What Sports and Activities Have Done for Me
Celebrating Our Community Sports
Page 30
Winter 2016
ON THE COVER PATIENCE IS HIS
GREATEST VIRTUE John Lovett Page 26
HITTING THE BOOKS
While Making the Plays Page 8
POWELL STILL ENJOYING
the Challenges of Coaching Page 6
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Contents
10
Features 6 Powell Still Enjoying
the Challenges of Coaching
8 Hitting the Books While Making the Plays
26 On the Cover: John Lovett 30
hat Sports and Activities W Have Done for Me
35 Tumbling, Vaulting, Sticking a Landing
Gymnastics 101
Departments 4 Middle School MVPs
Coaches’ Picks - Boys and Girls Soccer
24
13
Expert Advice
When Choosing Physical Therapy and Fitness
16 Sports Unity Profiles 28
Where Are They Now?
Alexa Chiarelli
32
Photo Wall
34 A Message from the Mayor One Sport vs. Multiple Sports
Fall Sports Recaps 10 Gymnastics 14 Boys Soccer 20 Cross Country
MRC Cross Country Teams Race to Wins for the Third Year in a Row
22 Field Hockey 23 Volleyball 24 Football
Cherokee Earns a Playoff Berth in a Season of Nail-Biting Games
22 Marlton Sports Magazine
Publisher’s Note
MARLTONSPORTS Celebrating Our Community Sports
Winter 2016
Three-Second Rule
Co-Owners
We've all seen it. The soccer player who loses the ball and then gets so bothered by his mistake that he misses the entire next play. The basketball player who flounders a lay-up and then gets so frustrated that she ignores the rebound. The wide receiver who fumbles the ball and then can't seem to get his head back in the game. A friend of mine once told me about a conversation she had with a college athletic coach. He told her about a three-second rule: if something negative occurs during the game, you have three seconds to react. Once the three seconds are done, you must put your feelings aside, otherwise you become a detriment to the team. This doesn't mean that you can't be sad, angry, or annoyed. Feel those emotions and then quickly get back to the game, your team is counting on you. My favorite thing about sports is how it relays to life, how being a part of a team can teach you empathy, patience, guidance, how to win and how to lose. I believe the three-second rule is a prime example. Bad things are going to happen. You're allowed to feel angry when you've been slighted. You're supposed to feel sad if you've been hurt. But know when it's time to move on. Feel those emotions and then get back on your feet. Your friends and family are counting on you. Stephanie Biddle Publisher
23
Will Stith
Stephanie Biddle
Publisher Stephanie Biddle Editor Dubravka Cortese Content/Photography Will Stith Graphic Design Corporate Imagination Contributing Writers Ed Benkin Zane Klinshaw Dr. Lance Knaub Marc Narducci Account Executives Dave Brodack Nicole Weiner
MSM © 2017 Marlton Sports Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Published three times a year by Creative Publishing, LLC. Marlton Sports Magazine and Creative Publishing neither endorse nor take responsibility for products or services advertised herein. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. Creative Publishing makes no warranty, representation or guarantee as to the accuracy or timeliness of its content. The publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertising at any time. To submit a news item or offer a feature story idea to Marlton Sports Magazine, email marltonsports@gmail.com. To advertise in Marlton Sports Magazine or to receive a media kit, email marltonsports@gmail.com.
Winter 2016
Photo by Jeff Wood
3
Middle School MVPs Coaches’ Picks - Boys and Girls Soccer Alexa Therien Alexa Therien is one of the kindest and most dynamic students I've ever met. Her presence on the field is a constant source of positivity for her Marlton Middle School teammates. She is a hard worker, a natural leader, and a wonderful person on and off the field. Having her in class and on our team for the last three years has been a pleasure, and I look forward to seeing the amazing things she accomplishes in the future. She is a game-changer when it comes to sports, but more importantly, she is a lifechanger for those who are lucky enough to cross her path.
Gianna D’Eustachio
Gianna D’Eustachio is a coach’s dream soccer player. She is an unselfish competitor who makes those who play with her work hard and feel supported. Gianna is willing to play where she is needed and mentor those who are new to the DeMasi Middle School team. Not only is Gianna a talented soccer player, but she is aware of the field and gets the job done! 4
Jaxon Willard
Jaxon Willard became a natural leader of this year's undefeated Marlton Mustangs soccer team. His eight goals and often perfect corner kicks ignited his team that averaged over five goals per game. Jaxon looks forward to becoming an impact player at Cherokee.
