime finally resumed (we actually played out those three seconds before switching sides and doing another draw), and we were eager to make the most of it.  Unfortunately we received a yellow card a few minutes in, and as a result Scotland was able to secure a second goal with under a minute to go, sealing their win at the buzzer, and leaving a devastated team in blue and white on the field.

That was by far probably the hardest loss to take out of the whole tournament, for several reasons.  Nevertheless, it was a hard-fought game, and we had kept our spot in the top eight, by officially finishing in 8th place due to our forfeit for the next day.

That night, and good timing, we had plans for another cookout and to hold our own Shabbat services.  Before we began, the Haudenosaunee, who we would we have played in the match for 7th place on Saturday, offered to come and still do the traditional pre-(international) game gift exchange, and express their support for the stand we were taking.  They ended up trading not just pins, but jerseys, which was a nice gesture on their part.  Some of the team and coaches stayed to celebrate Shabbat with us - which is truly a great way to represent what something like international tournaments are about - bringing people and cultures together.

That Shabbat was probably everyone's favorite - as we read the prayers together, continued to sing songs all night, and were joined by the Swedish team (at one point holding Swedish Fish - the hilarity of that seemed to be lost on them).   It was great to celebrate one more time with each other, as we know our time together was coming to an end.

On Saturday, I watched the final championship game, between USA and Canada.  Unfortunately, it was a total blowout, which is no fun for a championship game.  Nevertheless, congrats to Canada, as they took second place, the highest they have ever achieved in the World Cup! 

Later that evening was the banquet, held by the FIL (for anyone who played sports in high school - think of your own banquets: cafeteria/gym, buffet style food (although catered, not potluck style)).  Awards were handed out to members of each team, to stellar players, and the World Team was announced.  However, I would say the best moment by far for me was when, after standing next to her in line at the bathroom, I found myself exiting the bathroom shortly after her, and introducing myself to Jen Adams (basically a lacrosse celeb, plays for Australia).  As awkward as it was, it was really cool to meet someone you've been reading about since you were a kid and finding out they are as cool as you always hoped and imagined they would be.

That night, despite Sweden's every effort to get us to go out with them, we were content with hanging out with each other for a few more hours, complete with a flag-signing party, before making our way to pack, or sleep for a couple hours before our 3 am or 5 am shuttles.  After waking up at said 5 am, and taking a short flight, I was back home in Chicago, not quite yet grasping that I was back in the real world and my trip was actually over.

Overall this trip was absolutely phenomenal, and I would say I don't have any words to describe the emotions that my team and I felt throughout those three weeks - but I clearly just wrote pages and pages about it, so I hope you have at least an inkling of how incredible this team, and this opportunity to share such an experience with them was.

Thank you to my teammates, my coaches, our trainer, our directors, and everyone who has supported us by donating to, reading about, writing to, or even just thinking about us.   This trip was made by each and every one of you, and I will cherish it throughout my life.

Am Israel Chai

Day Ten - Giving Canada a Run for Their Money

After our tough loss to Japan, we began playoffs as the 10th seed and played #7 New Zealand. New Zealand came at us hard and made sure our win was not an easy one. It was a good game, but unfortunately I did not hear a single "That's so random", and no was named Jamie (pronounce that correctly in your head). 

Our win matched us up against Canada yesterday (Thursday), who was seeded as the #2 seed due to their exciting win over Australia earlier this week. 

I will start off by saying the first half was incredible. They scored three quick goals on us, but we didn't let down. With about a minute left in the half, we had brought it to 5-4, before they scored a last-second goal to end the half at 6-4.  

We were pumped. We were matching up against the number 2 team in the world. They were only 2 goals up, which in lacrosse is nothing.  Australia, too, had been two goals ahead of Canada for most of the game before Canada tied it up and scored the winning goal with 10 seconds left. I was confident that would be our story as well. My team was confident that could be our story. That untangled Israel could displace the #2 team and make a bid for the final four, if not the championships. 

As it turns out, Canada was terrified of that very story being written. They were NOT having it. They had beat Australia for the first time in their history, they were the home team, and were not going to just give away their glory. 

