Sid Jacobson JCC 17U baseball team golden again at Maccabi Games
The 17U Sid Jacobson JCC baseball team poses for a picture during the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games at the University of Pittsburgh. Credit: Mark Rosenman
Before having his baseball team write down their goals for the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games on a blank piece of paper, coach Mark Rosenman told them one thing.
“Every accomplishment in history started with a thought," he said.
All 14 players had written that they wanted to win. And just eight days later, that thought on paper became an accomplishment.
On Aug. 8th at the University of Pittsburgh, the 17U Sid Jacobson JCC baseball team won the gold medal for the second consecutive year at the Maccabi Games — an annual Olympic-style competition for thousands of Jewish teenagers around the world.
“We all had written down the same goals,” Syosset’s David Lieberman said. “That we wanted to be leaders and we wanted to win. The feeling of that goal coming through for everyone was just amazing.”
After securing the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, the Jacobson team won six games over four days to earn gold. Half of those games were shutouts, including their final game against Greater Washington, where they had 10 hits and scored 13 runs in the second inning of a 14-0 win.
“We all knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy game," Lieberman said. “I think we all gave it a little extra that game. In that second inning, we just hit and hit and hit, and we were all bringing the energy.”
Lieberman, who was a part of last year’s team, played a huge role in their gold-medal run, pitching a four-inning no-hitter in their 13-0 semifinal victory.
“It meant a lot to me because I had my whole family there watching me,” Lieberman said. “It was a really great experience, but even though the no-hitter was great, the feeling of helping the team throughout the tournament was even better.”
For first-time player Jake Brooks, one of the best parts was experiencing dorm life at the University of Pittsburgh.
“It almost felt like we were in college,” the Roslyn sophomore said. “It was a really cool experience to be in the dorms and play on the college field.”
Participating in the tournament meant more than just playing baseball; it unites Jewish teenagers from across the country.
“We all definitely take a lot of pride in our heritage and we’re proud to be Jewish,” Lieberman said. “Although there are some hard times right now, it was great to get out there and kind of forget about a lot of that stuff for a minute.”
It’s an experience so special that Bellmore’s Alex Demas waited until after the games to get his UCL surgery.
“It’s such an amazing thing,” Demas said. “Coach Rosenman has done so much for me and has been there for me over the last few years, so I knew it was something I had to be a part of this year.”
Rosenman will be starting his team from scratch next year as 11 of this year’s players age out.
“This was a special group, they’re just so genuine and really love playing the game,” Rosenman said. “They all put their individual goals aside just to win as a team.”
Despite the majority of the team leaving, Brooks already looks forward to competing in next year’s games.
“It’s sad that basically the whole team won’t be playing again,” Brooks said. “It’s going to be different, but I’m excited to have a new team and meet and build connections with even more people.”
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