Joe Napoli
Joe was a captain of the DeMasi Middle School team and showed tremendous leadership skills. He was dedicated to working hard and pushed his teammates to do the same. He was a leader on defense but also helped to control the play through the back. He was very effective pushing forward with the ball to help the offense. Joe was a very passionate player and had amazing team spirit. Marlton Sports Magazine
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Powell Still Enjoying the Challenges of Coaching By Ed Benkin
I
t did not take long for Ron Powell to get comfortable with coaching again. The longtime boys basketball coach stepped down at the end of the 2009-10 season. Powell led both Cherokee and Rancocas Valley to state championships in his career and seemed content to put away his coaching clipboard for good. However, the lure of returning to the bench was too strong, and Powell took over the reins of the girls basketball team at Cherokee last winter. One year later, Powell is happy to be back for another season. “I didn’t think I missed it, and I was really enjoying myself having free time,” said Powell. “When the opportunity arose, I obviously took it. I enjoyed it so much that I’m back another year.” Powell made an immediate impact in his first season on the bench with the Lady Chiefs. Cherokee finished at 23-5 and advanced to the Group 4 finals before falling to Lenape. Despite the defeat, the Chiefs put together a very impressive season, and Powell was able to put his talents as a coach and a teacher back on display. “It’s always about the teaching part of it,” Powell said. “Everybody says you’d like to coach, but you’re really a teacher. The biggest difference in the boys and the girls is the pace of the game. The boys pace can be a lot faster. The pace of the girls’ game is a little bit slower, but there are a lot of good girls’ coaches, and they run a lot of stuff you have to prepare for.” Powell had high praise for his senior-ladened team from a year ago. Powell’s arrival resulted in a crash course for his players on a new system, and the veteran coach was impressed with the approach taken by his players. “There were six or seven kids on that team that were mature kids,” said Powell. “I give them a lot of credit. They had to buy into a lot of stuff that was different for them.” The Chiefs were hit hard by graduation, but Powell is still optimistic about the 2016-17 season. While this will be a younger edition of the Chiefs, Powell believes his returning players have settled into his system after watching and learning last winter. “A lot of them were involved last year as younger players,” Powell said. “They don’t have as much to grasp as that group did last year.” While several seniors were lost, Cherokee does have one of the top players in the region back in the lineup. Isabella Therien averaged 14.5 points per game last season and has surpassed the 1,000 point mark for her career. Therien has already decided where she will be going after graduation after signing a letter of intent over the summer to Loyola of Maryland. Powell is happy his top player has already settled on her college home. “It’s always better to get it done early,” Powell said. “You don’t have this hanging over your head as you enter your senior season. She was comfortable at Loyola, and we’re glad for her.” Therien and her teammates will face another season filled with a difficult schedule. The Olympic Conference continues to be one of South Jersey’s best in several sports. Powell knows Lenape will be back in contention once again, along with several other traditional powers that went through rebuilding seasons a year ago. “It’s not last year’s group,” said Powell. “It’s not just Lenape we have to get by this year. The other teams in our conference were young. Eastern was young, and Washington Township was young. You don’t take anybody for granted, whether you’re the boys or girls coach, in this league.” 6
To be successful, Powell knows there is one way to stay in every game despite the caliber of his opponent. One of the most famous slogans in sports is “defense wins championships,” and Powell will continue to preach the importance of clamping down on the defensive end of the court. “The Olympic Conference presents a lot of different challenges,” said Powell. “You struggle to score. It might not be the most fun brand of basketball, because most people are defensive-oriented, but I told this group that our DNA last year was that we hung our hat on stopping people. We gave up 29 points a game last season in 29 games.” No matter what lies ahead for Cherokee during the winter months, it is clear Powell is back in his comfort zone. There is no indication as to how much longer Powell will continue to stalk the sidelines, but his ability to teach the game to his players is already having an effect outside of Marlton. A text from former Chief Shaye McGoey from the court at NYU served as a prime example. “She sent me a text during their preseason,” said Powell. “She said they were doing a defensive shell drill, and she got a shout-out from the coach. She said the coach said ‘It looks like Shaye McGoey has done this before.’ She complained about doing the shell drill last year, but she said she’s glad she did it now.” MSM Marlton Sports Magazine
Winter 2016
7
Hitting the Books While Making
the Plays By Dubravka Cortese
T
he sage advice about having a back-up plan has often been passed on to those young studentathletes who have tunnel vision when it comes to their pursuit of a dream of becoming a professional, or even collegiate, athlete. Unfortunately, reality reflects the difficulty of achieving that goal and the importance of that back-up plan, specifically, an education. Whether or not professional sports is on the radar for a young studentathlete, the importance of the education side of that equation never really waivers. Success academically can smooth the road to that dream, as well as pave the off-ramp if that dream comes to its end. 8
Academics can play a part in the early stages of achieving that dream. With the advent of sports specialization and year-round training and playing, the competition for a spot on a college team can be fierce. Fred Bastie, founder of Playced.com, an online recruitment consulting site for athletes, stressed the role that academics plays in the recruiting process. “A good athlete with good grades and high standardized test scores is much more attractive to a college coach than a good athlete with marginal grades and a below average ACT or SAT score,” Bastie wrote in a recruiting column for USA Today. “When trying to decide between two players of similar abilities, coaches will go
with the better student every time.” The reason for this is multi-leveled. For one, student-athletes that qualify for academic scholarships free up money in the athletic scholarship coffers. Likewise, dedication to the academic side of school life indicates that the student-athlete is likely to keep up with the academic requirements needed to maintain athletic eligibility. No coach wants to spend time and resources on a player only to lose them due to academic ineligibility. Randy Brown, Evesham Township mayor and kicking coach for the Baltimore Ravens NFL football team, concurs. “Academics are more important now than ever before,” Brown said, “and what separates Marlton Sports Magazine
