This past Motzei Shabbos, the Frisch girls varsity basketball team hosted a girls basketball clinic to raise money for Israel. The clinic was a smashing success, attracting over 50 girls in grades five through eight, raising money for United Hatzalah and the IDF. The clinic included participants from eight different schools in Bergen County and New York, and even had a few girls joining from Israel.

The night started off with the Frisch varsity girls leading stretches and sprints for the participants, letting them get a true feel for how the team starts their practices. Then Coach Tali Zelenetz gathered the girls and explained that there are many ways to support Israel which can also include having fun—exactly what the fundraiser was about! The girls were then split into groups and went to skills clinics set up by the Frisch varsity basketball players. Stations included ball handling, jumpshots, layups, rebounding and passing. The participants rotated between each clinic station, engaging in each important component of basketball gameplay.

We were thrilled to have support from Iona University’s women’s D1 basketball team who came to help run the clinics, including Iona’s Israeli player Noa Givon. When it was time to meet back for closing remarks and pictures, Noa spoke to the participants in Hebrew, emphasizing the love and support that Israel needs, and sharing her hopes that everyone in Israel stays healthy and safe. Noa also showed everyone what she wrote on her basketball sneakers—Pray for Israel—to wear during games to raise awareness and show support for Israel. In a touching moment, Noa’s Christian teammate, Iona player Addy Salzer, displayed her sneakers as well, sporting the same sentiment as Noa. Many of the varsity players were inspired by this, and expressed that along with placing Israeli flag patches on their jerseys, they were going to write the same message on their sneakers as well.

Overall, the night was an inspiring one, filled with support and love for Israel along with the honing of important basketball skills. At the end of the night, Israeli participant Gal Weinstein stated excitedly: “When I get back to Israel, I’m going to tell my class how much America supports us!”