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ABOUT THE COVER

I don’t normally get too personal in this section, instead just giving readers a quick overview of our Vic’s Subs Cover Story, why we selected the particular athlete or coach or topic to be a cover story and what impact those persons or topics have on high school sports in the South Jersey area. Most fans know about Holy Spirit assistant football coach Bill Walsh and all the accolades that have come his way throughout his distinguished career, and rightfully so, as well as the fact that he has been diagnosed with ALS, or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” from which there is no cure. Coach Walsh has been nothing short of courageous during his fight, which has been going on for more than a year now, but there are two others in the immediate Walsh family who are battling just as hard on a daily basis, his wife, Cindy, and 16-year-old daughter Kelly, a junior at Holy Spirit. I decided to feature Kelly (and her mom, as this edition’s “Top Mom” feature) because I’ve been so impressed with not only their ability to handle such a difficult situation, but to do so with grace, charm and a positive outlook on life. Kelly has also meant so much to the Spartans teams she plays for. She helped lead the softball team to its first state playoff win in more than 10 years last spring, and this fall helped the field hockey program score its first victory in nearly three years. She’s also an excellent student and leader, and mature beyond her years. Bill and Cindy certainly have a lot to be proud of. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer

GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE General contact: 609-788-4294/advertising@acglorydays.com Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher: sully@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDsullysays Giuseppe Ungaro, Managing Editor: gungaro@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDgisepu Amy D’Adamo, Graphic Design: advertising@acglorydays.com Bill Lynskey, Director of Advertising: bill@acglorydays.com Victor McGuinn, Advertising Sales: victor@acglorydays.com STORY IDEAS/ADVERTISING: Have a story you’d like to see told in Glory Days Magazine? Want to get your business noticed with a marketing campaign in our print or digital platforms? Call us anytime at 609-788-4294. Volume: 6 Issue: 5 Overall Issue Number: 112. Cover Photography: Dave O’Sullivan. 2018 Glory Days Magazine. All rights reserved.

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MAKING HEADLINES Sully takes a closer look at the athletes, coaches and teams who are generating news and highlights in the Cape-Atlantic League and throughout South Jersey.

u Watch out: Katherine Sansom (above) and the Ocean City

field hockey team are at it again, as the Red Raiders finished out September with an 8-1 record after an uncharacteristic 14-8 season a year ago. Ocean City is once again the class of the CapeAtlantic League American Conference with a 7-0 mark, with a 2.5-game lead on Mainland and EHT. The Red Raiders have a huge weekend coming up, with home games against Haddonfield on Oct. 5 and vs. state power Oak Knoll the following day. Check out page 10 of this edition for a Q&A with second-year coach Kelsey Mitchell. u Making a statement: Pleasantville football jumped out to a 25-0 lead en route to a big 38-22 win over Cedar Creek on Sept. 29. Is it the biggest win in coach Chris Saccoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young career? Find out more in our WJFL roundup on page 14.

glory days digital Want the best high school sports coverage every day of the week? Visit glorydaysonline.com for game coverage, features and more! You can also like us at facebook.com/acglorydays, and follow Sully on Twitter @GDsullysays. Get the best. Every day.

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OLD CAPE RECYCLING SCHOLAR ATHLETE

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Senior Gianna Robinson has been a member of the cheerleading and crew teams throughout her high school career at Mainland, and also is one of the top students in her class.

Plenty to cheer about Robinson has been a standout two-sport athlete and top student throughout her Mainland career By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ichael Robinson was the academic of the family during his time at Mainland Regional High School, and brother Lorenzo was the athlete, competing in football, wrestling and lacrosse. Gianna, the baby of the family and now a senior who is a member of the Mustangs’ football cheer and crew teams, has had to work hard just to make a name for herself in her own family. “My brother (Michael) was a complete computer guy and always had his nose in a book. He graduated from Rowan and now he lives in South Carolina. And my other brother, Lorenzo, did football, wrestling and lacrosse and he goes to Norwich University in Vermont,” she said. “My mom was never one to force me into playing sports, but I always felt a push to be even with my brothers. I tried hard in school to be even with Michael and I tried hard in sports to be even with Lorenzo. As a grew up, though, I found my own things I liked.” Robinson, this edition’s Old Cape Recycling

Scholar Athlete, certainly is making a name for herself. She carries a GPA of around 3.5, takes all honors and advanced placement classes, is a captain of the cheer team and one of the leaders of the lightweight eight boat during crew season. She’s also led her NJDFL team to several state championships. “During the winter, on top of training for crew, I also do NJDFL, which is the New Jersey Drama and Forensics League. It’s an acting league with a bunch of categories and we travel every Saturday in the winter to compete against other schools in acting categories, persuasive speaking,” Robinson said. “It’s really fun. We’ve won seven straight state titles, so that’s pretty cool. I love doing that because it’s such a fun way to meet other people who are not from around here.” Growing up in such a motivated family, it’s no surprise that Robinson tried anything and everything when she was growing up, whether it had to do with athletics or academics. “I started rowing when I was in sixth grade and when I got to high school I was like, ‘hmm, I’ve never rowed in big boats before, let’s try it out.’ So I tried it out and ended up loving it. When I was younger, I played field hockey and I did track and

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 9 “I always felt a push to be even with my brothers. I tried hard in field. I’ve been doing cheerleading since school to be even with Michael the time I was about 2. Athletics have and I tried hard in sports to be always been a part of my life. A family even with Lorenzo.” Robinson, from page 6

friend was like, ‘you’re really tall, you’d be good at crew.’ I didn’t know what that meant, but figured I would try it, and ended up loving it so I stuck with it,” she said. “All the time you are sore and in pain, but it’s working so hard every day at something and the satisfaction you get — it’s not even about winning all the races, but the satisfaction you get after having a good race and knowing that all the hard work you did all week finally paid off.” Robinson said that because of her height, most people think she’s a basketball player, and are shocked to find out she’s a cheerleader in the fall. “People are surprised to find out I’m a cheerleader. When people see how tall I am they ask if I play basketball, and I say, ‘no, I do crew.’ Then, when I tell them I’m also a cheerleader they don’t expect that,” she said. “People always assume that because I’m a cheerleader I’m bossy, but I’m a genuinely nice person. At times, I can see why people don’t think cheerleaders are athletes, but there

Gianna Robinson, Mainland senior

are other times when I wish I could put people in our shoes one day and let them go through one of our practices to see what we actually do in a day. I did competitive cheerleading for six years, and that is tough. It’s time consuming, it’s travel — it’s work. It’s long practices, it’s blood, sweat and tears. High school cheer is different, but it’s different in a good way.” Robinson, who has an offer from the crew team at Stetson University in Upland, Fla., on the table that she’s considering, said she has thoroughly enjoyed her time at Mainland High. “I’ve genuinely really liked Mainland. The freedoms we have at Mainland, other schools don’t get, like being able to leave campus for lunch, and being so close to some of the teachers I’ve had the past four years. Some students in other schools don’t get that. I can walk into class and teachers who don’t even know what crew is will ask me about a

race over the weekend. I love the teachers at Mainland and the environment. I wouldn’t have wanted to go to high school anywhere else,” Robinson said. “I love that the football team is winning. Each week we know it’s going to be a good game. (The Corral Crazies student section) is very entertaining. They’re your friends and you’re like, ‘why are you being like this?’ But then you look out onto the field and you’re like, that’s why you’re being crazy like this.” The key to success, she said, has been her ability to learn about time management and how important that is with such a demanding after-school schedule. “I feel like I’ve learned so well how to manage my time with everything,” she said. “Even if I have a spare five minutes between anything I’m doing, or if a teacher ends class early, I’ll always find myself trying to do my homework so I don’t have to stress about it when I get home that night. Even taking five minutes off from homework that night is great. I always do put school primarily above hanging out with friends, but a lot of my close friends have the same time schedule as me.” That’s not to say she hasn’t been challenged, like taking the SATs, for example. “Standardized testing is not exactly my

