An Olympian Among Us Tal Erel and his outstanding career as an elite baseball player

By Adriana Veizaga

Position: Staff Writer

aveizaga@email.lynn.edu

Tal Erel, Lynn University baseball player, shares with iPulse how his unexpected interest in baseball was the starting point of his journey to becoming an Olympian.

Originally from Israel, Erel and his family moved to the United States due to his father’s job when Tal was just six years old. In the beginning, he knew little about baseball or English. However, he started feeling at home attending a Jewish school in North Miami Beach, where he got the chance to make new friends and discover his passion for the sport.

“Baseball is not very [popular] in Israel. There [are] only about 800 players currently playing from all ages. [At that time] I did not even know there was baseball in the country. So, when it was time for my family and I to move back to Israel, I told my dad I’m staying in the States because there is no baseball over there,” said Erel.

Erel’s concern about not being able to play baseball in Israel motivated his father to start getting information online about the country’s baseball association. As a result, he started getting involved, playing in summer camps and having the chance to join Israel’s under-12 national team at the age of 10. Ever since, Erel started representing his country while also pushing forward to build his career in order to play baseball in college. 

“I went my first year to Miami Dade College, then I transferred to Palm Beach State College and now I’m here at Lynn. I got my undergraduate degree and now I’m taking my masters,” said Erel. “I’m excited to be here, we have a great program at Lynn. It brings together both the national team and the Lynn baseball team, making it a full-year season.”

For an athlete, one of the biggest achievements is to represent their country. In this sense, Erel got the chance to represent Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Then the team got to play in the Olympic qualifiers, ending up in first place and giving Erel the life-changing chance to be an Olympian in Tokyo 2020. 

“It was very unique, it was a gigantic event of all athletes, all sports. It was just special being there, getting to see all the cultures, [there were] some countries I have never heard of before. Besides being on the field, the most memorable experience was eating at the cafeteria. It was the hanging spot for all players and nations, everyone eats together and gets to experience different cuisines. You would walk and see really famous athletes eating right next to you,” shares Erel. 

Now, what comes next for Erel after the Olympics? He is looking forward to replicating what he learned from his national team, and implementing it with Lynn’s baseball team. In the same way, he wants to share his experience with the young players, always looking to contribute to the team’s development in order to conquer this upcoming baseball season.

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