Canada came out hard in the second half, and while both teams had a ten minute half time to rest, they also had he whole day off Wednesday. This was day five in a row for us of games, with two hard games in a row in the previous two days.  We were tired, and they were fired. 

The second half was not what we envisioned, and even worse, the score did not truly reflect the level of play and effort produced on that field. Every girl on the team left all she could out there and we truly made Canada work for it. We didn't win, but I think we finally got to show what we're really made of. 

After the game, we stuck around to watch #3 Australia vs. #11 Scotland (who managed to beat #6 Japan - this has been a strange tournament).  To say the least, that game was far less interesting than the one we just played, with a halftime score of about 16-1 (Australia).  Seeing how this would end, we left at halftime, and returned to the dorms to get cleaned up and throw an impromptu - Bat Mitzvah!

We surprised teammate Lauren Dykstra with her very own bat mitzvah, complete with prayer, poems, gifts, and dancing. While Lauren was probably mostly confused as to why Trainer Mike was insistent on randomly wrapping her leg for the night, only to show up to our meeting room to all of us waiting for her, clapping and shouting Mazel Tov, she quickly fell into role as the Bat Mitzvah.  Gifts were presented, and we spent much of the evening singing songs (or listening to resident vocalist Nikki, or volunteer front woman Davia) and really enjoying being together.  It was so much to have a little party, especially a Jewish one, to make it clear why we're all really here - because we're Jewish, we're Israeli, and we are representing our culture, people, and heritage (apparently in every way possible!). 

After the enjoyment of the Bat Mitzvah, we received a bit of news to bring us back down to Earth -

Despite all of the support we have received, articles written about us and our Shabbat policy (the article  from the Toronto Star - major newspaper in Toronto - was on the front page), no compromise, accommodation, or alternative solution of any kind was reached with the FIL, and today will officially be our last game of the tournament, despite final ranking games taking place tomorrow, on Saturday.   Our objective, as always, will be to win, but we know that we will be forfeiting our our position tomorrow, and if that's the 5th-6th place game, we will be officially recorded as 6th, regardless of how that game may have played out. 

Today we play Scotland, and, after beating them last week and all that has happened this week, we know they are going to come after us with all they've got and demand retribution.

But we've got something more - we are standing up for something,  not  just for a belief, but for an entire country and the culture of its people, which rises so much further above any lacrosse game we have played or will ever play in the future.

Above all, we are proud of what we've accomplished in this World Cup, we appreciate all of the support from friends, family, and even the strangers who have written, emailed, or posted about us, and we hope that going forward, the strides we have made this year will pave the way for years to come.  

Yalla Israel, Beyachad

Day Eight - Final Day of Pool Play

I'm just going to cut to the chase on this one - yesterday (Monday) we won against South Korea 19-2 and felt really good going 4-0 into our final game of pool play, against Japan.  We talked about their playing style, we practiced how we would play against them, and we got mentally ready and psyched for what we knew would be our toughest game yet. We knew they were quick, we knew they were skilled, but we knew that we were just as quick and just as skilled , but that we wanted it more. 

When all was said and done, the game did not turn out how we wanted.  Losing by one goal in sudden death overtime left a bitter taste in our mouths and a sinking feeling of disappointment.  It was a tough loss, but at the end of the day, this game taught a good lesson, and we will only grow from it. 

Tomorrow we enter the first round of playoffs with the memories of mistakes we will not repeat from games past, and  a focus on the future successes we will leave on the field the rest of the week.  We're excited to play for a spot in the top 8 and make a name for Israel in the World Cup!

Day Six - Bracket Champs

Despite the hiatus in posting, our team has still been laxing - coming off our win against Germany, we won over Scotland on Friday 13-6 to clinch a spot in the playoffs.  The best part of that game may have been their accents and the shortbread they handed us in exchange for our pins. 

Friday evening we celebrated Shabbat together as a team once again - we found a nearby Chabad house to graciously host us (and on such short notice).  I think celebrating cabalat Shabbat together as a team is a great opportunity for us as an Israeli, Jewish team to embrace our national and cultural identity, and makes for an extra special team dinner. 

