Jewish Link

The Humble Toast Sportstar of the Week: Liora Afilalo

By Jewish Link Sports Desk | September 22, 2022

The Jewish Link and The Humble Toast would like to recognize Liora Afilalo as this week’s Sportstar of the Week. The 13-year-old is an eighth grader at Manhattan Day School and is a terrific athlete. Liora began playing soccer at age 2, and has been on the West Side Soccer League team since second grade. She likes to play goalie, but is mainly a great shooter and is known for her Appele De Ball (Ball Call) move. Her coaches describe her as a team player, always assessing her role in any play and how she can assist other team players. In fifth grade, she branched out to basketball. She is on the MDS middle school varsity basketball team and has played in the varsity basketball league at Camp Mesorah and Hustle & Heart basketball camp at Camp Lavi last month. While she primarily plays basketball and soccer, she also enjoys acro and aerial gymnastics. During the pandemic, when Zoom school finished at 3 p.m. and there were no activities, she taught herself acro moves using YouTube videos. She would watch videos for two hours after Zoom school and then wake up at 7 a.m. to do her stretching before class. Liora is an all-around athlete who truly enjoys sports. Her other interests include reading and writing (she wrote and self-published a novella in fourth grade). She also loves children and works with the them at shul every Shabbat morning—and also babysits several times a week. She hopes to become a pediatrician. Read on.