Former Wesmen men's basketball coach Dave Crook is travelling to Israel this summer as the head coach of the Canadian U16 Maccabi Games team. Crook started with the Maccabi team last summer in Toronto at a tryout camp and then trained with the team over the December break. The Maccabi Games are the World's third largest multi sport games, held every four years in Israel for Jewish athletes of all ages. The games start on July 18th with the Canadians opening with a game against Turkey in Netanyahu, Israel. The Canadians will also face the USA, Argentina and Venezuela in pool play.This will be his first experience at the Maccabi Games, but Dave is no stranger to the International game after coaching for Canada Basketball for ten years, highlighted by qualifying as the first Canadian age group team (Men or Women) for a World Championship in 2004 and then defeating the USA before capturing Canada's second ever medal at a FIBA event (the last previous was the 1936 Olympics) at the 2005 Young Men's World Championships.
These days Crook teaches in the Kinesiology faculty at the U of W, is the marketing coordinator of Wesmen athletics and volunteers as the grade 8 developmental coach at Balmoral Hall School.