SJ_Sportsweekly_072419

INsIdE ThIs IssuE

Saber pro: Mt. Laurel’s Yao is climbing fencing ranks after national competition PAGE 2 FREE

JULY 24-30, 2019

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National treasure Sean Doolittle, a 2004 Shawnee graduate, is a two-time All-Star continuing to thrive in the big leagues as Washington’s closer

By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor

If you spent the week after Independence Day weekend down the shore, there’s a chance a major league baseball player walked by you and you didn’t realize it.

Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle, a Tabernacle native and Shawnee High School graduate, spent the All-Star break in Stone Harbor. It was a relaxing getaway for the two-time AllStar and his wife, who have a permanent home in Chicago. Doolittle’s parents still live in the Philadelphia area (his mother is in Southampton).

When baseball’s midsummer break came to an end, Doolittle and the Nationals visited the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series. Before taking the field for the second half, Doolittle sat down with South Jersey Sports Weekly to talk about his big league journey.

South Jersey Sports Weekly: So you’ve been out of high school now for 15 years.

Sean Doolittle: Oh my gosh.

SJSW: If you could go back and talk to 18-year-old Sean Doolittle in 2004, what do you think he’d say about the fact that you’re a two-time All-Star and a major league closer at age 32?

Doolittle: Gosh, I don’t know, man.

Because at that point I didn’t even know how I was going to stack up in the ACC (at the University of Virginia). I remember how big of a deal it was when we got to play here in the Carpenter Cup at Citizens Bank Park in 2004. So, you know….

SJSW: … not even a thought, a dream …

Doolittle: It was definitely a dream, but I think it was such an abstract concept at that point. If I knew I was going to end up where I’m at right now, I don’t know if I would have believed it. I probably would have called bull(crap). … I’m very lucky.

SJSW: You started pro ball as a hitter (eventually transitioning to pitching after three minor league seasons of injuries, including a torn tendon in his wrist).

Do you think that helped you in a way, whether saving bullets or knowing how to attack hitters?

Doolittle: Oh yeah. I think the mental game it helps me because I have a little bit of an insight on how hard hitting is.

I think pitchers sometimes fall into trying to be too fine and I think it keeps me in more of an aggressive mindset, just knowing how many things have to go right if the pitcher has a little deception with his fastball and he can locate to both sides of the plate. You can really keep a guy off balance. So I think that insight helped, definitely early on in the process. … It was a tough transition. Hitting, if you’re not going right you can go into the cage and hit for like three hours. But pitching, you have to be more focused on what you’re doing, it’s more quality over quantity and that was a big adjustment.

But having the background to call on as a hitter definitely helped, especially early on for sure.

SJSW: The journey you’ve been on, do you have any single favorite moment? please see DOOLITTLE, page 4 MILES KENNEDY, The Phillies

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, a two-time All-Star closer, collected his 100th career save on June 30. The Tabernacle native is in his eighth big league season.

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SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY — JULY 24-30, 2019

Your Towns.

Your Teams.

FENCING

Fierce Fencer

In your hands, every week.

Mt. Laurel’s Jonathan Yao won a national medal earlier this month and has dreams of Division-I

By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor

Since middle school, Jonathan Yao has been chauffeured by his father, Liang, on a 132-mile, round-trip commute from the family’s home in Mt. Laurel to the Advance Fencing & Fitness Academy in North Jersey two to three times each week.

The now 16-year-old Yao is as dedicated to his sport as he is his studies. A straightA, rising junior at Lenape Regional High School, Yao was one of 51 youth athletes recently named to the 2018-19 USA Fencing/ Absolute Fencing Gear first-team All-Academic team.

As with any high-achieving teenager, Yao is always aiming for the next bar. A few years ago, as he went through his routine at AFFA in Garfield, Jonathan Yao noticed the club had a big board on display that included all of the names of fencers who had earned national medals.

“I’m going to put my name on there,” Yao told himself.

As he reaches for his next goal, a dream of competing at the Division-I level at a top university, Yao can let himself smile each time he walks by that board at AFFA. Three weeks ago, Yao placed seventh in the Division-IA Men’s Saber at the USA Fencing National Championships & July Challenge in Columbus, Ohio. Only the top eight in each division receive national medals.