strong suit,” she said with a laugh. “Put me in a classroom and make me learn something and I do great, but sitting in a room for hours attempting to take a test is really difficult. I take honors and AP classes. I like to choose classes that challenge me academically. The most challenging have been any class when I’ve had Mr. (John) Sarno, like honors biology and honors chemistry. Those are two of the hardest classes I’ve taken at Mainland.” She’s had plenty of success as a Mustang, though, and hopes to have even more next spring as a member of the crew team. “I just want to make it at least in the top three at a big race like cities, or Stotesbury, or nationals, and medal. I want us to medal in a race where there are a lot of boats,” she said. “There have been so many great moments at Mainland. Being able to say I’ve been on a state-winning team for NJDFL, and being able to say I was on a boat that made it to the final of the biggest high school regatta around; being able to say I’ve watched a football team become a winning team. Certain moments like that are unforgettable to me.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

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Mitchell ready to carry on O.C. tradition Glory Days Magazine Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan recently spoke with second-year Ocean City field hockey coach Kelsey Mitchell, who has led the Red Raiders to 22 wins in her first 31 games since taking over for Cory Terry. Mitchell has an impressive field hockey background; at Eastern Regional High School she was named state player of the year twice and won four state championships, and at Iowa University she was a starter throughout much of her career and twice was named Academic All-Big Ten. She was a two-time All-American in high school and when she graduated in 2010 she held the state record for career goals with 171. Sully: What was that experience like, playing college field hockey at that level? Mitchell: It was great. The Big Ten is, I think, the best conference in the country, in any sport and in any academic area. It was awesome to be on a campus of that caliber and be challenged athletically and academically. Sully: What was it about Eastern, with legendary coach Danyle Heilig, that prepared you to be a head coach? What was that like playing for her? Mitchell: She gets more out of people than they think is possible. I played for her for four years and also coached with her my first year out of college, so I learned a ton playing for her and also coaching with her. I saw things from the coaching perspective that never really hit me before as a player, and just being able to utilize her guidance and try to do things with my own twist. She’s definitely a role model. Sully: When the Ocean City job came open, did you feel like you had a good shot at it? That’s been such a great program that’s only had a couple of coaches for the past 25 or 30 years. Mitchell: Coach Heilig is actually the one who encouraged me to go for it. Like I said, I had coached with her for a year out of college, and I loved it. She said I had the ability to be a great coach, and that’s a great pro-

Q&A: KELSEY MITCHELL/OCEAN CITY FIELD HOCKEY COACH

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Former Eastern Regional standout Kelsey Mitchell has led the Ocean City field hockey team to a 22-9 record through her first 31 games as head coach. gram that I could put my own mark on. So, I went for it, and as I went through the process I was just trying to be myself and show insight into what I believe in, what I’m capable of, and ultimately the goals I had for the program and for me as a teacher. Sully: Were you nervous at all about taking over one of the legendary programs in South Jersey as a first-time head coach? Mitchell: Yes and no. Coming from Eastern, I’m used

to pressure and I’m used to expectations, and I know what people want. So I felt like that wouldn’t be foreign to me, but by the same token I had never been a head coach before so I needed someone to have faith in me and give me a shot. Sully: What’s been the biggest challenge? Last year,

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Mitchell, from page 10 Ocean City’s not used to having a 14-8 record, but, obviously there’s a little bit of a learning curve for you as a first-time head coach. Mitchell: With the squad I inherited, we only had Maddie (Kahn) returning in the goal cage and Shannon O’Reilly returning in the field. Other than that, I had all fresh faces who had played very minimal varsity time. That’s not to say they weren’t talented and skilled kids, but they were following behind a class of stud seniors. Yeah, we finished 14-8, but if you go line by line down our schedule, we were in tight games with West Essex, Oak Knoll, Bishop Eustace — we played a tough schedule and I view that as a learning experience. You can’t be the best if you don’t beat the best. So, we want to compete with those types of teams, just like we’re doing this year. We played West Essex (a 2-1 loss) a couple Saturdays ago, and we have our nonconference schedule coming up (games against Haddonfield and Oak Knoll) and we have tough teams in our conference. So, daily, we like to challenge ourselves. Sully: What do you think has been the response of the kids to you coming in as their head coach? Mitchell: I think they have bought in to what I embody. I don’t think you can get better if you’re not challenging yourself every day, so I like to think that our practices are difficult but that the kids enjoy them because they see the benefits they’re getting. They’re reaping the benefits of their hard work. Overall, I try to have a very familial-type of culture within our team because I think that gives you an edge. Yeah, maybe a team is more skilled than us, but they’re not going to fight for one another, where as I know my team will fight for one another in addition to being skilled and working hard. Sully: What’s been the biggest surprise so far? Has anything not going according to plan or have you been surprised with anything in general about the program? Mitchell: I wouldn’t say surprised, but it’s comforting to have such community support. We have a great booster club and great parental involvement. We have fans who come to the games because they’ve been coming to the games for 20 years. I’m not surprised by that because it’s the same type of culture at Eastern, but it’s comforting to know the community that we have does whatever is in the best interest of our girls.

Sully: Is it tough to take over for a coach who has won state championships, and do you feel like, man, if we don’t win a state title within three or four years the fan base is going to be on my case? Mitchell: I hope not, because everyone is different and everyone has a different style and goes about their business differently. I think it would be difficult to compare one coach to another. Cory played for Trish (LeFever) so I’m sure they had similarities, where as I didn’t play for either one of them, but in conversation I’ve found we’re similar in some aspects. I would hope that each one of us is credited and valued for what we contribute to this program. Sully: What’s been the best part about it? This is a coveted coaching job and I’m sure it was a tough interview process to get this job. What’s been the most rewarding part about it? Mitchell: Just being able to do things the way I see them. I’ve played for a lot of different coaches, for coach Heilig at Eastern, I played at Iowa, I’ve played for multiple clubs and taking a little something from each coach I’ve played for and putting my own twist on it, and seeing how it works or how it fails and how I need to adjust is fun. I love seeing the girls every day and they are learning, they’re trying and they are doing new things. That’s what I love the most, I love my team. Every kid on it is awesome and brings something different. Sully: What kind of things do you do to relieve the stress of teaching all day and coaching all afternoon? Mitchell: I love being outside, so going to practice is a highlight of my day. I love interacting with kids because they have such unique perspectives and they are very insightful, so being able to hear 150 different perspectives within a day is really cool. Sully: What kind of interests do you have besides teaching and coaching? Mitchell: Like I said, I like to be outside, I like to read, I like to be active and work out. We have a puppy, so he’s taking up some time and he’s always fun to play with and go for walks with. Sully: At what point do think you won’t still be considered a shoobie? Mitchell: I don’t know where the cutoff is. I love it around here though. I drive to work every morning over the 9th Street bridge and see the sun rise over the water and houses and see the ferris wheel. You can’t beat that. I’m 26 and I have my dream job.

