Juvenile National Team Takes Bronze

Official Tournament Site with Pictures and Stats

Not quite the results of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team or the 1969 Amazing Mets, but in its own right, the 2006 Israeli national juvenile (10-12 year olds) team took European championship by storm.

We were told that we should be happy not to finish last - maybe win one game, two would be amazing.

Given these expectations, the wrong guy was picked to run the club. Coach Chuck Tover, a 30-plus-year baseball veteran from Los Angeles has never been on a losing team, and wasn't about to start with the little league squad. By the end of the week, the team for which I served as an assistant coach, was 4-2 and took the bronze medal, both national bests.

Big Blue is a huge name for a bunch a kids who not only are pre-bar mitzvah age, but also look the part. The first game of the European Championships (CEB) was slated for July 16 at 5 P.M., 14 hours after the team began its journey at the Ben-Gurion International Airport, which was followed by a four-hour flight to Prague at 6 A.M., two-hour bus ride to the site of the tournament, and an hour-long opening ceremony in the sweltering heat. Only then were the players ready to lace up their cleats, don their blue-and-white uniforms, listen to the Hatikva, and play for their country.

The first opponent was a highly-regarded Slovakia squad that came into the tournament as one of the favorites to reach the finals. Israel combined aggressive base running and stellar defense to shock the Slovaks 3-0. The Big Blue pressured the Slovaks throughout the game, and scored its 3 runs on only 2 hits to grab the 7-inning victory. Yoni Alter, Akiva Schwartz and David Tover combined for a 3-hit shutout, while striking out 11 and walking 5. The loss took the heart out of the Slovakians for the rest of the week, and set the tone for Israel.

Next up was the Czech Republic team that had finished as runner-up to the Russians in last year's competition. Israel dropped the contest 16-0 in a shortened 5-inning contest.

Although it was Israel's weakest performance all week, the team showed true grit by shutting down the Czechs in the 5th inning behind relief pitcher Eyal Harrison, who was backed up by a defense that held a potent offense with a rare 1-2-3 inning.

Down 16-0 in the bottom of the 5th, the team huddled together on the field and was determined not to give up. Putting on their rally caps, they managed to load the bases, and with their team cheer being screamed from the dugout - Mee Anuchnu? Big Blue! Who are we? Kachol Gadol!" they mounted a rally but in the end were held by the Czech team. They were being tested and the team decided then and there that the name on the fronts of their shirts (Israel) is what counted, not their names on the backs. With a 1-1 record at this juncture, the tournament still wide open. The defense continued to play excellent ball. The pitching was strong, but the team was mired in a 3-39 batting slump in its first two games. Every great team has its secret weapon, and Big Blue's is assistant coach Eliyahu Jackson, a 40-plus-year baseball veteran from Gary, Indiana. Eliyahu is a hitting guru, and he went to work with the players, making the necessary adjustments to help turn the team batting average from a terrible .076 to 45-123, or an outstanding .341, for the rest of the tournament.

Austria was up next, and the team played 10 players, each of whom reached base, and 9 of them scored. With Austria up 3-2 and threatening to break the game open, leftfielder Alter caught a deep fly ball, and threw out a runner at home trying to score from third. Big Blue took advantage of the momentum, and buried the Austrians 15-3, getting 16 hits and solid pitching from Dov Gerson, Yair Felig and Roi Davidowitz.

Poland is one of Europe's toughest teams year in, year out. With a coach brought in from the United States, the team is as fundamentally solid as you will find. Big Blue kept pace with the Poles, with the game tied at 3 halfway through. But the Poles scored 5 runs in the 4th, and Israel was not able to recover, losing 9-4.

The team then played its second game of the day less than an hour later against Belarus. Yonaton Schecter pitched 4 strong innings, and left with Israel up 5-4. Raya Ben David (one of two girls on the team) came in relief. She pitched 3 strong innings, and entering the bottom of the 7th, Israel was down 6-5. After Ben David led off with a sharp single, the team tied the score at 6, had a runner thrown out at the plate, and then scored the winning run in the most exciting finish of the tournament.

With a 3-2 record, Russia was up next. Israel has never beaten Russia, which was coming off a quarterfinal appearance in last year's Little League World Series. Big Blue played well, with the exception of one bad inning, and pulled off an outstanding 6-3 double play started by Dov Gerson as well as overall stellar defensive work at second base by Yasmina Brief (the second girl on the team).

The Russians failed to consult Rule #1 of the tournament, which deals with tight control over the number of innings pitchers can pitch and an obligatory day's rest between games. As a result, the team forfeited the game.

With the win, Israel finished with a 4-2 record, and an outside chance of second place and a spot in the championship game.

Russia played Poland the following day in a game that would determine the 2nd to 4th place spots. A Poland victory would bring the team to 5-1 and a place in the finals against the Czech Republic. A Russia win would leave the team, along with Israel and Poland all tied at 4-2.

In the championship game the Czech Republic beat Russia. At the end of the game, the entire Czech team ran over to the Israeli team and celebrated their victory with them. Not one of the 14 parents and 3 adult coaches who made the trip from Israel had ever witnessed such an event. These were special kids indeed.