community
Olympics softball aspirations Birmingham’s Rebecca Blitz, Ole Miss alumna Jamie Morgan named to Israeli team A Birmingham native who is one of the all-time top softball players at Indiana University and a former Ole Miss outfielder from Arizona have their eyes on reaching the Olympics in 2020 — playing for Israel. Rebecca Blitz, who starred for four years on the Indiana Hoosiers’ softball team and who helped lead the United States team to the Israel Maccabi Games gold in 2017, and Ole Miss alumna Jamie Morgan, who is now assistant softball coach at Winthrop in South Carolina, are on the Israeli team that hopes to become the first-ever Israeli team to qualify for the Olympics. All previous Israeli Olympians were in individual sports. The Israel Softball Association selected Blitz and Morgan in naming the first half of the roster. The announcement included 12 players. To play for Israel, the players are required Photo by Mike Dickbernd/IU Sports to have at least one Jewish parent or Rebecca Blitz grandparent and must travel to Israel to receive dual citizenship. The team will be coached by Stacy Iveson, who currently serves as the Director of Operations for the University of Arizona. The players will travel to Israel in May to receive their citizenship. They will return to the U.S. to train, then on July 4 they will head to the Czech Republic for the European championships. If they place in the top six, they will go to Holland for the Olympics qualifier. They would have to place in the top two in Holland to advance to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Jamie Morgan Blitz said several of the team members have never been to Israel, “so it will be fun to show them around.” “The Maccabi Games was my first time ever in Israel and I fell in love with the country right away,” said Blitz, a centerfielder who will earn her graduate degree in information systems this May. “It’s a beautiful, diverse country and such an important place to our people. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.” Blitz returned to Israel this past December on a Birthright Israel trip. She went with her older sister, Callie, who was making her first visit to Israel. “We had even more of a chance to see the sights, since we didn’t have softball competition,” she said. “I learned so much more this time and it was so special sharing it with my sister. We stayed in six different places in 10 days.” This time, Blitz said it is exciting “to be able to go out on the field and compete again, this time being able to represent Israel and my heritage. It makes even more special as we attempt to do something Israel hasn’t done 50
March 2019 • Southern Jewish Life