Moss Has Been a Bit of a Rolling Stone

At 14, Steve Moss is already an athlete in demand. Considered one of the best youth baseball players in the region, Moss has traveled to Washington to compete in the decathlon for track, played American Legion baseball for Brentwood and gone to North Carolina for AAU baseball.

But his most enjoyable summer experience could start Sunday when he plays for the Los Angeles baseball team of 13- and 14-year-olds in the Maccabi Games in West Bloomfield, Mich.

More than 150 athletes from the region aged 13-16 will be participating in the Maccabi Games, which brings together 3,400 Jewish athletes from 68 cities and several foreign countries to compete for medals in 12 sports. The opening ceremonies take place at The Palace in Auburn Hills.

The Los Angeles delegation has dominated baseball and softball, winning gold medal after gold medal.

“It was real difficult selecting the kids,� said Lee Goldman, coach of the L.A. 13-14 baseball team. “We could have taken two or three teams.�

Moss, an outfielder, lives in Sherman Oaks and is a freshman at Brentwood School in West L.A. He’s 6 feet 1 and growing [both his grandparents are 6-5]. During the American Legion Area 6 playoffs, he had four hits in 12 at-bats for Brentwood, an extraordinary accomplishment for someone who hasn’t even started ninth grade.

“He’s a very talented ballplayer,� Goldman said.

Moss has been attending Brentwood since he was a seventh-grader. He plans to see how well he develops as a baseball player next spring before deciding if he’ll stay at Brentwood through high school.

He’s using the Maccabi competition as a chance to meet new friends, stay sharp in baseball and learn a little about Jewish culture.

The L.A. team is loaded with future high school standouts and might be the strongest since 1994, when former El Camino Real High star Woody Cliffords led the team to a gold medal.

Other top players include Justin Segal (Calabasas), Jesse Michel (Calabasas), Shane Sabran (Chaminade), Jason Brown (Hart), Matt Kaplan (Brentwood) and Landon Lerner (Taft).

The other L.A. baseball team, made up of 15- and 16-year-olds, is led by pitcher Michael Marble of Grant.

The softball team has won gold medals every year since Beth Kaminkow started coaching in 1988. In fact, the softball team hasn’t lost a game.

“Southern California is the home of softball,� Kaminkow said.

This year, Kaminkow has seven players who are on national age-group softball teams. Her pitchers are 14-year-old Melissa Johnson of Oak Park, 14-year-old Rachel Murray of Westlake and 13-year-old Jessica Madick of Calabasas.

First baseman Kim Refkin of Agoura is competing in her fourth Maccabi Games.

“The atmosphere is like the real Olympics,� she said. “The competition is the least you remember.

“You should expect to meet a lot of people from all over and you’ll remember it forever. I still have friends from the first time.�

The girls’ soccer team figures to contend for a gold medal. The team includes two top players from Chaminade High, Kim Taylor and Sara Leibowitz, plus Shannon DeVos of Chatsworth.