A match made in Maccabiah heaven

Bec and Adam Joseph, Australian football players in our womens and mens open football sides, met at the 2005 Maccabiah Games; Adam popped the question at the 2009 Games; and in 2013, the happily married couple will return to Israel with Gerry, their 18-month-old boy.

It’s a match made in Maccabi heaven!

In fact, their travelling contingent at the Games will span four generations. Rebecca’s mother, Sally Sheridan, and her 94-year-old grandma, Ruby Saunders, will join them at the 19th Maccabiah.

“We’ll probably have the youngest and oldest supporters of the Australian team – or any team,” Bec joked.

“Gerry will be our lucky mascot wearing green and gold.”

Maccabiah is a special time for the family. Sally was there in 2005, while Ruby’s first trip to Israel came as a 90-year-old supporting her granddaughter in 2009.

“Israel is a very special place for us. Being the place we met, then got engaged and now returning again with Bub,” Adam says.

“We love playing at the Maccabiah games. We love playing in the sport we are so passionate about against other Jews from all around the globe. It’s competitive, fun and exciting.

“It’s great to be united with other Jewish athletes, in a country we feel we belong.”

Both will wear the green and gold for our mens and womens football sides for the third straight Games, while it is Adam’s fourth Games. He was a junior in 1997.

“Lucky for me, he returned in 2005,” Bec adds.

“We met at the 2005 Maccabiah Games … and I knew instantly he was the man of my dreams.

“We got engaged at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, one night on Tel Aviv beach.

“We got to celebrate straight after with our teams, which was really special.”

Adam has played football for 27 years, while Bec has worn the Maccabi blue for 15 years – including as a member of a boys side when a junior! She’s been a prominent member of NSW Maccabi sport for a long time; playing mixed touch football for 16 years, as well as being involved in swimming, futsal, netball and tennis.

If ever a couple were destined to meet in Israel, playing sport for Maccabi, then it was these two.

“We both love sport, especially soccer,” Adam says.

“Our relationship started through our love for sport, and our family has extended because of it. We will continue to be strongly involved in Maccabi and in soccer for a long time to come.”

Bec says that the Aussie womens will field a strong outfit this time around, and is looking forward to taking the pitch with a “great bunch of girls”. For Adam, 2013 will be his final opportunity to play at a major tournament because of chronic injury issues.

“The objective of the men’s soccer team is to win a medal,” he says.

“So it will be nice on a personal level to give 150 per cent to the team to achieve the team’s objective. It will also be nice for my son to watch me to play for the first time.”

And the body better hold out a little longer, it seems, because there might be some competition in the back yard coming soon …

“Gerry is already taking after his parents – he could kick a ball before he could walk!

“He comes to watch all his mum’s games and loves kicking the soccer ball.”

Bec adds: “Adam loves that he could dribble the ball with both his feet from 13 months old!”

By David Weiner, Maccabi Australia media director