By Zach Patberg
Still, it was a show. About 65 children of the Summer Sports Clinic Program held at the YM-YWHA in Forest Hills kicked off the games Monday morning with an opening ceremony that consisted of colored-cellophane torches and a march around the gym to the theme from “Rocky.” They then divided into six teams, depending on age. How far they jumped, how many baskets they made or push-ups they could do were tallied into a point system by the 12-person coaching staff. By the week's end medals and diplomas will be given (to everyone) followed by a celebratory disco party.”If you get a gold medal and bring it home, your mom will give you $5 for it,” said head coach, Ziggy Chodor, waving a large metal medallion in front of the line of children. Chodor, the Y's physical education specialist and only coach over 16, said he has been doing this for over 10 years because he wanted to “put time in to teach the kids to expect big achievement.””Everyone's having fun, nobody loses,” he said. However, incentives to win did exist. Besides the gold medals, the team with the most points, along with each team's top athlete, would get first pick from the treasure chest.Mladen Orlovic, 9, born in Serbia and now attending PS 196 elementary was unsure of his gymnastic skills but said “for swimming, I can win No. 1 every time.” Some around him agreed while others claimed the Polish-American twins, Artek and Bartek Chodor from PS 99 were “the fastest swimmers in the group.”Only time will tell. Gilat Melamed, 7, born in Manhattan, is a second-grader at PS175 with two years of gymnastics behind her. She said she has been watching gymnasts competing in Athens at the Olympics and had plans to do the same some day. As of now, “I'm learning how to walk on my hands,” she said. While the athletes broke for apple juice and pretzels rods, the teams' coaches, most of whom were entering high school this fall, talked about why they were there. Alina Soltanova was volunteering through her school saying she “liked helping with kids,” a young student clinging to her leg.Vickie Suleymanova from Bayside High School is working for the Y through the Forest Hill's Jewish Community Center. Getting paid to play with kids, she said, was “really cool.”For 16-year-old Daniel Dzhurayev, it was more therapeutic. Having moved to the United States 11 years ago from Uzbekistan, the soon-to-be senior at Forest Hills High School said, “I never did any of this as a kid. I was learning English and never had time to run around. It's makes me feel young.”And Forest Hills native, Julie Maksimov, 14, needed something to bide the time. “I just didn't want to spend the summer without doing anything,” she said. The games continue through the week at the Y, located at 67-09 108th St. in Forest Hills. Reach reporter Zach Patberg by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