some of these kids from getting scholarships or not is what they can do academically, because a lot of these athletes are so similar in their athletic ability. I would say academics are a factor in three out of every four scholarships anymore." Being able to successfully juggle multiple responsibilities at once also speaks volumes about a player’s character and work ethic. Coaches don’t want to spend time babysitting their players. The introduction of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report (APR) in 2003 for Division I schools has raised the focus on the importance of academics and collegiate sports. According to the NCAA, the APR “holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.” The system is designed to reward those schools who student-athletes achieve, and punish those schools whose athletes are not reaching designated academic benchmarks. Linking student-athletes’ academic performance with the financial support teams will receive from the school adds pressure on the coaches to make their team selections based not only on an athlete’s performance on the court, but in the classroom as well. If a coach is faced with choosing between two similarly skilled players, and one of those players has a solid academic profile, while the other is underperforming in the classroom, it would behoove the coach to take his chances on the player that is less likely to contribute to the team’s subpar academic performance, which could then result in penalties for the team. The NCAA approved an initiative in October that would directly link a college athletic department’s ability to meet established academic benchmarks with the amount of fund money that college’s conference would receive from the NCAA. The fund is set to begin with the 2019-20 school year and will be supported by fees raised from selling media rights. Learning the importance of a balanced focus on academics and sports should start early. “Good academic habits through high school and college will lead to good habits in business and your personal and professional life once you graduate,” Brown said. “All these colleges and universities do a great job in offering internship programs for their student-athletes to help train them for life after sports.” And what about life after college, in case a professional athletic career doesn’t pan out? Former Ohio State running back standout Maurice Clarett didn't make it past his first year of college. Clarett is the first to admit that academics took a backseat to football. After a series of bad choices and lack of direction and a stint in prison, Clarett is now a motivational speaker who travels to college campuses speaking to athletes about the importance of academics. He urges student-athletes to take classes that will teach them real-world life skills and to soak up all the guidance and knowledge a college campus can provide. After nearly 30 years coaching, Brown has seen his share of athletes who didn’t prepare for a life outside of sports. “There are a lot of athletes who have struggled financially, who find themselves homeless, who find themselves drug addicted, with nowhere to turn,” Brown said. “And it’s unfortunate, because they didn’t spend the time getting a quality education and something to fall back on. “But the good part is,” Brown adds, “for all those stories you have of failure, there is so many of success, of athletes that no one has ever heard about who are everyday businessmen, who become multi-millionaires because (their experience with) athletics and academics have put them in that situation.” MSM
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GYMNASTICS
CHEROKEE TEAM MEMBERS: Senior - Captain: Samanth Moreno Remaining Varsity Team: Paige Rhodes (Junior) Madison Fearon (Junior) Jenny Costella (Sophomore) Bella Cinelli ( Freshman) Other Team members: Carli Ferri (Junior) Palak Jain (Sophomore) Madison Santangelo (sophomore) Diana Cornacchione (Freshman) Coaches: Brain Moore Meghan Mastoris 2016 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Team: Dual-Meet Season - 6 wins and 2 losses Individual Highlights: Selected for All-Olympic Conference Team: Paige Rhodes - 1st Team Madison Fearon - 2nd Team Olympic Conference Varsity Meet: • Paige Rhodes - All-Around Champion • Madison Fearon - Placed 5th on Vault and Uneven Bars, Placed 6th on Balance Beam Olympic Conference Novice Meet: • Madison Fearon - All-Around Champion Placed 1st in Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise • Samantha Moreno - Placed 5th All-Around Placed 12th on Vault, 3rd on Uneven Bars, 2nd on Floor Exercise • Jenny Costella - Placed 4th All-Around - Placed 4th on Uneven Bars, 2nd on Balance Beam, 8th on Floor Exercise • Palak Jain - Placed 8th on Balance Beam South Jersey Sectional Meet: • Paige Rhodes - Placed 3rd All-Around - Placed 1st on Balance Beam, 2nd on Vault, 4th on Floor Exercise. By placing 3rd All-Around at the South Jersey Sectional Meet, Paige Rhodes qualified for the NJ State Meet.
10
Marlton Sports Magazine
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Expert Advice
When Choosing Physical Therapy and Fitness Return to Sport and Health Faster by Choosing Professional Collaboration
iBroke it.
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thletes and everyday athletes can benefit from fitness coaches/ trainers to help them reach their optimal level and ability. Clients will have injuries from time to time, especially when pushing their bodies to their respective limits. When people require the services of personal trainers as fitness experts and physical therapists as rehab experts, I recommend considering a collaborative model approach that has professionals from various disciplines working together in one location. There are several reasons this is better for you: • Clients can have fitness concurrently with physical therapy (PT): This is best practice with most diagnoses, but unfortunately, it is not possible in most organization structures/models. Clients having physical therapy can continue to work on the uninjured parts of their body. Athletes can maintain their cardio endurance with an upright bike or upper body bike (ergometer), which allows them to return to sport faster in the later stages of rehab. • Clients can have PT concurrently with fitness: Fitness enthusiasts rarely want to stop exercising, because it can allow them to become deconditioned and out of shape. It only takes 72 hours for all improvements that one makes in their strength and cardiovascular fitness to reverse. As you know, it takes much longer than three days to get into shape, so structured exercise will help alleviate any road blocks. In the hands of capable professionals, deconditioning can be minimized or prevented. • Faster progress: There is research showing faster and better outcomes. For example, mechanical low back pain has better results when PT is combined with cardiovascular training. Most PT sessions do not have the time to include cardiovascular work, so this is a perfect example of how fitness done alongside PT can yield a better result. • Faster return to fitness: Taking advantage of doctors of physical therapy and their training with medical screening, the PTs can see clients immediately (no prescription required) and make sound recommendations to begin the healing process. A critical component to starting the path to recovery is the client’s education and knowledge. • Step down program/transition from PT to fitness: Make sure you are doing your PT home program correctly with informal supervision as you graduate from care. Some places offer a graduation gift of fitness access to allow this to happen and to allow you to get some confidence in your fitness program. The current reality is that many people feel as though they have completed PT too early, often because of insurance limits. This results in some patients not being fully rehabilitated and not properly guided in their transition to health and fitness.