Saturday, Shabbat, we had no games due to our organization and team policy to not play on Shabbat, and the FIL accommodating this request for bracket play. Our policy is more than a religious statement, it is a statement on the representation of our national identity.  In Israel, everything shuts down on Shabbat    (buses, many stores, etc). It is a day to rest from the daily grind and really enjoy time with family. Furthermore, our ultimate goal is to develop the sport in Israel and continue to send Israeli lacrosse teams to compete locally and abroad. To really do that, it's important that this sport and its policies be accessible to everyone, including those that observe Shabbat in its religious practices.  As a result, if we are scheduled for any playoff games for this coming Saturday, we will stand by our policy and forfeit those games. Ideally we would want the games moved to Friday afternoon, but this may not happen. You can read more about our stance on Shabbat here:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/sports/israeli-women-s-team-looking-to-make-net-gains-as-it-debuts-in-lacrosse-world-cup.premium-1.535282

We did in fact spend time with our families on Saturday - Aba and achi (dad and my brother) made the long drive up to Oshawa, only to pick me up and drive back in to Toronto. We found the Old District and the Pier down there, which was beautiful, and had dinner at a nearby restaurant.  I am really happy they were able to come!

This morning we had our final bracket game, against Korea, and won 19-2, which makes us bracket champs!   We then stayed outside in the sweltering heat to watch Australia vs. USA (two of the top teams in the tournament) which was incredible to watch.  

We've got a whole week of lacrosse left and I will try to keep you posted! 

Yalla Israel!

Day Four - Game One

8:30 a.m.: Breakfast

9:30 a.m.: Team meeting

10:30 a.m.: Depart for Stadium

11:15 a.m.: Warm ups and gaining focus - preparing for a monumental game

12:15 p.m.: Teams line up and every girl is introduced. Nikki Avershal sings HaTikva (national anthem) with the whole team supporting her. Pins and "Good Luck"s are exchanged. 

12:28 p.m.: The lineup huddles on the field. One word is shouted by each girl to represent the meaning of Israel to her. A final group whisper of "Let's make history"

12:30 p.m.: The whistle blows and Israel faces off against Germany - first game of pool play, first game for Israel Lacrosse in the World Cup.  A game that will forever mean something more than other games. 

2:00: Israel has won over Germany 15-6. Israel has won its first tournament match. Israel's Lauren Dykstra is honored as the player of the game.  Israel has given fans and players just a glimpse of what we've brought to Canada. 

Israel is here, and is not going anywhere. 

Day Three - Opening Ceremonies

Yesterday, after our first breakfast in the cafeteria (looks pretty much like MoJo, down to the plates) we made our way to the fields for a scheduled practice and chalk talk. Definitely still hot. 

We then returned to the dorms for a quick lunch and to get all cleaned up for the opening ceremonies...

To prepare, the FIL directed us all to the indoor field, which suddenly became an incredible maze of colors representing each of the 19 countries that have come this year to play in the World Cup.  Words can't really describe what it's like to essentially get to see the globe right in front of you, and to know that each of these girls came to do the exact same thing as you did - to play lacrosse, a game that esteems high values of community, friendship, and honor. 

Finally though, after several group shots and milling about, they organized the countries into alphabetical order and handed each country's team it's flag.  A soon as our captain began to stride towards us, with our Israeli flag held high, we erupted into cheers, and you could feel the immense sense of pride emanating from each and every girl.  We were here, representing Israel - a country with so much history, culture, and above all, strength, with the opportunity to show everyone there who we are and the country we stand for. 

The procession then began, with each team, in order, filing into the stadium. At the entrance, each team was introduced, and the very minute Israel was announced, we could see a sea of fans and supporters jumping up, all in blue and white with flags in hand, cheering loud enough to drown out all else. That was truly a wonderful moment. 

