Organization seeks to marry sports with tzedaka

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

Like many whose lives were touched by the attacks on the World Trade Center almost five years ago, Rob Herzog went through a life-altering epiphany.

Herzog was CEO of the Internet division of Marsh & McLennan, an insurance brokerage company. In a telephone interview with NJ Jewish News, he described it as a “good job, but you don’t get up in the morning and say, ‘Wow, this is going to be great; I’m going to work today.’”

He was on his way to work at the company’s office on the 96th floor of the WTC’s Tower One. As he approached the fountain in the World Trade Plaza, he recalled, “I saw the first plane directly hit my office; there was a gaping hole on the side of the building where my office was.

“After that, I asked myself, ‘What am I doing in my life?’”

Herzog was heartened by the outpouring of community spirit and altruism in the weeks that followed and wondered what he might do “to keep that spirit alive after the initial wave…to make people think about the world beyond them in their everyday lives.” Specifically, he looked for a way to combine tikun olam — repairing the world — with his love of sports. As a result, he founded ZogSports, a charity-focused, coed, social sports club that promotes charity and social action among young professionals in the New York/New Jersey area. His company organizes leagues that include touch football, outdoor and indoor soccer, volleyball, softball, basketball, and even kickball and dodge ball, as well as other events and volunteer opportunities primarily — but not exclusively — for people in their 20s and 30s.

Charities have included the large, such as the American Cancer Society and UJA Federation, as well as the small: One group chose to give to Miles for Smiles, a road race to benefit Hoboken schools.

In addition to financial contributions, ZogSports also works to raise awareness of local charity fund-raisers, including providing volunteers for such events as a recent health fair, also held in Hoboken.

In addition, the post-game gatherings — an important element in the ZogSports mission — are a source of donations. “If we draw traffic to a bar, and it’s a big league, we’ll get a decent amount of money from the bars — potentially thousands of dollars — and 100 percent of [that money] goes to charity.”

According to Herzog, more than 20,000 people have participated in ZogSports since its inception, contributing more than $175,000.

ZogSports launched in New York City in 2003 and expanded to Hoboken and Jersey City last year. The latest “expansion” begins this fall with a touch football league in Montclair; the games, scheduled to begin early next month, will be played in Glenfield Park. The key rules are: eight-on-eight, five men and three women on the field at all times, two-hand touch, and a woman must be a “primary player” on a play within three consecutive downs.

Teams will pay a fee of $875-$975, depending on the size; individuals without a team can pay an $85 fee and be placed with an existing group.

Before the season, teams designate a charity they are playing for. At the end of each season, win or lose, a portion of each team’s entry fee is donated by ZogSports to the chosen charities.

The league is divided into three divisions based not on athletic ability but on the temperament of the participant, from “extremely casual” to the “players’ division,” the most competitive group, Herzog said. “To put non-athletic types who are basically looking for a fun time in a social setting against people who played college athletics “would not be fun for [anyone].” Similarly, he said, the records will take note of wins and losses but not game scores, which can get a bit embarrassingly one-sided. “We try as hard as we can to make sure that people are having a nicer experience.”

Herzog picked football for Montclair because the town doesn’t offer it as an activity for adults. Other sports may be added in the future. “We’re starting small and hoping to attract small, fun leagues and continue to grow.”

Herzog met his wife, Laurin, at a coed softball game sponsored by Makor, a networking program for young Jewish professionals sponsored by the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. He’s not blind to the perception some might have about ZogSports’ potential to bring men and women together with an eye toward romance. And although he denies that this possibility is a main goal of his program, if some participants develop “meaningful relationships,” what could be bad? “We’ve had about 17 or 18 engagements,” Herzog said.

Rob and Laurin Herzog were married in New Jersey out of consideration for his grandmother, who is a resident of Daughters of Israel Plafsky Family Campus in West Orange. The couple has one son, 18-month-old Spencer, who, his proud papa said, already enjoys the ceremony of the family’s Shabbat dinners.

“Clearly, Jewish education has influenced who I am as a person, and certainly the concept of tzedaka and being part of the community is a lot of what I was before. When I had this near tragedy happen, I saw I wasn’t doing anything with it before…. But now a huge part of what I do every day is hopefully making the world a better place.”

He believes his work accomplishes that through three avenues: direct charity/tzedaka, helping people improve their lives through some form of exercise, and providing a social environment where people can meet and network.

While the main body of ZogSports’ participants are young professionals, Herzog, 37, emphasizes there is no restriction on age. “Right now, we have a team that’s called The Old and The Beautiful. I don’t think they have anyone who’s under 40. They are fun and athletic, and they actually won one of the championships last year.”

Registration for the Montclair touch football league is open until Aug. 31.