by Jeff Gates, OSRUI Sports Director

Shalom! My name is Jeff Gates and I am the Sports Director here at OSRUI. This is my sixth summer on staff here at camp and my fifth summer as Sports Director. I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and am currently finishing my degree in Religion and Psychology. When I was a kid you could always find me on the court, the field, the mat, or the track. I was constantly juggling two or three different sports, trying new types of competition or fine-tuning my skills. In high school I wrestled, played football, and was a pitcher for my high school (we even won State my junior year!).

Here at OSRUI my job is to pass on my love of athletics to the chanichim here at camp. In some cases, this could be that game of basketball a camper plays every day with his or her bunkmates or it could be simply looking forward to hitting a tennis ball back and forth with a camper’s new favorite counselor. Whatever level a child is at here at camp, novice kickball player or high school varsity, we make sure they are having an amazing time during sports. In addition to the traditional sports like tennis, soccer, and basketball, we teach the chanichim new games like ga-ga, machanaiim, or world cup.

We also have sports chug (elective). Chugim give the chanichim an extra opportunity to enjoy sports as a part of their day. During sports chug, the sports center staff spends one-on-one time with each child and practices creative drills and games that will help develop their skills.

In addition to sports period and sports chug there is SPORTS NIGHT! Once a week each eidah comes to the Sports Center to play a unique game with everyone in their eidah, such as Capture the Flag or Flashlight Tag. Whether during sports period, sports chug, or sports night, the Sports Center staff and I are dedicated to making sure your children are safe while having the most fun possible with the sports they know and love, or the new games they will learn and enjoy.