Alex Voihanski, right, has run sports leagues before. He’s organized some of the city’s biggest baseball and basketball leagues – one with 90 teams – and earlier this winter, he recruited and coached a group of Jewish hockey players who won the gold medal in the Canadian Multicultural Hockey League championship.
Now he’s set his sights on something just as challenging, but with a payoff that might even be bigger. Voihanski, through his company Chai Life Sports, is planning to open sports leagues aimed at Jewish youngsters living in the GTA.
The leagues, which will be geared initially for kids from five to 12, will kick off in May with T-ball, softball and soccer. That will be followed by summer leagues for kids attending sports camps, and come fall and winter, hockey will be added to the sporting menu.
Chai Life will sponsor a launch party on Sunday March 29, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Pavilion Arena. It will include a free skate, music by Magen Boys Entertainment and activities for kids.
Voihanski, who cut his teeth operating B’nai Brith Canada’s softball, hockey and basketball leagues, sees sports as a means to an end.
It’s not just a way to have fun and get exercise, but it can also address the problem of assimilation by providing a vehicle to bring young Jews together and strengthen their Jewish identities, he said.
“I’m a very passionate person, especially in terms of Judaism and Israel,” he said. “I see assimilation, and we need programs to bring these kids together.”
Sport is something most youngsters enjoy and seeing successful Jewish athletes instils pride in young kids. It can be the glue to bring youngsters closer to their Jewish roots, Voihanski said.
What’s more, “you never know when you bring kids together – you can find a diamond in the rough or a future community leader.”
With his partner, Jeremy Blustein, and supported by an advisory board of prominent community members, Voihanski is hoping to attract hundreds of kids to the league’s inaugural season, which will not play on Shabbat.
He hopes to field eight soccer teams serving roughly 100 children playing in two divisions. Like other neighbourhood leagues, the Jewish circuit will rely on parent volunteers to coach and run scrimmages. Players will be divided by age, with five and six-year-olds playing together and older kids in the other division.
“We’re big in terms of development and teaching technique, with zero tolerance for hitting and verbal stuff,” he said.
The softball league, geared for nine-to- 12-year-olds, also gets underway in May. The kids will play “modified softball,” the most popular variant of the game in which pitchers throw underhand, but without the power-generating windmill motion. Ninety per cent of the 90-team B’nai Brith league he organizes plays that style of game, he said.
T-ball is aimed at the younger crowd, those five to eight years of age.
Voihanski expects to field four T-ball and four softball teams. Games will be played in North York and Thornhill.
Hockey, which begins in September, will be held at the Pavilion on Sundays. He expects to ice 10 to 12 teams for children aged five to 12.
Basketball will also be played at the Pavilion for kids five to 12.
Voihanski’s goal is to expand the league as participants reach their teens.
The league is primarily recreational in nature. Players in every sport will get one game and one practice a week and fees are expected to be in the $150 to $200 range for T-ball, softball and soccer. The cost of ice rental will likely push hockey fees closer to $400, he said.
All the leagues are non-profit, Voihanski said. “I do this because it’s a passion for both Jeremy and I. We’re both proud Jews.”