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BOYS SOCCER A Word From the Coach Glenn Thomsen, Boys Head Varsity Soccer Coach
V
arsity had another great season with a record of 14-5. They started their season in 2nd place, in Group 4 South Jersey, and continued to strive day in and day out. Throughout the season they accumulated 44 goals, which is a 2.3 scoring average. And the goal scoring was pretty spread out this year. We had goal scorers all over the field. The underclassmen proved themselves to be part of the varsity program. And they will continue the excellence of the Cherokee soccer program next year. The Cherokee defense and goal keepers, led
14
by seniors, had seven shutouts, and the losses were only by a one-goal differential. We had a lot of talented players, not only on the field, but in the classroom, as well. We were a very honest team, and we fed information off of each other to try and stick to one system. Don’t get me wrong, there was a time when we had to make adjustments, but the suggestions came from the players and coaches, and we all stuck to the system. Also, this year was the most senior leadership I have seen in a long time. Twelve seniors all showed extreme maturity and responsibility
throughout the season. Whether they were a starter or knew they would not get enough time on the field, these seniors made my job very easy. We will be graduating 12 seniors, and nine of them currently have a weighted GPA above a 4.0. Not all of them will be playing in college, but they will all have the opportunity to go to a fine university. I wish them all the best of luck and continue to do what they love. I enjoyed watching all of these young men play together. I asked a lot from them, as a coach should, but I was very humbled to be their coach. I wish I had another year with them. MSM
Marlton Sports Magazine
Cherokee Recap By Ben Quatresols, Senior
C
herokee soccer is a fantastic program. We ended the season at 17-5, I believe, but I think I can speak on behalf of the team by saying this season was disappointing. We all had hopes of bringing Marlton a state championship, and we couldn’t do it. Our senior class was fantastic and was solid all year from back to front, with loads of depth from the underclassmen. Throughout the year we tried different things, different formations, tactics, personnel, but it never seemed to fully click for us. We had brilliant moments of play when we were absolutely untouchable with the ball. Our 3-0 win under the lights against Cherry Hill West was the best game I’ve ever been a part of, but we weren’t able to play at that level for every game. There were loads of ups and downs, but I would not have wanted to play with any other group of guys. After a brilliant 7-0 start to the season, we lost three straight games and a lot of heads went down including mine. Our captains, coaches, and teammates were the ones to bring us out of that slump and lead us back to a tie for the conference title. These boys were a lot more to me than just teammates. They're my brothers for life, and I'll always love each and every one of them. Coach Thomsen, Coach Provost and Coach McKay, Phil D’Andrea, Kieran Lynch, Chris Marrone, Trevor Nation, Corey Haines, Nigel Elcock, Dylan Pepperman, Trent Stroup, Keith Fisher, Thomas Gillin, Nate Roberts, Antony Williams, Ryan Haines, Colton Schneeweis, Tatum Cinelli, Travis Gould, PJ Fiore, Rome Young, Jake Treiber, Brenden Connolly. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but you boys made every moment special, and I’ll always be thankful for that. MSM
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CROSS COUNTRY
Jack Shea committed to Northern Arizona cross country
Cherokee Recap By Steve Shaklee, Head Boys Cross Country Coach
T
he Cherokee boys cross country team had a very successful season, winning the Burlington County Championship for the third year in a row and the Olympic Conference Championship for the second year in a row. They also won the SJ Group 4 Sectional Title, placed second in the Group 4 State Meet and were South Jersey’s top team in the State Meet of Champions, finishing seventh. Cherokee started and ended the year as the No. 1 ranked team in South Jersey. They had three athletes make the All-South Jersey Team. Senior Jack Shea was the Olympic Conference and SJ Group 4 Champion and finished sixth in the State Meet of Champions (the highest of any SJ runner). Senior Nick Falk made the team for the third year in a row after finishing third in the county, conference and sectional meets. Junior Justin Kelly was named to the team after placing second in the county meet, fourth in the conference and sectional meets and eighth in the Group 4 State Meet. MSM 20
MRC Boys Cross Country team places 5th at the AAU National Championship in Tallahassee, Fla. THIS IS THE HIGHEST PLACE FINISH IN THE MRC BOYS CROSS COUNTRY HISTORY! MRC cross country took a boys team to the AAU National Championship in Tallahassee, Fla. on Dec. 3 at Florida State University's home course. This competition of 2.5 miles allowed MRC to toe the line with the best in the country!
Connor Fischel, Adam Kromish, Ethan Wechsler, Justin Whitney, Brett Shea, Nico Grilli, Dylan Odud, Ari Greenberg
Marlton Sports Magazine
MRC Cross Country Teams Race to Wins for the Third Year in a Row
MARLTON
T
he MRC boys and girls cross country teams took their third straight South Jersey Cross Country Championships this fall. The boys team was undefeated in team competitions, including the South Jersey Championship and League meets. Over 25 teams competed in the South Jersey Shootout 1.62 mile race. Boys team members: Sean Rankin, Dylan Hansen, Connor Fischel, Coby Friedman, Ryan Vaiciunas, William Neher, Brian Stillwagon, Anthony Faust, Nico Grilli, Ian Bialy, Bryan Lafferty, Thomas Kelly, Brett Shea, Adam Kromish, Dylan Odud, Justin Whitney, Dylan Korte, Ryan Stanziale, Jameson Crozier, Nate Donnelly, John Kelly, Robert Poplau, Dennis Golembiewski, Patrick Aidan Ditmars, RJ Davidson, Liam Griffin, Joseph Klosinski, Julian Hatch, Nathaniel Falk, Luke Reistle, Andrew Free, Matteo Evola, Ari Greenberg, Brodyn Wolfert, Enzo Korona, Soloman Northington, Thomas Marshall, Rocco Clifford, John Thumm, and Patrick Kelly Girls team members: Sarah Kulak, Julia Desderio, Megan Carroll, Audrey Cashin, Hailey Wrightson, Alexandra Weir, Noelle Falzone, Katherine Pappas, Jodie Lee, Kylie McNamara, Alex Fasano, Kylie Robb, Linda Kulak, Elizabeth Salamanca, Nicole Clifford, Julia Kilroy, Sarah Kilroy, Mira Stocker, Sophia Sorid, Julia Pellegrino, Chloe Sorid, Alli Rathman, Emily Stanziale, Sophia Haney, Francesca Corona, Abby Rose Cashin, Grace Fescoe MSM Winter 2016