The teams continued around the track to the beat of traditional First Nation drumming, and lined up to watch a tribal dance to the beat of those drums - I felt this was a really great reminder of the origin and roots of the game of lacrosse - a game with a long history, and that has now managed to spread beyond Native American tribes to so many tribes of the world (including the Jewih tribe!).  Once the dancers made their way around the field, the line of teams stepped back on to the field and began to spiral in on itself till we swirled and mixed and found ourselves integrated with each other.  From there we stood amongst each other and listened to speakers share with us, although we could feel it all on our own, just how special this event and opportunity was, to be a part of something that could unite us all in one language - the language of lacrosse. 

Day One in Canada

After traveling for nearly 24 hours, I finally made it to Oshawa, Canada, host of the World Cup.

We're staying at the University of Oshawa IT, meaning dorms, cafeteria food, and the ability to walk almost everywhere.  Feels just like school! A few other teams are staying in our building, and it is so cool to see so many different people and hear so many languages and accents (I am easily nerding out about that!)

Shortly after I arrived yesterday we had a quick lunch and made our way to the fields for a professional team picture and a bit of practice before our first game, a friendly (scrimmage in non-international terms) against the Netherlands.  It was a lot of fun to be out there and just to play against another country, for some of us it was the first experience in international play. The Dutch are always a great team to play, and in fact some of the girls we play against last year in Amsterdam were playing again here in Oshawa. 

After the game we went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate our Coach's birthday (Yom Huledet Sameach!) but by about 10 o'clock we were all more than ready for bed, and ready for the World Games to begin!

To the bottom of the Earth...

After a week of two-a-days and a longer practice Friday morning, I think we were all ready for Shabbat, a day of rest. 

We attended a wonderful Shabbat service Friday night that showcased an amazing choir. It was great to attend the service and enjoy a Shabbat dinner together as a team, especially in Israel. 

Instead of laxing on Saturday, we took or day off to visit the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth (1388 feet below sea level!) and had a blast effortlessly floating and numbing ourselves to the pain of salt entering every blister and scratch. 

We then continued on to En Gedi, a nature  reserve near the Dead Sea with refreshing waterfalls that you could (and sometimes were not supposed to) splash right into.  Every stone step and incline was made worth it with each cooling pool and waterfall we came across. 

Finally, this morning was our last practice of training came in Israel. It has been a tiring, but very rewarding week and I think as much as we are sad to leave the country, we are beyond excited to make it to Canada and put all of our practicing and training into action. 

To round out the week and our Jewish roots experience, we spent the day in Jerusalem; first onto Yad Vashem (where I of course eavesdropped on an Argentine Birthright group receiving its tour in Spanish) and then onto explore the city. 

I've got another day here in Jerusalem with my family but I will be sure to keep

you all posted as our lax adventures continue on in Canada! In the meantime, you can check out other blogs and Israel Lacrosse news: http://www.lacrosse.co.il/2013/07/dubansky-mazer-tenenbaum-named-womens-national-team-captains/

Yalla Israel!!

Laxin in the Homeland

Finally found some wifi and a few moments to catch up....

We've had a busy, lax-intensive week this week, and no better place than in the homeland!  Practices are early in the morning and later in the evening to beat the heat... To little effect; but hey, we're getting our tan on!

Even better, we brought our sticks out to the beach (NOT to catch jellyfish as the cab drivers would have it), 

before making our way to Sderot (a mile from the city of Gaza).  There's a lot of perspectives, cultures and life to see here in this tiny country, and I am so happy to be able to share it with a whole team of laxers.

We also made our way down to Ashkelon where the men's team has been holding clinics to teach the kids there the game of lacrosse.  To celebrate, the men's team played the Turkish team in a friendly match - the fans and excitement that poured out was absolutely incredible. The sport is really growing here and catching on quickly!

In any case, we're getting pumped for the World Cup and have been working hard - we can't wait to show the international lacrosse community what Israel is all about!

Sababa!

First time for everything...

So I'm a little new at this, but in honor of this being Israel's first time in the World Cup, I thought I would try a first as well.  A lot of people have been getting as excited as I am about this trip, and this could be a lot of fun to share posts and pictures throughout the training and tournament!  Until the trip feel free to read up on my player profile and about Israel Lacrosse!

This is just the beginning, and I hope you will follow along and continue to support me and my team in spirit and in reading!

Happy following,
Happy laxing!