By Deb Silverthorn

Gary Schneider’s birthday parties, dubbed “Garyfest,” are a slam dunk. Literally. For more than a decade, Schneider, who turned 35 in December, has been bringing family and friends together on the basketball, floor hockey, soccer, dodgeball and volleyball courts, and of course always for cake and candles.

“In 2014, I decided I wanted to have the most epic birthday party,” said the Dallas native who now lives in Northern California’s Bay Area. “I put together an afternoon of sports that would be competitive but for fun, and it was awesome.”

That “awesome” has continued year after year, with the exception of a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. The celebrants convene at The Episcopal School of Dallas, where Schneider’s uncle, Mike Schneider, an ESD coach and physical education teacher, helps arrange the rental.

In addition to family, Schneider — the son of Kathy and Steve and the brother of Corey — has friends dating back to his preschool and Maccabi Games days at the Aaron Family JCC, through elementary school, Congregation Shearith Israel, BBYO (he was a member of the Henry Monsky chapter) and Richardson High School.

There are Sigma Alpha Mu brothers and other friends from the University of Texas at Austin, where Schneider graduated with a degree in kinesiology. He then earned a doctorate in physical therapy at Texas State University and is now a physical therapist at Odyssey Performance Physical Therapy in Oakland, California.

On Jan. 3,  24 buddies participated and for Schneider, getting together then, and always, is the best gift.

“I’m proud of the Jewish community I grew up in, that I found in college and after I graduated,” said the birthday boy, who met his wife, Brooke, at a Moishe House event while living in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I hope we’ll be able to give that same sense of belonging and connection — of friends who become family — to our kids someday.”

Kvelling is Schneider’s mother, who remembers, “Gary would wake me at 5:30 in the morning, when he was a toddler, to pitch a ball to him. He was always active, and his birthday parties were always at a gym, climbing, Discovery Zone or scavenger hunts. Wherever the kids could run around.

“Gary makes friends wherever he goes,” she said. “He broadens his horizons and brings those horizons home.”

Joining the teams on the fields and courts is Schneider’s father — and not on the sidelines. Grateful, at 60-plus, that his son wants him to participate, and that he still keeps up with some of the “kids” half his age. Steve says his own strong suit is hockey, which he grew up playing in the Northeast.

“Kathy and I both have lifelong friends. It’s terrific Gary does too. Competition emphasizes sportsmanship, character and camaraderie, and I’m thrilled that he and his friends have grown into incredible men,” he said. “Garyfest reminds me of the spirit of, and exemplifies, the games of their youth and is a testament to lasting friendships.”

Those friendships are “tested” during Garyfest’s five-hour run. Gary sets the teams and assigns team colors and competes with the group throughout the event.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” he said. “I love seeing my friends from different times in life, some of whom have come to all 10 Garyfests, and others a few or more.”

Brock Webberman, who met Schneider during their BBYO years (he was a member of the Louis D. Brandeis chapter), and whose friendship grew at UT, where they were fraternity brothers and roommates, says, “I’ve always thought Gary was the most social person I’ve ever met. That he brings together the people he cares about, and we all feel connected, is no surprise.

“He pulls people together. For his birthday, for game nights or to just hang out,” said Webberman, who has attended all 10 Garyfests. “He pulls his friends from each of his ‘worlds’ and makes everyone feel comfortable.”

Eric Wald, who attended those first years’ parties as the two were JCC preschool classmates and whose families have remained close, says being Gary’s friend, and time at his home when they were growing up, was “never a dull moment.”

“Ping-pong, swimming, basketball — we did it all at the Schneiders. Out of the blue, Gary would coordinate a nighttime glow stick tag game at the park,” said Wald, who played select baseball, which Steve Schneider also coached. “It’s great that we can still move and not get hurt. I have to say, Steve is an inspiration! Mostly, it’s fun getting together and acting like a kid again.”

Like a kid again. From 3 to 35 — and on to 120 — Schneider and those around him score.