Eight Months of Basketball, Growth & Lifelong Bonds

This month, MWU's first-ever sports academy program - part of the new Maccabi Israel Sports Experience initiative, came to its end. This incredible journey gave post-high school athletes the chance to spend a year living at Kfar Maccabiah, training with top coaches, meeting some of the sports world’s most inspiring figures, and exploring their roots while taking their game skills to the next level.

It was a year filled with intense workouts, spiritual deep dives, social media activism, water hikes in the Galilee, late-night reflections, and a moving final celebration in Jerusalem.

The program’s first class includes 10 young men from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia, training under Head Coach Harold Katz - former assistant coach at UMBC and head coach at Goucher College.

"Loyalty, love, and a sense of family", that's what our players said they'll carry with them. And honestly? So will we!