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FOOTBALL/WJFL ROUNDUP

Pleasantville starting to make a statement Win over Cedar Creek shows how far Sacco’s program has come in past four seasons By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer rior to the 2015 season, Chris Sacco took over a Pleasantville football program that was mired in a years-long losing streak, and that streak continued through his first year as the Greyhounds went 0-10. Then, the West Jersey Football League absorbed the Cape-Atlantic League into its new super conference, which meant a much more favorable schedule for the Greyhounds. They went 4-6 in 2016, then last year broke out with a 7-3 record and a berth in the state playoffs. If you asked other coaches or fans about the Pleasantville program the past two years, a typical response might have been that the Greyhounds have some good athletes. But Sacco is intent on turning Pleasantville into a championship-caliber program and not just a team that is known for having some good athletes. A big first step toward gaining some respect would be to pick up a signature win. Until this year, Pleasantville really hadn’t had that, and it missed an opportunity in Week Zero with a loss to defending South Jersey Group 2 state champion Haddonfield. But on Sept. 29, the Greyhounds may

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Junior wide receiver Keon Henry and the Pleasantville scored a 38-22 win over Cedar Creek on Sept. 29 that has the Greyhounds in contention for a state playoff berth for the second straight year. have proven they are for real when they raced out to a 25-0 first quarter lead en route to a 38-22 win over Cedar Creek, a team that annually is in the conversation among the best teams in SJG2. The win was big for power points for a potential second straight trip to the NJSIAA playoffs, but, more importantly, it showed that Pleasantville now is a team that can hang with the big boys and win big games. “Our kids, it was personal to them, and they wanted to get out here and get off to a good start. Quite frankly, we haven’t done that against really quality teams.

We wanted to get out here and get after it. I’m proud of our kids, our program, the coaching staff — they’ve all worked so hard to get a win like this,” Sacco said. “You don’t ever want to slight anybody that you’ve played, but in terms of the history of the programs, yeah, (Cedar Creek) was next in line, as far as them winning a state championship recently and making deep playoff runs every year. This kind of had a hometown feel to it because a lot of these guys played against each other growing up, and we didn’t get that the first four games. We played teams that were out of our area. I

don’t want to say it was personal — but it was personal. They were hearing it all week — really all year — that we haven’t beaten anybody, and we kind of used that as our rallying cry a little bit. And we needed it,” he added. “This is our biggest win since (this coaching staff) has been here, by far. We just tell the kids we control what we can control. I wish you had the opportunity to go out and schedule who you want. Given some of the teams we’ve played or might play, you don’t know how many (power) points you’re going to get. Last year, we had to go 7-1 and hope for Barnegat to lose in order to get in (to the state playoffs). It’s not a good feeling when you’re winning and still don’t know if you’re going to get into the playoffs. So, we just have to take it one game at a time and win one at a time and we’ll just keep going from there.” “This changes a lot, puts some respect on our program. We had to come out with energy, come out fast, come out playing hard and play the whole game physically. We just wanted to get a lead early so we could hold it down for the rest of the game, which is what we did,” Mohamed Toure, a Rutgers University commit, said. “This shows a lot about Pleasantville and how we’re coming up, and how coach Sacco has helped change the program. Last time we played Cedar Creek was when Bo (Melton) was here, three years ago, and we got blown out 50-0.

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 15 Statement, from page 14 This was a statement. We had to prove that this is not a game, that Pleasantville is really here to play. We’re here. We just have to keep the energy up and keep winning, keep pounding teams.” u UPSET OF THE YEAR?: St. Joseph was the consensus No. 1 in South Jersey to start the year, and it looked as though they would be at the end of the year. Who could compete with a team that had the best offensive line in South Jersey, the best running back and one of the top defenses? Haddonfield, as it turns out. The Bulldawgs pulled off a shocker on Sept. 29, handing the Wildcats a 22-15 home loss. The victory vaulted Haddonfield to No. 1 in the rankings for publications such as the Press of Atlantic City and the Courier-Post, and into the nj.com top 20 rankings as the state’s No. 15 team. St. Joseph dropped from No. 5 all the way down to 16th. u BUILDING PROCESS: Two years ago, coach Frank Fucetola played a lot of sophomores as Williamstown took its lumps in a rebuilding process. The move seems to be paying dividends this year, as the Braves got off to a 5-0 start and made their first appearance in the nj.com top 20 (at No. 19) after beating Atlantic City 49-0. Williamstown certainly will have some challenges, however, on its way to a perfect regular season. It has to travel to Cherokee and Washington Township

in back-to-back weeks and finishes out October with home games against Shawnee and a St. Augustine Prep team that has been coming on strong after a slow start. u CONTOLLING THEIR OWN DESTINY: The Independence Division could have an unlikely champion this year. Much of the talk in September was about Ocean City, which got off to a 3-0 start, and Mainland Regional, which went 3-1 before a tough loss to Clearview on Sept. 28. But Oakcrest still controls its own destiny in the race for the division title. Heading into October, all three teams were undefeated in division play, with Mainland and Ocean City set to square off on Oct. 26. If they Mustangs and Red Raiders want that to be a championshipdeciding game, they’ll each have to take care of Oakcrest first. The Falcons closed out September with a 3-1 mark after a gritty 3-0 win over Middle Township on Sept. 29, and they’ll host Mainland on Oct. 5 and travel to Ocean City on Oct. 19. Victories in those two games, coupled with a win over Absegami in the traditional Thanksgiving game, would give the Falcons the division title. A loss to either Mainland or Ocean City would put either of those teams in the driver’s seat, and a loss to both would likely mean that Mustangs/ Red Raiders matchup on Oct. 26 would be for all the marbles. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Alec Rodriguez and the Oakcrest Falcons got off to a 3-1 start this season, putting themselves in position to contend for the West Jersey Football League’s Independence Division title.

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Mainland insider A LOOK AT MAINLAND REGIONAL ATHLETICS/BROUGHT TO YOU BY ATLANTIC CITY COUNTRY CLUB

Boys soccer remains in the hunt for CAL American title Mainland lost early on to rival Ocean City, but returned the favor on the Stangs’ home field on Oct. 1, scoring a 2-0 victory with goals from Jack Sarkos (who recently set the career goal-scoring school record) and Tommy Gordon, and an assist from Devon Ford. The win put the Mustangs at 8-2 overall, but, more importantly, 6-2 in the Cape-Atlantic League’s American Conference, just a game behind the Red Raiders (5-4, 5-1). Middle Township (6-4, 5-2) and Oakcrest (6-3, 4-3) are still in the hunt, as is surprising Cedar Creek (4-4, 3-3), which scored a double overtime win over Mainland in September. u Cross country stays hot: The boys and girls cross country teams continued their good showings in late September at the South Jersey Open at Delsea Regional High School. Junior Kevin Antczak clocked in at 16:00.24 to win the Boys Division 2 race. His time was the fastest of the day, earning him the Jim Camburn award for best individual time. The team also took home the Don Danser Award for having the lowest average time. The girls were equally successful, as Alyssa Turner took first in the Girls Division 2 race with a time of 19:52.51. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Akeem Sterling and the Mainland boys soccer team beat Ocean City 2-0 on Oct. 1 to move within one game in the loss column of the Red Raiders for first place in the CAL American.