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FIELD HOCKEY Cherokee Recap
By Jill Ormsby, Freshman Field Hockey Coach
W
hen the Cherokee High School field hockey team stepped on to the turf at the beginning of preseason, first-year head coach Devon Bell had one goal for the team, and that was to be the hardest working program. The team said they were up to the challenge and worked hard throughout the season, proving themselves to be just that. Not only did the team end with a record over 500, they also advanced to the second round of playoffs after an upset against Egg Harbor Township. In addition, they had six players named to the All-Conference Team. Gab Bodine, Lilly Fox, Joelle Wash, and Lindsey Florio all earned Second Team All-Conference honors, while Zoe Musick and Katie Kopper earned First Team All-Conference. Coach Bell also received postseason honors being named "Rookie Coach of the Year" by the Field Hockey Club of South Jersey. The Lady Chiefs were led by senior captains Joelle Wash and Lilly Fox, along with junior captain Christina Orio. The program was also under great leadership from our senior class, which consisted of both captains, Ally McGrath, (named the team’s unsung hero by the Field Hockey Club of South Jersey), Katie Kopper, Bridget Hickey, and Olivia Singer. Not only did the program work hard on the field, but they also worked hard off the field. Cherokee field hockey volunteered to coach several clinics with the Marlton Rec program and also held their annual Play for the Cure game. As a result of the team's fundraising efforts, the Chiefs were able to raise $4,600 to donate to two cancer charities. The Lady Chiefs had a very successful fall on all levels and are excited for what 2017 will bring. MSM
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Marlton Sports Magazine
VOLLEYBALL
Cherokee Recap By Molly Janik, Senior
A
t the beginning of this year’s Cherokee volleyball season, there were just two returning starters, huge expectations, and a month of preseason to get ready. After a loss of 10 seniors from 2015, there was a lot of work to do to prepare for another competitive season. Every year, our main goal for the season is to win the state championship. We set this goal on the first day of practice, and we spent countless hours on the court working to achieve it. After months of hard work and practice, we finally won the necessary amount of games to clinch a spot in the playoffs. We were ranked as the 15th seed in the state, with 36 teams qualifying. As a team, we were excited to have the opportunity to prove ourselves in playoffs. The Chiefs beat Monroe Township in an exciting three-set battle in the first round. Unfortunately, we suffered a loss in the second round to the No. 2 seed, North Hunterdon. Overall, we had a successful season with a 17-10 record. The Chiefs beat rivals Shawnee, Williamstown and Rancocas Valley. We experienced playing some of the best teams in the area at Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Garden State Challenge, an invitational tournament. Also, we won the Burlington County Open hosted at Moorestown High School, which was a huge accomplishment for our program.
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Over the course of the season, we faced some losses and injuries, but these things only made us stronger. It was amazing to watch the team unite in our hardship, and excel with the motivation it gave us. Many players were forced to step out of their comfort zones in new positions, and our team grew substantially as a unit because of this. The Cherokee volleyball team will continue a long tradition of being an elite South Jersey volleyball program in the future. MSM
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FOOTBALL
Cherokee Earns a Playoff Berth in a Season of Nail-Biting Games
I
t was a case this season of the record being extremely deceptive for Cherokee’s football team, but the Chiefs never made any excuses. Very few programs in South Jersey could go 6-4 and earn a playoff berth and still not be totally satisfied. That’s because the standards are above being high for one of South Jersey’s model programs. Since the advent of NJSIAA playoffs in 1974, Cherokee has won 10 sectional titles, two in South Jersey Group 5, six in Group 4 and two in Group 3. And this season the Chiefs were competitive with every team on their demanding schedule. All four losses were to playoff teams. Three of those teams, Lenape, Millville and Timber Creek, competed in South Jersey title games. “The whole team gave it all we had,” said standout running back/defensive back John Lovett. “We have no regrets.”
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Lovett entered the season with a reputation as one of South Jersey’s top players, and he lived up to the billing. He rushed for 1,359 yards (7.6 average) and 23 touchdowns. Lovett also caught 15 passes for 238 yards and a score. “He had a really good year and was a threat every time he touched the ball,” veteran coach P.J. Mehigan said. The Chiefs opened the season with a 16-13 loss to eventual South Jersey Group 4 semi-finalist Shawnee. Then the next week Cherokee had to face high-flying Timber Creek, which eventually became the second highest scoring team in South Jersey history. Heading into the Group 4 final, Timber Creek had beaten every other opponent by at least three touchdowns. The Chiefs held a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, but the explosive Chargers had tied the score by halftime.
