Since retiring from playing professional basketball in 2009, Tamir Goodman, known as the “Jewish Jordan,” has been steadily on the go. Tamir and his wife, Judy, have four kids, founded the non-profit Coolanu Israel, and co-wrote The Jewish Jordan’s Triple Threat together. Individually, Tamir created Sport Strings Tzitzit and partners in the Omri Casspi Basketball Camps, and Judy works for various companies–as well as writes, runs, and cooks.
I got to chat with the couple about playing sports with their kids, writing a book together, and their day-to-day life as parents.
Tamir, what do you miss most about playing professionally?
I
was fortunate to live out my dream of playing Division I college and
professional basketball without playing on Shabbat. I played until
injuries prevented me from physically being able to compete anymore. I
love the game and I definitely miss playing it, but I never played just
for the love of the game; I always played for the larger purpose of
representing Israel and Judaism on the court.Fortunately, I am able to continue this mission even after my playing days have ended through my Coolanu Israel basketball camps, clinics, development of my basketball products like sport Strings Tzitzit and Zone190, and my recently published book, The Jewish Jordan’s Triple Threat.
Do you ball with your kids? What sports are they into?
As a coach (Tamir) and soon-to-be certified personal trainer (Judy), we both recognize how important it is for kids to be active. With this in mind, we play lots of different sports–not just basketball. Some days we ride bikes, or play catch, or go to the playground. We even play sport games in the house when the weather is too cold to go outside.
Through our family routines, we try to expose our kids to different sports and encourage them to have fun being active, because if they enjoy what they are doing then it is more likely to become a life-long habit. In addition to helping kids stay healthy and happy, sports impart so many important values. Resilience, confidence, respect for others, teamwork, commitment, perseverance, and the value of a strong work ethic are all lessons that kids learn while running up and down the court or playing the field.
Continue reading.
I
was raised by my secular, humanist Jewish family in the woods of
central Maine. We were surrounded by lakes and maples, heard loons at
night and occasionally, a moose and her calf wandered into our backyard,
much to the consternation of our golden retriever. There were no
sidewalks in our town, no traffic lights. My sisters and I played Laura
Ingalls Wilder in the backyard until dark. It was isolated and idyllic.
In
the summer of 2012 conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh labeled Camp
Kinderland, "extremist," pointed to its "Communist roots," and accused
it of indoctrinating children. Comedian Katie Halper, a Kinderland alum,
decided there was just one way to get to the bottom of the allegations:
go back to camp.
As
Ido writes in the introduction to his blog, “I am an autistic guy with a
message. I spent the first half of my life completely trapped in
silence. The second, on becoming a free soul. I had to fight to get an
education. Now I am a regular education student. I communicate by typing
on an iPad or a letter board. My book, Ido in Autismland: Climbing Out
of Autism’s Silent Prison, is an autism diary, telling the story of my
symptoms, education, and journey into communication. I hope to help
other autistic people find a way out of their silence too.”
All the parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read.