As part of the ongoing activities of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department, the players from various age groups participate in bi-weekly events with the “Educating for Excellence” organization.
The non-profit organization helps reduce the social gaps and creates equal opportunities for children with potential for excellence who reside within Israel’s social and geographic periphery. Together with the Maccabi Youth Department, children from all age groups participate in joint programming led by coaches from the various teams.
Kfir Alfonte and Eliran Mizrachi who coach the Under-12 and Under-11 clubs spoke about the activities that they do with the organization’s children and what the Maccabi youth gain from the experience: “It’s a program where 10 children of different ages come to the Youth Department, “ Elfonte explained. “We bring our Under-12 and Under-11 sides and we have a tournament that features both the organization’s children and those from our youth department. We all enjoy it very much, and our kids also understand the importance of these programs.”
The coach also discussed what the “Educating for Excellence” children gain from the activities: “I believe that the children from ‘Educating for Excellence’ feel that they are doing something that at first they believed they couldn’t do and it gets them closer to their dreams. These children are very special and there are even two kids that perhaps could join Maccabi in the future.”
Eliran Mizrachi who also leads the joint programs, commented about the activities from his point of view: “We began these activities 2-3 years ago with the youngest age groups in the department. This year we’ve done a number of groups with them and it’s been a lot of fun. We are teaching them what Maccabi Tel Aviv is and we are giving them the opportunity to play with children who are terrific players at their same age.”
Mizrachi continued talking about what the Maccabi children gain from the experience as well: “This imbues patience in their understanding of other children, the fact that there are others who aren’t as fortunate as them and don’t have the opportunities to obtain the tools succeed. Working together with them on the pitch, with players of different levels gives them the chance to enjoy the programming and this is the message that we also want to send to their schools. We want them to understand that they are role models even at this young age and to grasp what it means to be a player with Maccabi Tel Aviv and not take that fact for granted.”
In terms of the importance of these activities for the coaches, Mizrachi said: “We as coaches know and understand that it’s not just about being a professional on the pitch but off of it as well. Respect and good values come before everything else. It’s a privilege to contribute to the community and we do so with pride and joy.”