By Marc Narducci “We were up, and I thought we had the game,” Lovett said. Timber Creek won, 28-21, on a fourth quarter 12-yard scoring pass. “I remember walking away from that game being very impressed with their quarterback,” said Mehigan, referring to the Chargers’ record-setting junior Devin Leary. “Some of the throws he made, I thought we had excellent coverage, and he could only put the ball in one spot, and he did.” The Chiefs were 0-2, but there was no panic. The goal remained earning a Group 5 playoff berth. “When we were 0-2, I remember telling the team to ‘stay the course,’” Mehigan said. “I told them if they continued to work hard in practice they would be OK, and they didn’t flinch, and we got back to work and rattled off a couple of wins.” After wins over Kingsway, Hammonton, Paul VI and Washington Township, Cherokee lost Marlton Sports Magazine
another close game, falling to Lenape, 17-13. That was followed by a 42-7 win over Williamstown, which clinched a playoff berth. The next week the Chiefs were beaten at No. 3 seed Millville, 22-14. This game was tied at 14 entering the fourth quarter, yet another competitive outing for the Chiefs. After being eliminated, the Chiefs didn’t lose their collective heads. They finished the season in style, beating Seneca on Thanksgiving, 35-18. That was a Seneca team that earned a South Jersey Group 3 playoff berth. Lovett rushed for 173 yards (9.1 avg.) and five touchdowns in his final high school game. “I was proud of our guys for how they finished it up with that win over Seneca,” Mehigan said. Besides Lovett, there were several standouts. Senior Steve Gervasi had 21 receptions for 395 yards and two touchdowns. “Teams couldn’t gang too much on the run because Steve was a threat in the passing game,” Mehigan said. Senior Jake Bodine, in his first year as a full-time starting quarterback, accredited himself well. Bodine completed 78 of 148 passes for 1,277 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also rushed for 240 yards and two scores. On the other side of the ball, Mehigan couldn’t say enough about Mike Pawlowski, a senior defensive tackle, who showed tremendous heart and courage. “He played fantastically,” Mehigan said. “He was bothered by a knee injury all year and basically played on one leg and a half, and he was outstanding on the defensive line.” The 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound Pawlowski had a motor that simply wouldn’t stop. “l thought he played with such incredible energy,” Mehigan said. It’s not to suggest that Cherokee was totally satisfied with the season. The Chiefs' mindset is to win sectional titles, but Mehigan also took a practical outlook. “I would rather be 6-4 and have a playoff game than 6-4 with a consolation game,” he said. “Once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen, and we always want to get there.” Cherokee, which fielded its first varsity team in 1976, has been to the postseason 26 times. Next year, the Chiefs will have to make up for some of the key seniors. Yet this is a program that builds itself on being highly competitive every year. That is what happened this season. The four losses were by a combined 21 points. And in talking to coaches every week, regardless of the record, nobody felt comfortable playing Cherokee, knowing the Chiefs had the ability to beat anybody on what was one of the toughest schedules in South Jersey. MSM
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11/15/16 1:46 PM
By Marc Narducci
F
J L
OHN OVETT
or all Cherokee senior John Lovett accomplished on the football field, his greatest virtue may be his patience. He is patient while his blockers open up a hole, showing great vision and the John Lovett was ability to survey the scene before dartrecognized as the Team ing upfield for one of his patented long Achievement Player runs. of the Year during the Gordon-Masters He was patient in waiting his turn to Football Club banquet. make a significant contribution on the varsity, and when he got the chance, Lovett seized the moment at the most opportune time. And he has been patient during recruiting as a number of Division I programs have come courting him. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-1, 190pound Lovett showed great potential, but Cherokee had veteran Marc Woodard, who was a senior. Woodard rushed for 1,270 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior season. He was also one of the few Cherokee players who was performing on both sides of the ball, so as the season wore on, coach P.J. Mehigan rested Woodard more on offense, and that is when Lovett got his chance. Prior to seeing more extensive action, Lovett made the most of working behind Woodard, who was among South Jersey’s best backs. As a sophomore Lovett was good enough to start on many teams in South Jersey, but he had a reserve role for a 9-3 Cherokee team that won the South Jersey Group 5 championship. “It was a learning experience, and I learned a lot from Marc Woodard that year,” Lovett said. He sure did. It was during postseason of his sophomore season in 2014 when South Jersey was truly introduced to Lovett, who became a late-season sensation. He entered the playoffs with 147 yards rushing and three touchdowns. In Cherokee’s three playoff wins, he rushed for 255 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries for a hefty 10.2 yard average. His best game was when he had 125 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries in an opening 45-27 win over Brick Memorial. The next week Lovett rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown in a 37-14 semifinal win over Toms River North. And in the championship, a 30-10 victory over Rancocas Valley, he had just three carries, but rushed for 38 yards. Despite the fact that he was just a two-year full-time starter, Lovett rushed for 3,068 yards and 42 career touchdowns. 26
After making a verbal commitment this past summer to attend Rutgers, Lovett, just like his running style, assessed the situation and decided to wait for the best opportunity. He announced late in the regular season that he was re-opening his recruiting and was still considering Rutgers. He also visited Iowa, and at press time was also considering Penn State, Baylor, Michigan State and Tennessee. And even though his future destination is a daily topic among his friends, Lovett has remained patient, insistent on making the right decision, even though everybody wants to know by yesterday where his future destination will be. The fact that he has had positive dialogue with all the schools has made the decision even more difficult, but Lovett has kept everything clearly in perspective. “It is a difficult process, but I feel so privileged to have this opportunity,” he said. “I have met so many great people during this, and it’s been a great experience.” Lovett was named to various all-star teams this year as either running back or defensive back, but he says that every school is recruiting him to play offense. And that is just fine with him. He has always enjoyed the challenge of running the ball, not just the physical activity, but the mental aspect of the game. The great runners are able to have the patience to let things develop around them and wait for that final block before making a decision to cut upfield. It made him among the most accomplished running backs in a season in which there was no shortage of talent in South Jersey. Lovett indeed made his mark on South Jersey, and now he is preparing for the next level, taking the same patient approach that worked so well during his tenure at Cherokee. MSM
CAREER
On the Cover
Year Carries 2016 179 2015 196 2014 72 Totals 447
Yards Average TDs 1,359 7.6 23 1,307 6.7 13 402 5.6 6 3,068 6.8 42 Marlton Sports Magazine
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Where Are They Now? By Dubravka Cortese
ALEXA CHIARELLI
Alexa Chiarelli knows how to make an impression. The former Cherokee Chief (’12), who had never run track until her freshman year of high school, was already setting school records by her sophomore year as part of the first 4x400 m women’s relay team in the school’s history to run less than four minutes and a sprint medley relay team that set a record at Indoor Nationals in Boston, Mass. Chiarelli also played field hockey and ran winter and spring track all four years at Cherokee, two on varsity. Despite hanging up her track shoes after heading off to the College of Charleston, Chiarelli returned to the track her sophomore year, becoming a Division I athlete. It was there that Chiarelli also found a taste for the other side of the time clock. She became a game-day sports reporting intern for the school’s volleyball and men’s basketball teams. Since then, Chiarelli has interned for Charleston NBC affiliate WCBD News 2, covering local sports and even breaking news stories such as the Charleston AME Church shooting. After graduating with a degree in communications, Chiarelli returned to her hometown and landed a job as a long-term substitute for the child study team in Cherokee North. She also helped coach the Chiefs’ winter track team, calling it her “most rewarding experience yet.” By the time of this printing, Chiarelli will have started her new job as project employee at the NBA's Digital Operations Center in Secaucus.