The accomplishment was even more rewarding for Yao because just a year earlier, at the same event in St. Louis, he finished just two points away from placing in the top eight.

“It’s been a six-year-long process,” said Yao, who proudly showed off his national medal and Academic All-American certificate at his home. “It finally happened. Of course, from there, you can see where else you can go.”

RYAN LAWRENCE, South Jersey Sports Weekly

Lenape Regional High School rising junior Jonathan Yao is dedicated to his sport: for the last four years, he’s commuted 65 miles (one way) to his fencing club in North Jersey twice a week. Yao’s time, hard work, talent and intelligence is paying off, as recently finished in the top eight at a national event in Ohio.

In the pivotal match earlier this month, Yao was deadlocked at 13 with his opponent before collecting the last two points with a flunge – “a lunge, but you jump and go airborne for a bit” – and then by reading his opponent’s hesitation and striking to win the match.

“My heart is pumping really fast,” his father, Liang Yao, said of the drama unfolding as he shot video of the match with his phone. “His opponent was bigger than him, a kid from the Midwest, big, physical. When it was 13-13 my heart was racing, but he managed to get the last two points.”

Yao’s next goal: to be among the top 20 cadets in his category in order to be named to the national team next summer. It’d probably be unwise to bet against a kid with the smarts, skills, and intestinal fortitude to achieve what he sets out to accomplish.

“What I like about Jon is that he fights to the very end,” said former U.S. National champion and Notre Dame University assistant coach Aleksander Ochoki, one of Yao’s coaches. “He’s not afraid of who the opponent is and just goes out and does his best. … If he keeps progressing like this and working hard, he could be a starter at a major Division-I university and even qualify to represent the U.S. in some upcoming international tournaments.”

As with any gifted athlete, Yao wasn’t

born into an elite fencer overnight. For one, he wasn’t always as confident.

“I stopped getting intimidated, or not stopped getting intimidated, but I got over my fears,” he said of his biggest area of growth in the last few years. “Sometimes you see somebody with a really high seeding or you know they’ve done well in previous tournaments, you have to get past that.

You have to focus on what’s going on right now. And what you can do is win the next point; that’s all you can control.”

Fencing is a physical sport. For proof, look at the worn inner sole of his neon green match sneakers or the six-inch laceration on his left shin.

But fencing is also often referred to as “physical chess” because the very best at the sport are the ones who can master the fundamentals and strategic elements as well as survive the mental grind against their opponent.

“That’s one of the things I like about it,” Yao said. “(But) that’s not to say we hold back. … There are a lot of bruises in fencing. It is a very athletic sport. The explosiveness of the actions, especially with the legs and lunges, and the reflexes. It’s really amazing to watch, especially at the top level.”

Yao is well on his way. ■

Whether you're in Haddonfield or Mullica Hill, Deptford or Medford, or any of the other towns with Sun Newspapers in South Jersey, a scope that includes more than two dozen high schools, South Jersey Sports Weekly has you covered. Feature stories, full-page photo spreads and program power rankings; Players of the Week, Athletes of the Year, insight from coaches, and games to watch. Baseball, softball, and football; basketball, golf, and lacrosse; swimming, field hockey, wrestling, tennis and every other varsity sport. It's everything you'd want in a local newspaper sports section. Free with The Sun each week and online every day at South JerseySportsWeekly.com and @SJSportsWeekly (Twitter).

JULY 24-30, 2019 – SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY

Pennsville’s Nate Fine poses with Gavin Kenney and William Carr of Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco. Gloucester enjoy the festivities at the Phillies event at the Deptford Mall.

Ahvanni Allison, Alex Rogers and Veronica Shoultz hang out with a Phillies fan on stilts.

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Ryan and Logan Chretien of Atco pose with Phillies reliever J.D. Hammer.

The Deptford Mall hosted Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco and relief pitcher J.D. Hammer for an autograph session for fans on Saturday, July 13. Baseball fans from all across the Delaware Valley enjoyed meeting the players along with the live entertainment, children’s activities, giveaways, & prizes. ■ All Photos: RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly

Julia, Marissa, and Bobby Capone of Magnolia pose with Phillies reliever J.D. Hammer.