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OCEAN CITY insider A LOOK AT OCEAN CITY ATHLETICS/BROUGHT TO YOU BY OCEAN CITY FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Some big tests coming for Raiders field hockey Aside from a 2-1 loss to West Essex (No. 5 in the state) in early September, it’s been pretty much smooth sailing for the Ocean City field hockey team. That’s about to change, as the Red Raiders welcome in some very tough teams to Carey Stadium the first weekend in October. On Friday, Oct. 5, a very good Haddonfield team comes to town (4:30 p.m.), and the following day Ocean City hosts Oak Knoll (1 p.m. start), the No. 2 team in the state behind mighty Eastern Regional, according to nj.com. Ocean City came into October with an 8-1 mark and ranked No. 17 by nj.com. Ocean City also hosts Lenape later this month and has some tough conference matchups with teams such as Mainland and Millville, and also takes on state-ranked Bishop Eustace on the road on Oct. 22. u Hanging tough: The girls soccer team (7-4-1, 7-2) is right there in the thick of things in the CAL Natianal race, just one game behind rival Mainland for first place entering October. The Red Raiders’ only conference losses have come against Mainland (both 1-0 scores), so they’ll need help from some other teams in order to win the title. u Record-setting September: Ocean City’s football team has done a complete 180, going from a run-dominated offense to a pass-happy attack. In a loss to St. Augustine Prep, senior quarterback Ian Aungst set school records for completions and passing attempts in a game. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Reese Bloomstead and the field hockey team have some tough challenges coming up against the likes of Haddonfield, Oak Knoll, Lenape and Bishop Eustace.

Glory Days Magazine

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Last spring, as a sophomore, Kelly Walsh helped lead the Holy Spirit softball team to nine wins, including the Spartans’ first playoff victory in more than 10 years, and this fall she’s helped the field hockey team score its first victory in more than two seasons. She’s also an outstanding student and community leader. And she’s done it all while her father, beloved football coach Bill Walsh, is fighting for his life against ALS.

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October5, 2018

PERSPECTIVE, PERSEVERANCE Holy Spirit junior Kelly Walsh is savoring every moment with her legendary father, Bill, who is battling ALS, while simultaneously lifting up two Spartans athletic programs with her determination, leadership and winning smile By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer elly Walsh will forever be linked to her well known father, Bill, who is one of the most popular and successful football coaches in South Jersey history. He’s a Holy Spirit icon, and generations of boys credit him with turning them into men during their time in the Navy blue and gold jerseys. But it’s an association that Kelly said she doesn’t mind one bit, and the bond she shares with her father is one she is savoring every day, especially considering what the tough-as-iron old ball coach is going through these days. Less than two years ago, Bill Walsh — a current assistant football coach who has been at Holy Spirit for decades and helped build the Spartans into a South Jersey powerhouse — was diagnosed with ALS, more commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” after the famous New York Yankees player who died June 2, 1941, at just 37 years old. ALS is a degenerative nervous system disease that slowly weakens the muscles and impacts physical function, and the life expectancy typically is somewhere between two-to-five years after diagnosis. Coach Walsh is fighting for his life while his only daughter is navigating her high school years, trying to be a dependable and capable player for the Spartans’ field hockey and softball programs while at the same time keeping her grades high and trying to enjoy a teenage experience that most kids take for granted. It hasn’t been easy. Making things even more difficult is the fact that the teams she plays for have struggled the past couple of years and are in the midst of rebuilding projects. The softball

team made some major strides last spring, winning nine games, including the team’s first state playoff victory in more than a decade, but the field hockey team went winless during Kelly’s first two seasons. The junior said there were times when she questioned why she’s been putting in so many hours of hard work to try to improve when the wins weren’t coming, but, when you are the offspring of coach Bill Walsh, giving up is not an option. “It’s frustrating and there are times when I want to just stop and rethink what I’m doing and why I’m doing it, and change the way things are, but even if we are in a slump and not doing well, there’s nothing you can do to get yourself better besides just keep pushing through. For my team, I’m going to give my best effort because if I don’t, how are we ever going to get better as a team? And I think everyone does that. The feeling of what it’s like to win makes everything 10 times better,” she said. “This is my first year at Holy Spirit that we’ve gotten a win in field hockey, and that’s very satisfying. And the whole structure in softball last spring was different. We all loved it, we were so close as a team and with our coaches. Coach (Steve) Normane coming in made such an impact. Sports is an escape for me. You come to practice and it’s fun, it’s not something I dread going to every day.” On Sept. 21, Holy Spirit’s field hockey team traveled to Woodbury and won, 6-1, picking up its first victory during Kelly’s high school career. The Spartans followed that up with a 1-0 win over Buena Regional on Sept. 28. Being unwilling to yield to adversity is a trait that both Kelly and her mom, Cindy, have shown in abundance the past two years as their family faces the most difficult challenge it could ever have imagined. They all have learned

to lean on each other and the support of a wide network of Holy Spirit players, coaches, alumni and friends, as they try to make the best of each day. A fundraising effort named “Walshy’s Warriors” was set up, including its own Facebook page, and various other sports teams and communities have held fundraisers to help raise money for ALS awareness and research in honor of coach Walsh, and to help pay for the mounting medical expenses the family is dealing with. “I am so proud of the young woman Kelly has become, especially dealing with adversity. I love Kelly and Cindy more than they will ever know,” coach Walsh said through a text message, since he has lost the ability to speak. “Cindy’s strength has been what has kept our family together as we battle through this disease. Thank you for doing these stories on my girls!” “She’s learned a lot from Bill. She saw him rebuilding teams and he never gave up, so I guess that’s where she learned that from. No matter what obstacles come your way or what you have to face, you just have to keep going, not quit, and persevere. I’m unbelievably impressed with her. She’s shown tremendous strength and is continually supporting Holy Spirit. Every day she’s like, ‘OK, let’s go, we’re going to win this game today.’ She continues to strive, and she learned that from Bill, and maybe a little bit from me. I think she’s been handling things extremely well. She puts a lot of focus and time into her sports,” Cindy Walsh said. “I think we’re learning every day. Different situations present themselves, and obviously we’re

See Walsh, page 20

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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Walsh, a junior, helped lead the Holy Spirit field hockey team to its first win in more than two years when the Spartans took down Woodbury in mid-September. Walsh, from page 19 very tight in this family. Sometimes you get really stressed out and things fly.” “It’s humbling to see the support. Everyone is very supportive and so good about (everything that is going on). Everyone handles it well. Obviously, I get questions on a day-to-day basis, like, how is your dad? What’s going on? But it’s not something I can’t handle and it’s not something I don’t like to talk about it. I appreciate anyone’s support who tries to talk to me. I’ve grown an incredible amount from this situation,” Kelly said. “I have a small, select group of friends I know I can count on. But it’s crazy being around kids my age or kids in school and see what their worries are, and seeing how they sweat the small stuff. I just feel like my brain and mentality is so far beyond that. I have such a different perspective on everything about life. If they come to me I know how to tell them to move on from (high school drama) and that there are bigger concerns in life and things to worry about. I feel like going through this helps me provide advice for other people going through difficult situations. It’s not easy to deal with. I use things as an escape, mostly school because of all the support that is there, and sports. Softball is one of my biggest escapes. When I’m on the field, my focus is just on the game.”

