Coach of 2020 Olympic Team Israel Baseball

Rewinding back to 2007, I was drafted by the Bet Shmesh Blue Sox in the Israel Baseball League to serve as a player/coach and was instrumental in helping the Blue Sox win the inaugural championship. In 2013, I was an assistant coach on the Team USA that won the gold medal in baseball at the 2013 Maccabiah Games and the head coach of the Under-18 U.S. club that took gold at the 2017 Maccabiah. 

Shortly after, I switched sides and was named Head Coach of the Senior Israel National Baseball team with only hopes and dreams of reaching the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Through three years of rigorous traveling and gutsy performances with an all-hands-on-deck mentality, my squad was one of the first to secure their spot in a pool of only six international teams in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

The Olympics and everything about the experience was phenomenal. When “Play Ball” was yelled out, nothing else mattered. It was all about the competition and the game. Japan did the best job that they could dealing with a global pandemic so I was just incredibly thankful that we got to compete in the Olympics at all. 

I was able to lead the team to the knockout stages and lost to an incredibly experienced Dominican Republic team on a walk-off after having knocked out Mexico.

The entire experience meant the world to me. Meeting some of the most incredible young athletes and staff. Helping build the baseball culture in Israel from the ground up. Feeling closer to my heritage and family history. Getting to represent a country that has always given me such an incredible sense of pride, all while being the world’s underdog. Wearing Israel across my chest, with my name on the back of my jersey is a feeling I will truly never forget.

After the removal of baseball from the 2024 Olympics, I did not feel that I wanted to stick around another eight years waiting to see if they added it back. I’ve since moved on as the head coach and am excited about new opportunities.