At the elite, Open level, Maccabi USA will be bringing two teams - an Open Women's team and an Open Men's team.  The Women's team will be led by Head Coach, Jason Neidell who is the Women's Soccer Head Coach at Western Kentucky University and Assistant Coach Abby Richter, who is the Assistant Coach for Women's Soccer at Kent State University.  The Men's team will be led by Head Coach Seth Roland who is the Head Coach of the Men's Soccer Team at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Assistant Coach, Michael Erush, Assistant Coach at Loyola Marymount University. 

At the Juniors and Youth levels, there will be three teams.  The Juniors Girls' team will be led by Head Coach Barry Kaplan who is head coach for Women's Soccer at Georgia Southwestern University, and Assistant Coach Wendi Whitman who is the top Assistant Coach at Long Beach State University.  The Juniors Boys' team will be led by Preston and Sean Goldfarb.  Preston, who is entering his 26^th season as the Men's Head Soccer Coach for Birmingham-Southern College will be the team's Head Coach, and his son Sean, who just completed his senior year at Birmingham-Southern College as a midfielder, will serve as the team's Assistant Coach.  The Youth Men's team will be led by Head Coach, Adam Cooper, currently the Head Coach for St. Mary's College of California Men's Soccer Team.  His Assistant Coach is David Cohen, who is a Coach for the San Diego Surf Soccer Club.

There will be two Masters Soccer teams competing at the Games, one for 35 - 44 year olds and the second for those 45+.  The 35 - 44 Masters Men's Soccer team will be led by Head Coach, Al Albert, who with over 30 years of collegiate coaching experience currently works as the Associate Director of Athletic Development at the College of William & Mary.  The 45+ Masters Men's Soccer team will be led by Head Coach Steven Goldenring, who competed as a member of the Silver Medal USA Masters Men's Soccer team at the 17^th Maccabiah Games in 2005.

All athletes interested in competing should go to http://www.maccabiusa.com/ to apply for the Team.  Soccer Tryouts for Open, Junior and Youth teams will all be held December 19 - 21, 2008 in Plantation, FL.  Tryouts for both Masters level teams will be held Sept. 5 - 7, 2008 in Williamsburg, VA.  Additional information is available on the website.

About the organization:

Maccabi USA/Sports for Israel (MUSA) has an extensive history of enriching Jewish lives through athletic, cultural and educational programs.  The organization is the official sponsor of the United States Team to the World Maccabiah Games, the Pan American Maccabi Games and the Maccabi competitions in Europe and Australia, as well as a co-founder of the JCC Maccabi Games for teens in North America.  As the official Maccabi representative in the U.S., Maccabi USA supports Jewish athletic endeavors, enhanced by cultural and educational activities in the United States, Israel and throughout the Diaspora.

MUSA develops, promotes and supports international, national and regional athletic-based activities and facilities.  We strive to provide Jewish athletes the world over, the opportunity to share their heritage and customs in competitive athletic settings.  We support programs that embody the Maccabi ideals of Jewish continuity, Zionism and excellence in sport. 

"Now more than ever, we need to get involved and committed to building a proud Jewish Identity among our young people in the U.S., Israel and the Diaspora," stated Ron Carner, General Chairman, USA Maccabiah Team. "The Maccabiah (Games) is not just about sports, but about providing for these young people a Jewish awareness of who they are, where they come from and where they are going."

The World Maccabiah Games are a quadrennial event that takes place in Israel.  The 18^th World Maccabiah Games, scheduled for July 13 - 23, 2009 will be the world's third largest international athletic competition.  Over 9000 of the world's best Jewish athletes from six continents and over 60 countries will compete at the Games.

###