Kelly, a Galloway resident, could have gone to Absegami, but said it was a foregone conclusion since the day she was born that she would be a Holy Spirit Spartan for life. “I’ve grown up around Holy Spirit my whole life. I always knew the whole environment of what it was like and the connection everyone has. Now that I go there, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Everyone knows what everyone is like, and there’s never a time when people aren’t supporting you. Everyone has your back and it’s like a family structure,” she said. “I think my favorite thing about him coaching there and being surrounded by the school for my entire life is the connection I have with the football team. It’s so special, the bond they have as a team, and the way they include me in it and the respect they have for not only me, but for him. (After I graduate) I’ll miss everyone being so close. Once you go into the real world you don’t see that bond that a school can have. It’s rare. The people, as a whole, it’s just something you don’t find everywhere. It’s something that won’t be with me forever, but it’s something I’ll always remember. I feel like no matter how old I get, I’ll always go back to Holy Spirit.” And now that she’s a junior, Kelly is

See Walsh, page 21

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 “She’s a very strong person and a great little athlete, she has a great personality, everybody loves her. She’s a very caring person, so I had beginning to be known for much more no doubt that she would be succeeding in the way that she is now.” Walsh, from page 20

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than just being coach Walsh’s daughter. She’s a starter in both field hockey and softball and has become a team leader in both sports, as well as in the school in general. “She’s a very strong person and a great little athlete, she has a great personality, everybody loves her. She’s a very caring person, so I had no doubt that she would be succeeding in the way that she is now,” her mother said. “I feel so strongly about the school and how supportive they are, not just of us, but of other people as well. When I send my daughter to school there every morning, I feel relief, I feel peace of mind and I know she’s taken care of there and if she needs anything, they are there for her. There is such great support there, it’s amazing. How can you not be happy about that as a parent? The kids there are such good kids. I don’t know, something about the kids at that school,

Cindy Walsh, Kelly’s mom

they are just so respectful.” It’s not easy, however, to move out of a shadow that is as long as the one cast by a guy like Bill Walsh. Then again, Kelly said she doesn’t want to move too far away from the constant comparisons, because she is proud of everything her father has meant to Holy Spirit, and his identity there will, in some ways, always be part of her identity. “I make it know that I want to be my own person. Everyone knows him because of all the things he’s done and people he’s impacted, but that helps me and motivates me to make another impact. It’s hard having to be able to be my own person. It’s a challenge, but it’s a base for me. I had to come in and show more and be more outgoing about who I am

as a person,” she said. “When he’s not at school, or if he’s not in the same vicinity I’m in, I find myself trying to be like him and give to people what he gave to others.” Kelly said she hopes that she can one day be mentioned in the same breath as her father when it comes to traits such as leadership, hard work and dependability. And perhaps that day is already here. “I hope people see me as a leader, that’s an important thing to me,” Kelly said. “I like to be a role model for younger players and I like to be involved in team bonding and making my teams stronger. Just being a good example.” The example the Walsh family has set while facing a deadly disease is, well, exemplary. They all admit they have their

good days and bad days, and hope people understand that when they are having a bad day it’s just something they have to get through. Taking things “one day at a time” is a time honored coaching cliche when talking to the media, but in this case it’s all Kelly, Cindy and Bill can do. Just savor every day for what it is and hope they are making a positive impact on the Holy Spirit community, and beyond. “It’s been hard to pick up on what each person is feeling and how to make things better, but you just have to go with the flow. Like my mom says, we just try to take it one day at a time and make the most of it,” Kelly said. “We take it day by day and see how things go,” Cindy added. “I just want to get my daughter off to a college that she will love, and go from there. Take it one day at a time.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

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Glory Days Magazine’s Top Mom Series CINDY WALSH/HOLY SPIRIT

Former gymnast finding balance Cindy Walsh keeps a smile on her face and a positive attitude despite life’s biggest challenges By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ill Walsh has been a larger-than-life figure around Holy Spirit High School for about three decades now. The assistant football coach is the kind of guy that former players reminisce about at the local watering hole years after they graduate. He motivates young men to want to run through brick walls for him, whatever it would take to please the man that shows teenage boys how to become men. When you’re married to a man like that, it’s fairly common to be referred to as “Coach Walsh’s wife.” But Cindy Walsh is much more than a wife who has a hot meal ready when the old ball coach makes his way up the driveway after another long practice, or who turns out the light after her husband has fallen asleep again in the den watching endless hours of game tape. She’s a former high school and collegiate gymnast, a successful teacher and mom to a 16-year-old daughter, Kelly, who is an outstanding student and two-sport athlete at Spirit. And now, she has become a devoted caretaker to her beloved husband. She spends her days tending to the needs of coach Walsh, who in 2017 was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative disease that is more commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” When she said those wedding vows that read, “for better or worse, in sickness and in health,” she figured the better and health would far outlast the worse and sickness. Fate has dealt the Walsh family a difficult hand to play, but play it they must. And Cindy does her best every day to keep a positive attitude, and keep fighting the fight, no matter what. “I’m known as ‘Coach Walsh’s wife’ but I’ve enjoyed it. I love all the coaches, they are our family, too, the wives are awesome. I’ve had a fantastic experience. And I have a lot of sons!” Cindy said. “So, for me, it’s been really wonderful. I tease about it, but once you get to know everybody you feel like you have your own identity. I do my things at Holy Spirit, with the Mother’s Guild and the Pre-Prom Fashion Show.” Kelly is an only child, and, being a 16-year-old, she and her mom frequently disagree about things. “We bump heads all the time because we are so similar. And also, me not having any siblings, we bump heads even more. It will be stupid things, like outfits, random things,” Kelly said. “I completely understand

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Cindy Walsh may be best known as the wife of legendary Holy Spirit coach Bill Walsh, but she also was an accomplished gymnast in high school and college and a successful business owner and teacher during her professional career. (her being over-protective). All of her family lives kind of far away so it’s really just us here and she counts on me for a lot of things. I’m pretty good about understanding when she wants me home, and I always tell her everything, what I’m doing and where I’m going.” “We all make mistakes. Parents aren’t perfect, we all know that. I just try to do my best for her and I know I may be a little over-protective, but I can’t help that,” Cindy said. “We have a lot going on right now, so I’m probably more over-protective than I normally would be. Did I expect the typical teenage thing going on with the mom? Yes, of course, but I did teach and coach a lot with teenagers, so I was pretty familiar with all of it. It’s challenging and wonderful all at the same time.” The Walsh family is a typical one, they live in a nice neighborhood in Galloway, have a backyard where they can entertain guests, and have a rambunctious little dog named Ginger. But all this almost never came to pass, mostly due to the stubbornness of a football coach. “Originally, I was supposed to meet Bill through a friend who was a bartender, so I went to the bar and Bill

had run out because he had football practice or something the next morning. Shocker, right? So I didn’t even get to meet him. So Rip, the bartender, said I should just call him. I said, ‘I’m not calling him, that’s ridiculous, he should be calling me.’ He said, ‘trust me, you just need to call him.’ So I called him and he never called me back,” Cindy explained. “Another time, a couple weeks later, I went with a friend and we were meeting some other friends there, so we went in and he had no idea who I was, obviously. I see him writing notes back and forth to Rip and apparently he was asking who the girl at the end of the bar was. And Rip was like, ‘yo, idiot, that’s Cindy who you never called back!’ So he came over; it was Christmas time so he had one of those fake gifts in his hand, and that was it. I think we saw each other pretty much every day after that. He did a pretty good job, he had to work hard (to make up for not calling me back) but I forgave him pretty quickly.”

See Balance, page 24

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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

The Walsh family, Cindy, Bill and Kelly, has been an integral part of Holy Spirit athletics for many years.