Kristi Lynn Kuhn of Runnemede meets Phillies reliever J.D. Hammer.

Barrington’s Nicholas Levecchia shows off his autographed photo of Maikel Franco while posing for a photo with the Phillies third baseman.

West Deptford’s Matthew Shinkle hangs out with Maikel Franco.

Mt. Laurel’s Kylie Bucci was thrilled to meet Maikel Franco of the Phillies at the Deptford Mall’s autograph session on Saturday, July 13.

Mason and Carson Waldron of Blackwood were excited to meet Phillies reliever J.D. Hammer.

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SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY — JULY 24-30, 2019

DOOLITTLE continued from page 1

Doolittle: My debut was really special. I pitched well. We didn’t win but …

SJSW: … I saw you struck out the first three guys you faced.

Doolittle: Yeah, yeah. So I mean that was really special. I pitched in the All-Star Game in 2014, that was really special, I’ve got to pitch in the playoffs, that was really cool. And one that stands out the most besides my debut is last year in 2018 I made the All-Star Game and I couldn’t play because I was hurt, I broke my foot, but the reception I got from the home fans in D.C. was really, really special. That was really cool.

SJSW: You’re active on social media obviously and I’ve noticed the thing you’ve been doing this season with posting about a trip to a local bookstore whenever the Nationals are on the road.

What’s it about, giving small businesses their recognition?

Doolittle: Yeah, I didn’t think it was going to catch on like it did, so it’s kind of cool. But it was kind of something I’ve been doing anyway. Reading is one of my favorite things to do away from the field. And I really enjoy that we get to travel and go to different cities. I always try to get out and explore the city anyway and do something that was unique to that city. It really combined two things that I enjoyed doing. I don’t know, I’m glad people have responded to it. In the beginning I didn’t think of it as a way to promote local businesses, I was just kind of promoting reading in general. But it’s been really fun.

It’s caught on. And I’ve enjoyed getting bookstore recommendations from people. The book subgenre on Twitter is really, really cool. I really enjoy it.

SJSW: When do you do most of your reading, on planes?

Doolittle: Most of the time after a game. I don’t read on a plane that much. I’d say after games. I’ve found for me …

SJSW: … winding down Doolittle: … yeah it’s the best way for me to wind down. A lot of times I’m pitching in the game at 10:30 at night. And if you think about it, if that’s the height of your day essentially, sometimes it can be tough to come down

from. There are nights it’s 1 in the morning and you’re still wide awake. It’s my favorite way to kind of decompress. And it’s an escape, that’s why I almost exclusively read fiction. I enjoy the escape of it, I enjoy turning my brain off and focusing on something else for a while. …. The same way you might unwind with a movie or a TV show. You don’t always want to unwind with a documentary, you want to watch something that takes your mind off things.

SJSW: Do you have a favorite youth baseball or high school baseball memory?

Doolittle: I mean in high school we won the state championship in 2003. That was pretty cool, the run that we went on.

That’s probably the highlight.

SJSW: Do you keep up with anyone from high school?

Doolittle: Oh yeah, yeah. The catcher from our team, Mike Ferrera, will be at the game tonight.

SJSW: (Shawnee) won the Diamond Classic this year.

Doolittle: Yeah, yeah. That was something we never did. We got to the championship game one year and lost to Eustace.

SJSW: Shawnee also was a part of the Carpenter Cup winning team right here last month.

Doolittle: It’s been cool to see how the program has stayed strong. For a while there it was tough because of how popular lacrosse was. I don’t think they have to make cuts anymore. I think my senior year we didn’t have to.

SJSW: Do you get back to this area pretty often?

Doolittle: No, not really.

Other than playing the Phillies I haven’t been back in a long time.

We live in Chicago in the offseason. My wife is from there. We bought a house in Oak Park on the west side of the city. I love it.

Only a couple of my friends are still here. People grow up and move away. But it was a great place to grow up. … It used to be a big thing (playing here) because I was on the west coast for so long. Now they can come down to D.C. and see me play a bunch. ■ This is an edited version of the Q&A with Doolittle. For the complete version, log on to southjerseysportsweekly.com.