Spencer Rockman, a friend and a wonderful local soccer coach who also runs clinics in Israel, was recently on PBS (public television). He starts:
I am a soccer coach. I am also an observant Jew. It was God’s plan for me to be a soccer coach.
In the video, he shows how he leads diverse groups of children here in New Jersey, teaching them not just soccer but values. Two of my friend’s sons are shown (quickly, the scenes change often in the video). He makes us proud!
Featured is also his wife, who talks about the foster children they have had in their home.
Here’s a photo I took of him at a recent shul picnic:
Thanks for sharing and also showing that it is possible to keep and share one’s values in a secular environment.
i’d say that people like him are a קדוש השם, but the last time i made that observation about an athlete i was criticized.
That is so neat! I love that there are people like him and his wife who truly practice what they preach. Thanks for sharing.
What an interesting article and the video is fun. It’s not hard to see why the children love him..as he loves them…
Thanks…if you meet him in person, he’s SO likable. It’s wonderful that he can devote his life to teaching children.
i watched the video, although it didn’t stream so well.
very interesting. but why does he refer to himself as observant rather orthodox?
LoZ, I can’t answer for Spencer (I could try asking, but I mostly see him briefly at kiddush in shul or in passing when he’s busy teaching kids), but I often use “observant” because 1) it’s more inclusive and 2) I don’t have to affiliate myself with whichever Orthodox rabbi happens to say something that irks me (too often).