Balance, from page 22

What followed was a whirlwind romance, as Cindy and Bill were engaged just 46 days later and married within six months. Cindy, who went to Cherry Hill East High School and Ithaca College, became a shore girl and has loved it ever since, she said. Even with Bill having a mistress of sorts, in the form of Holy Spirit football. “I didn’t think it would be as time consuming, I guess, but once I got into it I realized coaches are never home. But that’s OK, because going to a big high school, we didn’t have that same family atmosphere, so when I met him and started going to the games I thought, this is the best and this is definitely where I want to bring up a child. The whole Holy Spirit family, I was like, ‘OK, I’ll take this.’ It was a good compensation for all the hours he put in,” she said. “Our marriage has been wonderful. I’ve loved the whole experience of watching Kelly grow up here and we’ve had a great support system, friends and family. It’s been spectacular. I wanted to be a part of Holy Spirit and I enjoy doing things for the school and for the kids. However we can make it better for them is the most important thing. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it.” The Walsh family figured to continue living out the iconic American dream; seeing Kelly off to college, watching Bill be inducted into multiple halls of fame if the day came that he ever decided to retire from coaching; going for summertime walks around their neigh-

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Balance, from page 24 borhood and just growing old together as their house became more and more crowded with trophies and memorabilia. But sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we plan or hope, and Cindy was reminded of that in 2017 when Bill was diagnosed with ALS, which has an average life expectancy of two-to-five years. Suddenly, life had changed. These days, Cindy cares for Bill while Kelly is at school, they have a hyperbolic chamber set up in one of the upstairs rooms, and in the past few months Bill has lost his ability to speak and has grown weaker. But Cindy said she and Kelly refuse to give up, and promise to keep fighting this deadly disease every step of the way. “I keep saying ‘day by day’ but that’s truly what we do. One day at a time and we try to tough things out the best we can, stay hopeful and try to keep things as positive as we can. We just try to focus forward and keep some of the emotion out of it. It was shocking. We were in disbelief for a long time, but then reality sets in and you just do what you have to do, take care of what you need to take care of and give a good fight. Throughout the years, if we were out at dinner or whatever, people would come up and say that coach Walsh made such a big impact on them or gave them great advice. That’s happened constantly throughout the years. So did I know how much of an impact he’s made? Yes, absolutely. It still is overwhelming, though, with the amount of support we’ve gotten. It’s been more than I could have ever imagined,” Cindy said. “We have enough

family and friends who have known us for a long time that they treat us just like the normal people we are. For the rest of it, if we can create more awareness, that would be great. But we try to keep things as normal as possible. It’s funny, because I feel like sometimes we’re comforting other people, but that’s OK. Different people handle things differently. People react in different ways, so I feel like you just have to listen to them and kind of give them what they need. It’s interesting, and however you feel is fine because people have different ways of handling things. We get a ton of support and comfort. We’re going through it the most, but there are other people who are very affected by it, too, and they have deep feelings for him and us. It’s a challenge to get used to so many people wanting to help us.” Kelly said there is one thing that really stands out to her now when she thinks about her mom. “Her strength as a mom and a person. She keeps everything bottled up, which isn’t always a good thing, but she doesn’t like to put her burden on someone else. I didn’t realize all that she does and all she’s capable of until recently,” Kelly said. “I think one of the hardest parts is accepting that everyone wants to give back to us what he gave to them. It’s hard accepting what everyone wants to do for us. Everything is bundled with sympathy and support, but at the same time, we want to give to them, still, as they give to us.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Many of Cindy Walsh’s days are spent watching daughter Kelly flourish into an outstanding leader for the Holy Spirit field hockey and softball programs.

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BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Mainland puts an end to Ocean City’s 93-meet streak Stangs hand rival first dual-meet CAL loss since 2008 season By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer he last time a Mainland Regional boys cross country team beat rival Ocean City, most of this year’s runners were in first or second grade. In fact, it’s been that long since anybody has beaten a Red Raiders team in a cross country dual meet. The Red Raiders lost 27-29 to Atlantic City on Sept. 23, 2008, then ripped off 93 straight Cape-Atlantic League victories, not losing again until just a few weeks ago, when Mainland upended the Red Raiders, 25-31, in Ocean City. Junior Kevin Antczak finished first overall in 16 minutes, 46 seconds, and he was followed by Ocean City’s Anthony Conte and Gavyn Fox. That meant Mainland’s Nos. 2-5 runners had to come up big for the Mustangs to stop the Red Raiders’ streak. They did just that, as Mainland swept the next three places. Artur Menezes, Kevin’s brother, Kyle, and Mikin Patel finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, as the Mustangs stopped one of the state’s longest current winning streaks. “We realized it, but in the end it’s just a regular dual meet and doesn’t really mean anything,” Kevin Antczak said. “But we’re still proud we got the win, and hopefully we can stay undefeated this season. We really grinded this summer, and we’re not at our highest yet, that

Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan

The Mainland boys cross country team of Blake Corbett, Mikin Patel, Kyle Antczak, Artur Menezes, Kevin Antczak, George Smith, Linden Wineland and Jesse Hickman took down rival Ocean City on Sept. 18, handing the Red Raiders their first Cape-Atlantic League dual-meet loss since the 2008 season. will take a couple more weeks.” “We were training for it and we always try to perform our best. We had to close it up and get the ‘W,’” Menezes added. For many years it was Mainland that was the dominant boys cross country team, as the Mustangs didn’t lose to Ocean City from 1992 to 2007, then the pendulum swung in Ocean City’s favor. And having a big dual meet so early in the season is tough for both teams, as nobody is in top form just yet. “It’s funny, because I’ve been around so long that I can’t remember the begin-

ning and end of long streaks like this. Against them, we had a good 13 years in a row where we didn’t lose to them, but that’s ancient history now, then they go on a nice 10-year run and I’m thinking, ‘oh, my gosh, it’s been 10 years already.’ It felt like we let one go last year, we really dropped the ball, so I think for these guys it became even more important. They don’t remember even the 10 years ago history, they just want to do well in the big meets like CALs, sectionals and states,” said Mainland coach Dan Heyman, who began his coaching career in

the early 1990s. “Having a meet like this early is tough on both teams, so you just take what happens and move on from there. They are happy that it happened, though. If we had it later in the season we’d be complaining that we had to really push ourselves right before all the big meets. There’s no good way to get through your dual meets. We’re happy to come out with the win. Nobody was super happy with the way they ran, but they’re happy that we won.” Kyle Antczak said it was a good feeling for this year’s senior-laden squad to know that they’ll leave high school with at least one victory over their rival. “I know from my freshman year, we didn’t win from freshman to junior year, so being able to beat them while I’m still around was really nice for me and the rest of the seniors, and for anybody who was on the team in the previous few years,” he said. “It does feel good,” added George Smith, one of five seniors in the starting lineup along with Menezes, Kyle Antczak, Mikin Patel and Jesse Hickman. “I’d rather be able to say we got a win at counties or sectionals. It was just a dual meet, but being that they are our rivals, it does feel good. We don’t want to get overconfident, though, and get too far ahead of ourselves.” Heyman said Ocean City’s streak wasn’t something his team was obsessed over, but it did weigh in the back of their minds, simply because so many graduating classes before them couldn’t score a victory over the Red Raiders during their careers.

