Ice hockey champ keeps Judaism in the net

South Africa isn’t widely known for its prowess in ice hockey, nor are local Jewish teens usually recognised for their talent in this sport.

That is, until 17-year-old Hirsh Lyons Grade 11 student Yuval Levi came into his own, representing South Africa in the international sporting arena.

Although Levi was selected for the national side when he was only 14, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from making his debut until the end of March this year in Bosnia.

What a debut it was! He shone so brightly, he was selected Best South African Player by the chairperson of the International Ice Hockey Federation. This was in spite of choosing to bow out of one of his games for South Africa because it fell on Shabbos.

“It was one of the hardest decisions of my life. It tore at me when I realised I was expected to play on Shabbos. I knew how hard I had worked and trained to represent South Africa, but I also knew that it was Hashem who got me there,” Levi told the SA Jewish Report this week.

“I sat by myself for a long time trying to work it out because it wasn’t that I couldn’t play, but it was not in the spirit of Shabbos. I know I made the right decision and, amazingly, my team mates supported me 100% . They respected me for it, even if it may have had an impact on their game.”

Levi wasn’t just there over Shabbat, the tournament fell over Pesach. So, every day, he walked 26 flights of stairs to his dad’s room in the hotel so that he could get his kosher le Pesach food and take it down to eat with his team mates. “It gave me an opportunity to teach them about my religion and to learn more about theirs,” he says.

Levi was the star of South African team in Bosnia for “creating a lot of plays”. He scored two hattricks in two games, two goals in a third game, and assisted in two other goals. Not bad for only three games in the tournament!

Making his debut on the international arena wasn’t plain sailing, however. “It was nerve-wracking,” Levi says. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a great experience. Even though you’re in a different country and you have just about 10 supporters – the parents who come and watch – you can feel the love and honour in playing for your country.”

Ice hockey is a tough game, with players gliding across the ice at breakneck speed, others diving on their knees and stomachs to try to stop the puck from sliding into the back of the net, and a forward swerving around a defender before swiping the puck past the goaltender. In between it all, players take off their gloves and start brawling with their opponents.

Gauteng, Western Province, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Province each host leagues for various age groups in ice hockey. There are annual national leagues and competitions for all age groups from under-12 to senior level.

“There are about 1 500 ice hockey players in the whole country,” says Levi. “We have about seven teams in our local league in Gauteng. In Cape Town, they have only one ice rink and only two teams, which play games against each other every weekend.”

When Levi was six, his family started a skating academy in Johannesburg. “If you follow through with the skating academy, you become a figure skater,” he says. “It wasn’t something I was looking to do. One of my coaches was also a hockey player, so he told me to try out, and I did at about the age of seven. I have stuck to the sport since.”

He would play for inter-provincial teams where there were scouts for the national side. Levi was invited to go to a camp of 45 to 50 players, from which they would select a team to represent South Africa. He was selected at the age of 14, and was meant to play for South Africa in Luxembourg when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the week before they were meant to leave, it was cancelled.

Today, besides playing for the national team, Levi captains the inter-provincial under-18 and under-20 teams. He also plays under-18 and first (adult) division for Sabres Ice Hockey Club in Kempton Park. “And I play under-20 ice hockey for a team called Miners. I play in the Premier Hockey League [PHL], which is for the elite adults in Gauteng.”

If that isn’t enough, he plays for the Wild Cats in the Super League, South Africa’s top ice hockey competition, which features teams from Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

Levi practices on Tuesday nights from 18:30 to 20:30. “If I’m not busy with school, I go on a Thursday night to practice in Pretoria from 17:30 to 19:30. Games for our local league are usually on a Sunday.”

He’s not your average Hirsh Lyons pupil, Levi admits. However, though he’s the only person in his grade playing for a national side, his grade is quite sporty. “They all support me and are proud of me,” he says.

He’s not the only person in the community who plays ice hockey. In fact, 14-year-old Shaarei Torah student Noam Levin plays under-20 ice hockey for the Sabres and Miners, while Benji Pilatowsky, a Yeshiva College alumnus who was involved in running the Achim youth movement, plays in the PHL.

They both train at Festival Mall in Kempton Park, with games sometimes taking place at Forest Hill City Mall in Centurion or the Grove Mall in Pretoria.

Levin, who followed in his brother’s footsteps by playing ice hockey, says that to succeed in ice hockey, “You need to be a good skater, have good coordination, and have good hands.”

Pilatowsky and Levi like the speed of the game. “It’s a full contact sport, so it doesn’t allow players to hang on to the puck for long,” says the former, who took up the sport while growing up in Mexico City. “There’s always passing, you’re always on your feet.”

Levi also enjoys the quick decision-making and adrenaline rush one experiences during the game.

In this game, there’s no resting on laurels. So, this Friday through to Sunday, there are try outs for the under-20s national side and then two weeks later for the under-18s, and Levi will be there (except on Saturday).

Ultimately, he hopes to get a scholarship to pay in a top college in the United States.