Q: How did your experience playing sports in Marlton prepare you for playing sports in college and pursuing a sports-related career?
A: Having a team to interact with day in and day out holds you accountable to be your best self. They are there to push you during workouts, to listen to your struggles and pick you up when you are down, making sure you never give up. That dynamic is one of the main reasons I decided to return to the sport in college. I missed having a family. Knowing how to be a team member is one of the most important things you need to be successful. When you are in the work place, a newsroom for example, you need to be able to collaborate with the rest of the news team to make sure you are providing the best coverage for the community. Not only do you learn from sports how to be a team member, but a leader as well. When you are a leader you take the reigns to get things done and get things done the right way. As a leader, you are setting an example, and even more important, an image for your team (or company). And when you care for and love something, you are going to make sure you take your job as a leader very seriously. I learned a lot of this from (Cherokee) coach Mark Jarvis. He was not just my coach, but a father-figure who taught me there is so much more to running than just running, and there is more to life than running. He taught me that running gives us the foundation to stay motivated, but it is so much more than that. It teaches us these life lessons we would sometimes look past. For example, I had really bad pre-race anxiety. I would get way more worked up than the regular athlete before I took the line. But coach Jarvis reminded me that we were given 28
Marlton Sports Magazine
this incredible gift, this talent, from God. And every time we run we are glorifying Him. And that is something so much bigger than myself.
Q: How were you able to be such a high-achieving student and athlete at the same time?
A: When you are an athlete, you set goals for yourself, and then you work your butt off to achieve those goals. And that is exactly what I did, on and off the track. When I came to the realization that not only did I want to be a reporter, but a sports reporter, the very next question I asked was, “How do I make it happen?” It is about balance and time management. And most of all, it is about prioritization. You must really know what is important in your life when you have so many things to juggle. Once you have your priorities straight, there is no question. I have to thank my parents for teaching me to prioritize what is important to me. Because once I know what is important, I give it my all. It’s as easy as that. Q: What is your fondest memory of playing sports in Marlton? A: It was my sophomore year, and I was running with an
upperclassman who, to this day, has been my best role model. She would push me during workouts and be the one to give me all the encouragement I needed on race day. She was one of the three others who made up our 4x400 relay. It was Meet of Champions, the final race of the year, and we made it. That alone was an accomplishment. But we were going for something greater than that: we were going for school history. That night our 4x400 relay went sub 4 minutes, the first time in school history (3:56.68). I will never forget coach Jarvis’ excitement and the tears we all cried. We did it for a coach who had waited long enough for that night to come. To this day, that is the happiest and most exhilarating memory I have from my track career. It was the night I felt like I accomplished one of the greatest achievements. And in the years to follow, when I wasn’t running at my peak, when I felt like I would never get any better, I would think back to that night and regain my motivation. That night will always remind me that hard work, determination, and perseverance is all you need to reach your goals.
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Q: What advice do you have for a young student-athlete who is trying to balance their academic and athletic responsibilities?
A: Always remember what is important to you. Preforming my best in the classroom was a huge priority of mine. That is what came first. Being an athlete showed me how to set goals and work towards them (academically and professionally). Learn how to schedule your time. Learning time management in high school is one of the most important lessons you will learn. Because once you get to college, you will have much more on your plate than you had before. But you will be ready, because you had already been practicing how to manage your time. Don’t give up. If you have a bad day, get up and try again tomorrow. Fight and work to be the best self you can be. It took me longer to land my first job than I expected. Summer 2016 saw some pretty bad days, days I thought sports broadcasting was a dream I would never achieve. But I didn’t give up. I kept applying, making phone calls, and believing. I kept fighting. Never lose the fight. MSM Winter 2016
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What Sports and Activities Have Done for Me By Zane Klinshaw
H
ello, my name is Zane Klinshaw, and I am a sophomore at Cherokee High School. I am 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 158 pounds. That might sound like a normal size for a 15-year-old male teenager to you, but what you don’t know is that two years ago I was not able to say that. I weighed 210 pounds and was 8 inches shorter - very much overweight for my height. At that point, I had no clue how one conversation during a lunch period at Marlton Middle School would dramatically change my life. It was lunch time, and everyone was heading down to the cafeteria, including me. I sat down next to my good friend, Nick, and began talking to him about my day and how it had been going so far. At that moment, I was tapped on the shoulder by Mark McCready, the wrestling coach for Marlton Middle School. Before I could say anything, coach McCready asked me, “Have you ever wrestled before?” I responded, “I used to wrestle for Marlton Rec, but I quit after three years.” Coach McCready asked me, “Would you consider wrestling again, as we are low on wrestlers in the upper weight classes?” I was very nervous about the thought of wrestling knowing that it was going to be hard for me, and that I would struggle keeping up physically.