See Mainland, page 27

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 27 Mainland, from page 26 “It was something that was hanging over their head and something they always had to hear about, so it was nice to get that off their back. We’ve beaten them in other races, like the Osprey Invitational, but locally people just see the results of the dual meets in the paper. If you’re not really following the sport, all you see is that once-a-year result, so I think they are happy to not have to answer that question anymore and get back to what they’re doing and concentrate on doing well at the end of the season. It’s nice to get that under their belt and it’s fun for them. We don’t typically stew over the dual meets too much, if we lost we’d still be ready to roll (in October). It was a weird unchecked box that they wanted to check off, and I’m glad they did. It’s nice for the seniors to get that experience,” he said. “I think when the season is over and they look at different things they did, it will mean a lot more then. Right now we’re slogging through and looking at November.” The Mustangs had a little more incentive to beat Ocean City during the meet

on Sept. 18. If they could, it would be Heyman’s 200th career coaching victory, which they didn’t find out until a few moments before they toed the starting line. “I didn’t want to give them any jitters, so I blurted it out right before the race started. They were already warmed up and ready to run and I said, ‘by the way guys, if you win today it’s No. 200, but just do your thing.’ It’s been great. I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff from alumni and a lot of people were a part of this,” Heyman said. “When you’re in the middle of it, you feel like it’s never going to end and you kind of take it for granted. I was thinking, hey, can we get a win one of these times because (Ocean City’s) streak is really getting up there. It was a long time, and hats off to them, they have a great program and have had a lot of success. It’s going to cycle back around. They are young and they’re going to be great again next year, so we know we have to appreciate it for what it is. Now that I’m up in years I can appreciate it even more and not take it for granted.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

Stangs coach Dan Heyman picked up career victory No. 200 when Mainland beat Ocean City.

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EHT shows off school pride for community Pride Fesitval draws hundreds to campus on a beautiful day in September By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer r. Kimberley Gruccio, who was hired as Superintendent of Egg Harbor Township schools prior to the 2017-2018 school year, approached Athletic Director Mike Pellegrino with an idea for an EHT Pride Festival last spring. The school wasn’t able to put anything together during the spring sports season, but this September it was worth the wait as members of the community, kids from throughout the school district and their families flooded into the high school on Saturday, Sept. 29 for a first-of-its-kind event at EHT. The EHT Pride Festival featured more than 100 table/tent set-ups in the back parking lot next to the tennis courts, where EHT sports teams, clubs and activities could showcase what they do to members of the community. There were also food trucks, plenty of games for the kids and demonstrations from teams such as baseball (which had a radar gun out) and track (timed runs and measured throws for kids). “We started moving games and opponents in the spring, trying to get some of the teams to bump from Friday to Saturday. We tried to get all the games going that day but with the band competition, football had to play Friday night. Girls tennis was away at South Jerseys, cross country had an event. As much as we tried to have everybody at home, at least were able to get about 75 percent of the teams at home, and it was an awesome event,” Pellegrino said. “It’s about promoting Egg Harbor Township High School and the EHT school district. I think we offer some amazing programs and we have some great athletics and activities that we offer here at the high school, and we want to show Egg Harbor Township what we do, how we do it, and how well we do it. Dr. Gruccio came up with the idea in the spring, but we were unable to pull it off in such a short time frame, so we started planning for September. It just happened that we were able to double it

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Youth soccer players Addison, age 9, front, and Kylie, 8, daughters of Egg Harbor Township High School boys soccer coach Pete Lambert, were all smiles at the first EHT Pride Festival at the high school on Sept. 29.

“I started contacting other ADs and explained what we’re doing, and everybody seems to be doing something along these lines. Cedar Creek does a community pride day, Millville and Vineland have done something along these lines. We all work with each other. It’s no different than scheduling our senior nights. All the ADs work together because we know how important it is for the families and the communities to have these types of events.”

Mike Pellegrino, EHT Athletic Director

up with the band competition on Saturday night. In the future, we’ll try to make football a Saturday night game to top off the event. It was an awesome showing on Saturday by the community.” “It’s a great day for our high school. We were trying to get football to play so that every single athletic team would be playing on that Saturday, but it didn’t work out with the schedule. But it was great, they had their “Blackout” game

(Friday night) and we had the rest of the teams (on Saturday),” said Kristi Troster Carelse, who is EHT’s field hockey coach and also a science teacher. “The parking lot had all the athletic and club activities, so we kind of had everybody out there at the same time. The Renaissance Club, the Interact Club, all the after school clubs. I’m a part of the Science Department, so we had an MSA Academy table to show some of the kids some

of the programs they will be eligible to enter when they get to high school. So it really gives a full glimpse of the whole high school and everything it has to offer for kids coming up. They can find out a lot of information and there are a lot of fun activities.” Pellegrino said the food trucks were a big hit, and expectedly so. Kids, after all, need chicken fingers and Italian ice to stay fueled up for the bouncy house and all the other activities that were going on. “We know that the food trucks were planning on having service for about 400-500 people, and we’re happy to say three of the trucks sold out of food, which is what we want. We want them to have a good showing and we want it to be worth their while,” he said. “They’ve done so much for us, whether it was when our

See Pride, page 29

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 29 Pride, from page 28 concession stand was down or when we have an event on campus, or running a fundraiser for us. We’re so thankful to have them, and hopefully they were able to walk away having a positive experience. I know we had a positive experience, the sun was shining and it was an amazing day. For a first-year event, it was very successful and we’re looking to grow it.” It sounds like a massive undertaking, but Pellegrino said the committee was very organized and that the entire event ran smoothly. “I started contacting other ADs and explained what we’re doing, and everybody seems to be doing something along these lines. Cedar Creek does a community pride day, Millville and Vineland have done something along these lines. We all work with each other. It’s no different than scheduling our senior nights. All the ADs work together because we know how important it is for the families and the communities to have these types of events. It takes a little bit of scheduling, but I was thankful to Vineland, Millville and Mainland for their teams coming to play us on a Saturday,” Pellegrino said. “The committee has been meeting for a while and getting all the contacts. At the high school alone, we have 60 levels of teams plus an additional 57 activities, and we’re happy to say we had about 120 tables set up in the parking lot. The people who were running the committee did a tremendous job in keeping everybody on the same page. We were able to use Google Docs so that everybody could see what everyone else was doing. Everybody was on the same page with the vision that

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

There were plenty of games to play at the EHT Pride Festival, including oversized checkers, bowling and Connect Four, and all kinds of other activities going on throughout the day at the event, which was held on the final Saturday of September. Dr. Gruccio had. I’m just a small cog in the wheel. We all worked together to promote it as much as we could to get as much positive showing for the community and the school district.”

Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

Page 30 w Glory Days Magazine w Oct. 5, 2018

FOOTBALL

Prep QB Chris Allen takes ownership, gains respect of teammates, coaches By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer t’s not often that a high school football player takes ownership for a dismal performance. The natural reaction of a 17- or 18-year-old is to try to find something else to pin it on other than his own shortcomings or decision making. A slick ball, the wind, sloppy turf — there are any number of escape routes easily accessible after a loss. On Sept. 14, St. Augustine Prep was coming off a big win over Lenape that evened the Hermits’ record at 1-1, and they were facing St. Joseph of Hammonton, the consensus No. 1 team in South Jersey according to most publications that cover high school sports. This was an opportunity for the Hermits to shock the world, score a big upset and prove that they are still one of the heavyweights in the West Jersey Football League. Then senior quarterback Chris Allen went out and threw four interceptions and the Hermits got trounced, 30-8. It was a sickening feeling for Allen, who has proven to be one of the better quarterbacks in Atlantic County throughout his varsity career. After that loss, Allen spoke to his teammates and took complete ownership for the loss, vowing to never again have that kind of per-

formance while he was dressed in the Hermits’ Navy and white uniform. He stood up and faced the music, and in turn earned the respect of his teammates and coaches. His line for that game was pretty good for a high school quarterback: 12 completions in 25 attempts for 165 yards. But that big No. 4 under the interception column stood out like a flashing neon sign. Allen and the Hermits quickly righted the ship, however, beating Shawnee 27-3 on Sept. 21 and following that up with a dominating, 38-6 win over Ocean City to close out September. “I’ve just been trying to not do too much. Coming into that game, it was a big game and just knowing what’s at stake when you play St. Joe’s. But, after looking at the film and seeing what I did, I decided to just not do too much, trying to make every single play. We started doing more short, quick stuff and that’s helping us make bigger plays,” Allen said. “I’m trying not to force too much. You want to make the big play, but you want to make the big play when it’s there and not try to force something and have it be a pick-6 or something. I’m just trying to be smarter with what I’m doing out on the field.” “It starts with practice. All the routes

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Senior quarterback Chris Allen threw four interceptions in a 30-8 loss to St. Joseph in mid-September, but bounced back in a big way, leading St. Augustine Prep to convincing wins over Shawnee and Ocean City the next two weeks. we ran today, we’ve done them 100 times in practice,” said senior wide receiver Jaylen DeCoteau, who caught two touchdown passes from Allen during the win over Ocean City. “It all begins with practice, then coming out here and executing. (Allen) did a great job and I’m

proud of him.” “The senior class, they are great kids. Not just on the football field, but also in school and in their communities.

