Bringing the Girls of Deal Together

Last month was the culmination of the DSN and the JCC’s fall sports season. It was also the month of the Football and Soccer Trophy Breakfast.

Fall 2010 was the season for the girls of the community. The boys always have football and baseball, but this year the sports coordinators decided to focus on the girls. There were two girls’ soccer leagues—one for 3rd and 4th graders and the other for 5th through 7th graders.

It was great to see both fathers and mothers gathering around the field to coach and watch their children play. The 100 girls and their coaches loved this early morning league. Shlomo Weiss and Jillian Poling did a great job teaching soccer skills. They helped make every team competitive and fun.

Izzy Steinberg said that coaching soccer for his daughter Eleanor’s team on Sundays was a dream. “It brought me closer to her and I got to meet all her friends. Soccer taught the kids lessons on how to win and how to lose gracefully and I was proud of how the kids responded to each other on and off the field. I am thankful to the Deal Sephardic Network and the Jewish Community Center for bringing me closer to my kids and my community.”

Jeffrey Saka, President of DSN and a coach said, “I was so proud to be part of the girls’ soccer finals. It was truly the greatest game I was ever involved in. The kids’ sportsmanship was amazing. Hats off to both teams and the entire league for giving the girls an incredible experience. Girls’ sports rock, and we can’t wait until softball.”

Soccer was only the beginning of the activities this fall for girls. There was also a Girls Mini Camp program with a cooking class in the JCC kitchen, art classes, and courses in photography and cheerleading. In addition to this awesome six week program, the girls attended an amazing show in the JCC’s Axelrod Theater, Spencer’s Magic of Illusion, which featured fabulous effects. The focus on the girls of our community was phenomenal.

The food that was made at the Mini Camp was frozen and donated to the SBH food pantry every week. The first week the kids made sambusak, and in subsequent weeks they made chocolate chip banana bread, pumpkin bread, Hanukah sugar cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies. The cooking classes were a blast. Whenever someone walked into the JCC kitchen all they could hear was, “Mmmm. This is yummy. I can’t believe we made this.” After each class, the girls brought home a taste of what they made and a new recipe.

Cheerleading was the highlight of the Sunday Mini Camp. It was unbelievable to see the level of spirit coming from the cheerleading room. The teachers did a phenomenal job and the pompoms and matching bows that the girls received were a great hit. The girls learned how to cheer on their teammates at soccer games.

Art and photography were also really great. The girls made mosaic picture frames with grout, sanding and other materials. In photography, they learned about aperture, shutter speed and light in order to control their surroundings and produce quality photographs. They learned how to print and edit their photos using digital darkroom photo-editing software, and to mount their photos using spray adhesive and a paper cutter.

Because of the strong interest in girls activities and sports, the DSN and the JCC have started a winter basketball league for 4th through 6th grade girls and an Olympics league for 1st through 3rd graders.

The community is thankful to the great partnership of the DSN and the JCC. These two great organizations have brought an excitement to Deal that hasn’t been seen in 20 years.