Pine-Richland teen visits Tokyo while representing Israel

Reagan Surloff strengthened her connection to Israel by visiting Japan. The Pine-Richland High School student and Team Israel lacrosse player recently returned from Tokyo after competing in the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship.

“It was the coolest experience I ever had,” Reagan, 17, said.

From July 23 to Aug. 3, she and members of Israel Lacrosse’s Festival Team competed against club and national teams, as well as developmental squads, from around the world.

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As a member of the Festival Team, Reagan played alongside “Jewish and Israeli athletes from both the U.S. and Israel who share a love for the game and a connection to Israel,” according to Israel Lacrosse.

Apart from playing about 10 games with the Festival Team, Reagan said she watched Israel’s National Team finish third in the global tournament.

“They were breaking records and just performing at such a high level,” she said.

By defeating the Haudenosaunee 7-4 on Aug. 2 in the bronze medal match, Israel’s National Team claimed its “first-ever medal at the women’s championship and posted its best finish in the event in its fourth appearance, previously finishing sixth twice,” according to World Lacrosse.

Representing Team Israel — and being a fan — proved both memorable and enlightening, Reagan explained.

“When the National Team won the bronze medal, we sang ‘Hatikva’ and it was so powerful,” she said. There was just this “sense of belonging.”

In that moment, with members of the National Team — who Reagan described as the “highest Division 1-level players — having secured Israel’s best global finish, the camaraderie was clear, she said. “Everyone was coming together, all the fans, we were down right by the field, and all of the players were arm-in-arm. It was just very powerful and a beautiful thing to see.”

Although Reagan showcased her blue and white garb at the podium ceremony and during games, she and her teammates were advised to exercise more discretion elsewhere due to safety concerns.

Whether inside the hotel, on the streets or during Uber rides, “we couldn’t wear our gear,” she said. Even after games, leaving the stadium, “we would have to flip our shirts inside out, which was really unfortunate, but that’s what we had to do.”

Somersaulting between visible and hidden Israeli pride was interesting, she explained.

“When we did get to represent, you better believe we represented,” she said. “We had our flag, we were screaming.” At the same time, “honestly, I felt like I understood their concern.”

Reagan said she felt safe the entire time away and praised the host country and its culture.

She said her experiences abroad were instructive: She marveled at the absence of public trash cans and the cleanliness of the streets. She spoke with awe about the politeness of strangers and said that going to Tokyo and playing lacrosse there was “kind of like living out my dream almost.”

Years ago, Reagan’s grandfather Paul Surloff — a dedicated public school teacher and administrator with over four decades experience — traveled to Japan as part of a foreign exchange program.

“He was a principal, and he was invited by a school district in Japan,” Reagan said.

Between the pictures her grandfather showed her of Tokyo, and the souvenirs she was given by her grandmother Francine Surloff, Reagan fell in love with Japan.

“I wanted to go to Tokyo forever,” Reagan said. “It’s been my dream destination since I was very little, and so when the opportunity arose that I could go to my dream destination and play my favorite sport, I was like ‘That’s just so perfect. How do you turn that down?’”

Having checked that box — and even visited Tokyo Disney Resort, a Japanese theme park, along the way — Reagan said her trip offered so much more than an opportunity to play lacrosse.

“It’s really so much deeper than that. It’s the connections. It’s the nationalism. It’s the pride. That’s what makes Team Israel so strong,” she said. “Obviously they’re a very talented group of young women and girls, but they are just so strong and  prideful, and when there’s adversity they don’t just sit down and take it. They’re going to fight back. If they’re knocked down, they’re coming out 10 times harder. It’s just such a beautiful team dynamic, and it’s very successful.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.