By Judah Rhine
MVP at Camp Seneca Lake, the premier Orthodox Jewish boys’ basketball camp, celebrated its eighth consecutive season of record-breaking registration and enrollment. Four divisions, 24 teams, and over 120 games were played over the course of the five-day camp. This was by far our best season ever. There is something here for everyone–and every camper is truly an MVP.
The games were competitive and exciting with many last-minute buzzer-beater endings. This year’s MVP featured players with all levels of playing ability. Players from grades 3 through 12 represented schools throughout the tri-state area, including Yavneh, Noam, YNJ, Moriah, Ashar, TABC, Frisch, JEC, HAFTR, HALB, HANC, North Shore Hebrew Academy, YCQ, Har Torah, SAR, Ramaz, Derech HaTorah, MTA, Rambam, MAY, DRS, Kushner, Beit Rabban, Ben Porat Yosef, Magen David, Yeshivah of Flatbush, Hillel Yeshivah, and others. Campers traveled from as far away as Chicago to join MVP. Some of the counselors/coaches were former MVP players and were able to give over their experiences to this year’s MVP players from their years at MVP.
Upon arrival, each MVP player received his own reversible MVP jersey featuring the MVP logo. Each day at MVP was filled with a jam-packed schedule starting with Shacharis, followed by breakfast, and then a series of activities including conditioning, clinics, swim featuring the Seneca Giant Slide, league games, after-lunch visits to Seneca Sprinkles ice cream parlor, 3-on-3, 2-on-2, and 1-on-1 competitions, and much more. After dinner, all MVP players went to the shul for Minchah and Ma’ariv. Following the night games and the nightly individual skills contests for each grade (plus a movie for juniors), the late-night barbecues gave all the MVP players across all the divisions and schools the opportunity to interact and meet up with each other.
Special events included the annual spectacular MVP endurance challenge competition. On the final day of MVP 2016, the championship games for each division were played at beautiful brand-new Seneca Center Complex as well as Seneca Park (featuring stadium seating). They were followed by lunch and the annual closing awards ceremonies, where over 100 trophies were distributed to champions from all the many competitions that took place during the course of the week, including the MVP awards to the MVPs of each of the leagues. Once all the busses were boarded, every MVP player was so excited to receive his own MVP Klipped Kippah and MVP cinch sack–and was already looking forward to MVP 2017.
This year, MVP was privileged to have Johnny Halpert, legendary head coach at Yeshiva University. Coach Halpert gave clinics to the campers and stated, “This is by far the best basketball program for Jewish basketball players.”
In addition, MVP had their resident staff including Barry Neuberger, associate athletic director at Columbia University; Andy Weitzen, head coach of Ramaz Middle School Varsity; as well as others, who gave multiple clinics to all the MVP players.
MVP, under my co-direction together with Irv Bader, has already started planning for MVP 2017, which promises to be even better! Please visit www.senecalake.com and click on the MVP link for pictures from this past season, and to register for MVP 2017. Once again, registration was sold out this past season, which resulted in a waiting list. Please make sure to register early so you don’t get closed out.
For more information, contact me at mvp4boys@gmail.com or Irv Bader at info@senecalake.com.
MVP: Where every player can be an MVP. All ball, all the time.
Judah Rhine, who has been coaching youth basketball for more than 35 years, is co-director of MVP Boys Basketball Camp and MVP Girls Basketball Camp and co‑commissioner of the National Council of Young Israel basketball league. He can be reached at mvp4boys@gmail.com or mvp4girls@gmail.com.