Bring It In - Israel
 
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November 29th, Bring It In - Israel Fellows Judah Batist and Jacob Walker from Aardvark Israel showed why they were chosen as Bring It In - Israel Fellows Monday morning at Henesuee School in Jerusalem. Quiet and attentive at training sessions and previous in the field training sessions, Judah and Jacob stepped up and lead the event. The two Toronto Fellows acted as a tag team, taking turns demonstrating drills, giving instructions, teaching English phrases, and getting the children cheering. Both demonstrated excellent command of the Bring It In - Israel curriculum and Hebrew sports vocabulary.
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Henesuee School, located in downtown Jerusalem, encourages children to choose what subjects they want to study. On Monday that was clearly basketball and team building games. Both the 3rd and 5th grade classes had an amazing time. Every child in the gym was cheering.  After the event Judah and Jacob were full of ideas for Israel Sports Days back in North America. Jacob said that it was his best day so far in Israel.

After the spirited sports activities Henesuee gym teacher Ruti said, "Bring It In - Israel is always welcome at Henesuee school." Click here for pictures from the event.  
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November 19th, at Hand in Hand School in Jerusalem, Bring It In - Israel Winter Fellows used games and drills from the Bring It In - Israel curriculum to run a joint practice for 2nd and 3rd grade Arab and Jewish children from Beit Safafa and Katamon. The children are part of PeacePlayers International's (PPI) program that uses basketball to unite and educate Arab and Jewish children and their communities. The 2nd and 3rd graders, lovingly called "Mini's" by the PPI staff, were meeting for the second time. Bring It In - Israel Fellows focused on honing their skills coaching with enthusiasm and excitement. PPI Joint practices, or Twinnings, require a high level of energy and excitement from the coaches to ensure that the children have a positive experience. Similarly, Fellow lead Israel sports Days in Israel and back home in North America are designed to be packed full of energy and excitement. Over the course of the Fellowship, coaches have gained the skills and coaching techniques to engage children and get them excited. The PPI joint practice was filled with High Fives, cheering, and a lot of laughter.

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According to Bring It In - Israel Head Coach David Lasday, "Research shows that people learn more, and connect more with each other, in a high energy atmosphere. The Fellows have done a great job of taking the positive energy building coaching techniques we taught them and really making them their own."

PPI players left the practice excited for future PPI activities. Fellows left having connected to another important part of Israeli society. Fellow Judah Batist from Aardvark Israel said "This was a cool and unique experience, it was great to see the Arab and Jewish children cheering each other on, and playing together."

Click here for a link to PPI's blog post about the event.


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Tuesday, November 23rd , Bring It In - Israel Fellows Gabi Remz and Sam Foreman had the opportunity to work with children from Keshet School in Jerusalem. Keshet is a unique school that offers secular and religious Israeli children the opportunity to learn together. The first practice Gabi and Sam shadowed basketball coach Aran Rondel as he coached twenty 1st  and 2nd  graders. Fellows were able to observe and jump in on drills.

The second practice the fellows had the opportunity to coach a group of 12 3rd and 4rth grade boys. Fellows practiced running activities from the Bring It In - Israel curriculum. They focused on explaining the drills properly and group management. According to Head Coach David Lasday, “Sam and Gabi were a big hit with the children, they commanded respect, got the children excited about learning basketball and English, and ran the games to perfection. As young dynamic leaders they have the ability to serve as both coaches and role models for Jewish youth around the world.”

Click here for a blog post by Fellow Gabi Remz.   
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