The Jewish Link and Drink Up would like to recognize Josh Gelbtuch as this week’s Sportstar of the Week. The RYNJ incoming third-grader has been a multi-sport star since kindergarten, playing basketball, flag football and baseball, including three years on TBO’s 8u travel team as a 5, 6, and 7 year old. Josh’s busy 2021-22 included three seasons of travel basketball with his Bergen Broncos team, two seasons of 8u travel baseball, a season of TBO baseball, and a season of BCFL flag football. Despite generally being among the youngest players given his August birthday, Josh has played well beyond his age, most recently leading the TBO 8u Summer travel baseball team in hitting, posting a.333 batting average and.576 OBP. Prior to the travel season, Josh was one of the top players on his TBO rec team, memorably hitting a game-winning walk-off single in his team’s first-round playoff game. While Josh has shown great all-around skill as an athlete, his attitude is his primary attribute, always wearing a huge smile, putting in maximum effort and being a great teammate.
Josh, happy birthday and congrats on being recognized as this week’s Sportstar of the Week! Who is your role model and why?
My dad, because he is always helping me and he always plays sports with me whenever I want to play.
What is your favorite sport?
Football, because there is so much movement and I love the feeling of juking someone out of their shoes.
What is your pregame routine?
Eat some food so I don’t get hungry during the game, and I like to listen to pump-up music in the car on the way with my dad.
What is your greatest sports accomplishment?
When my Bergen Broncos second grade basketball team won the Hoop Heaven third grade championship this past winter season, even though the whole team was in second grade.
Who is your favorite athlete and why?
It’s hard to have one favorite. My favorite players on my favorite teams are RJ Barrett, Zach Wilson and Aaron Judge because they are all young and great players that keep improving.
What is your weirdest sports memory?
In camp (Regesh), during a leagues game, someone kicked a ball in soccer and his shoe flew off while the ball went into the net.
What is your favorite sports memory?
Hitting a game-winning, walk-off single to win our first-round playoff game in TBO in the longest game ever played in TBO history (four hours).
What is your earliest sports memory?
Dunking on a small Knicks basketball hoop with my dad while watching a Knicks game. We have a video of me doing that as a baby.
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not playing sports?
Hanging out with my dad.
What is the best thing about being a Sportstar?
My dad always tells me that being a “star” doesn’t mean you’re special, it only means that you work hard and practice often and the results speak for themselves.
Please send nominees for an upcoming Drink Up Jewish Link Sportstar of the Week to [email protected].