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Somehow, the next day I mustered up the courage to walk up to the sign-up sheet and put my name down. Before I knew it, wrestling season had started, and I was sweating off pound after pound at practice. I wanted to quit for some time and had to continuously convince myself to hang in there. I made myself believe that someday soon wrestling would become fun. I had no technique and struggled to get through practice physically, but the coaches and my teammates welcomed me to the team and continued to motivate me to better myself and my wrestling every day. I may not have been the best wrestler, but I was welcomed into the best sports program with open arms. It’s now two years later, and I have completed two Cherokee football seasons and am entering my second year of wrestling at Cherokee. I am in the best shape of my life, and I owe that to sports, the teams I have been on, and the great coaching staffs involved in both programs. I have learned from sports that it’s not most important to be the best individual player or the best team with the most wins. What’s most important is the participation in those sports and the comradery of the teammates. My teammates and coaches will probably never know how they helped me join and be a part of these great teams and how much it has positively changed my life. The most important lesson of all that I will take with me as I prepare for my adult life is that it’s not about the win, it’s about the work and preparation that goes into participating as a team. If you work your hardest at anything, you’ve already won! MSM Marlton Sports Magazine
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Marlton Sports Magazine
Winter 2016
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A Message from the Mayor
Advertise in MARLTONSPORTS
One Sport vs. Multiple Sports By Mayor Randy Brown
T
he question that I get so often at the fields, gyms and diamonds is, “Should my son/daughter focus on one sport only?” My answer is and will always be no! In the 2016 NFL draft, 90 percent of all the players drafted played multiple sports in high school, and 28 of 31 first rounders in the draft played multiple sports in high school. Playing multiple sports during the formative years of a child’s life, (ages 6-17), proves to be critical not only in athletic development but also in helping to reduce injury. Specialization in one sport can feel like a full-time job, and the risk is great that the sport that your child loves can potentially become a burden. Sports provide long-lasting friendships, invaluable adverse situations and help mold our child’s character. I struggle to remember every game I’ve played in, what the score was or what trophy we won. I do remember my teammates and friends that I have for life. Children playing multiple sports makes sense on and off the field! Parents, stop worrying about your child falling behind the others, or their scholarship or professional career! Remember, the very best athletes in the world played more than one sport in high school. MSM
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Tumbling, Vaulting, Sticking a Landing: Gymnastics 101 friction and absorb sweat. Grips can also be used for better traction on the apparatus. Slippers or socks may also be worn for additional traction. The apparatus used by gymnasts varies for the men and women. In general, women compete in floor exercises, done on a spring-like mat, a vault, uneven bars and balance beam. For men, it’s the floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar.
acts as a spring to help propel the gymnasts in their tumbling routines and measures 12 meters by 12 meters. A pommel horse for men is similar in appearance to the vault for women, but instead of vaulting over it, male gymnasts perform a series of moves swinging their bodies over top of it, with the help of handles positioned on top of the horse, before dismounting and landing on their feet. The rings are suspended from cables which the gymnasts must keep steady with their hands while performing flips and various poses which exhibit the gymnasts’ strength and control. FIG, (Federation of International Gymnastics), the international governing body of gymnastics, recognizes three types of gymnastics: rhythmic, acrobatic and aerobic, as well as trampoline and
For the vault, a gymnast sprints down an 82-foot runway onto a springboard which propels the gymnast hands first onto the vault. They then perform a variety of moves, flips or somersaults over the vault before landing on their feet. The uneven bars are just that – two horizontal bars set at different height levels, on which the gymnasts perform various moves before dismounting through the air and landing on their feet. Men, on the other hand, use either two bars that are parallel to each other, or one horizontal high bar. Balance beam routines are performed on a wood beam, usually 4 feet 1 inch from the ground and 3.9 inches wide and 16 feet 5 inches long. Again, the end goal is to dismount the beam and land on one’s feet. Floor routines require a set amount of tumbling passes with varying levels of difficulty, depending on the competition level. The floor mat
tumbling. USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body in the United States, joined FIG in 1970. USA Gymnastics consists of men’s gymnastics, women’s gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics and Gymnastics for All, which has all ages and levels performing exhibition routines. Rhythmic gymnastics incorporates elements of ballet and dance. It became an Olympic sport for women in 1984 in Los Angeles. Acrobatic gymnastics is a group sport executed with two, three or four gymnasts at once. Aerobic gymnastics can be performed individually or in groups of up to six on a floor. Gymnastics is an exercise in strength, agility and control, among other things. It continues to evolve as the skill level and determination of the modern day athlete continues to push the bar higher and higher. And it will continue to be a sport worth watching. MSM
By Dubravka Cortese
T
his past summer, The Final Five became a household name, thanks to the gold medal-winning performances of the five members of the United States women’s gymnastics team at the Olympic Games in Rio. In fact, for the past several decades, the United States men’s and women’s gymnastics teams have shown they are a force to be reckoned with and have thus put the sport front and center in the summer games. Like many other modern day Olympic sports, gymnastics competitions can be found at all levels of proficiency and ages, and the sport can trace its origins prior to the modern Olympic Games. Two German gym teachers are credited with starting the modern gymnastics movement at the turn of the 19th century when they created exercises for men and boys using apparatus. Men’s gymnastics was introduced in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. Women’s gymnastics joined the Olympics in 1928 in Amsterdam. At the modern Olympic Games level, 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams compete, with a maximum of five team members per team. There can also be up to 76 individual competitors, 38 men and 38 women. There are four phases of competition, with medals being given out for individual events as well as individual best-all around and best team. The iconic Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci made history at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games when she became the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10.0 in the individual competitions – several times over. But after a change in scoring was instituted in 2005, a perfect 10 is no longer the ceiling. In today’s Olympic Games, there is no limit to the score a gymnast can receive, but the average high scores now range between 13 and 16 points. Points are awarded based on the level of difficulty of a routine and its execution, with points being deducted for errors. College gymnastics scoring, however, still has 10 as its top score. Every gymnast competing starts with a 10, and then points are deducted from there. Scoring with a ceiling high score can create much tighter competitions and close wins. Another difference with college level gymnastics is that less strict guidelines for required elements allows more room for individual expression. Gymnastics requires minimal equipment. Gymnasts use chalk dust on their hands to reduce
Winter 2016
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