See Allen, page 31

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 31 Allen, from page 30 You hear all positive things about them. Football aside, they are a great bunch of kids and when you meet their families you can see why. It’s a pleasure going to practice, we have fun and work hard, and they certainly have provided the leadership that we expect from a senior class,” said longtime Hammonton coach Pete Lancetta, who is now in his second year as St. Augustine Prep’s head coach. “There’s a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, for sure, and the fact that he took ownership speaks volumes. And he did rebound the next week and I thought he did very well (against Ocean City). He really did well against Shawnee, he ran the offense well, and that’s what he does. He manages the offense and that’s what we need him to do.” Lancetta said he appreciates his quarterback taking full ownership for the performance against St. Joseph, but added that the loss fell upon the shoulders of every guy in a Hermits uniform that night. “First of all, he’s a great kid, first and foremost. An outstanding student, he’s just aces all around. Second of all, it wasn’t all on him, so he’s incorrect when he says that. We didn’t run the ball, we didn’t block very well — we didn’t do anything very well,” Lancetta said. “We ALL had to take ownership for that loss. St. Joe is a quality football team and I didn’t think we could run the ball successfully against them so we threw the ball what I felt was about 50 times but in actuality it was about 25 times, and that’s a lot for any team that I coach. We took a chance and it didn’t work.” “After that St. Joe loss, a switch kind of flipped for everyone and you understood that you can’t try to make the big play all

“After looking at the film and seeing what I did, I decided to just not do too much, trying to make every single play. We started doing more short, quick stuff and that’s helping us make bigger plays.” Chris Allen, Prep QB (on 4 INT performance against St. Joe) by yourself because it’s not going to happen. We have to work together as a team to make sure every play happens the way it should, and when we work together like that, as a team, we get outcomes like (the win over Ocean City). The last two weeks, I told my guys that I’m not going to make those mistakes again. I want to be better for you guys so we don’t have outcomes like that. So, just trying not to force big plays and trying to be smarter with everything I’m doing is really helping,” Allen said after the win over Ocean City. “I know with a lot of the guys it sunk in that we can’t focus on trying to do stuff by ourselves. When we got back to practice for the Shawnee week, everything slowly kind of came together and guys were a lot more focused — including myself. That same focus that we had before playing Shawnee just carried over into the Ocean City week, and it’s been great. That was one of the toughest nights for me after throwing four interceptions (against St. Joe). There were so many things that could have been better, and having those picks really hurt our defense, too. But it’s a learning experience. I had that day after, but once we got to Sunday it was like, OK, we need to get our minds back to where they need to be.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

Page 32 w Glory Days Magazine w Oct. 5, 2018

Jersey Shore Rugby with Dr. J.

Rugby an exciting game, as Sharks are proving

he Sharks rugby squad split the last two matches, winning big at home against the Philadelphia Gryphons, 55-7, in mid-September. Liam Marshall of Longport was named “Man of the Match” for his multiple long breakaway runs resulting in a major points on the scoreboard. On Sept. 29, the Sharks hosted Brandywine Rugby Club in Galloway and had a rough time getting started, as the Sharks trailed 34-7 at halftime. The men in blue and gray were fired up after the halftime break and successfully put 19 points on the board while at the same time conceding none. Sadly, there was not enough time in the match to make the comeback truly remarkable and the Sharks lost, 34-26. “Man of the Match” was awarded to Tim Lenzsch Jr. from Somers Point. The Sharks’ next match is Oct. 6 in Philadelphia against the first-place N.E. Irish Rugby Club. Our coed youth rugby league has started and takes place every Friday night, 6-7:30 p.m. in Galloway at Veteran’s Park, ages 6-14. New players are always welcome to join our men’s club (over age 18) and our youth league. No experience is necessary. We can turn any athlete into a rugby player! Rugby is the second-most popular spectator sport in the world behind soccer (based on match attendance and TV analysis). It is also the fastest growing sport

Dr. j zimmerman

The Sharks recently picked up a big win over the Philadelphia Gryphons, but their comeback attempts against Brandywine Rugby Club was thwarted.

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

in the United States, growing at a rate of 13 percent faster than lacrosse. Rapidly expanding youth leagues, high school teams, college leagues and adult club divisions mixed with a new professional league shows the increasing popularity of rugby in the United States. Since rugby is on such a rapid rise and the fall 15s season is upon us, it is the perfect time to discuss how the 15s game of rugby union is played. Here is your Rugby 101. The main attraction to rugby is its physicality mixed with speed and skill. This is why most people cannot look away, despite not knowing the rules, when they pass by a rugby match while browsing the television channels. Also, the fact that the games consist of 80 minutes of non-stop action with both teams defending and threatening to score at a moment’s notice makes rugby extremely exciting.

The main object of the game is to take an oval ball (larger than a football) and run the ball across a goal line. The ball progresses down the field by backward passes. Unlike American football, there is no forward passing. Once the player crosses the goal line, the score does not count unless the ball is touched down to the playing field with downward pressure. This is one of the reasons why you see rugby players diving over the goal line with the ball, trying to press the ball to the ground. Incidentally, when a player crosses the goal line and touches down, the score is called a “try” which is worth 5 points. Here is where it gets interesting. The point where the ball is touched down over the try line is where the kicker lines up to kick the extra point. The kicker has to move back about 25 yards from the try line

See Rugby, page 33

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 33 Rugby, from page 32 and kick from the point of where the ball was touched down. If the player scores in the corner, the kick comes from that corner angle 25 yards back. The kick is worth two points, which makes the conversion very important, and that is why the players will do their best to score a try and touch the ball down in the center of the goal posts, which takes some of the pressure off of the kicker. And that is not an easy feat since most of the time you are fighting to get across the line without being tackled. Players will always take the five points where they can get them unless there is a chance of moving closer to the goal posts without losing the ball. Since we are talking about scoring, if one team commits a major rule violation, the other team is awarded a penalty. The team awarded the penalty has three choices. If they are close to the goal posts, they can kick a “field goal” for three points. If they are even closer and feeling adventurous they can quickly grab the ball and go for a run toward the goal to score a try, or if they are far away in the other team’s territory they can kick the ball downfield out of bounds and receive the ball in their opponent’s territory. Also, at any time during the match if a player has an opportunity, he or she can dropkick the ball through the posts for three extra points. Any player can attempt this if they have a chance. It is difficult to do and is usually used as a last resort when a team is down by two points and there is very little time left. Speaking of time, rugby matches are 80 minutes long. They are divided into 40-minute halves with a 5- to 10-minute halftime. Substitutions are allowed (eight per team), but once a player leaves the field, they cannot come back into the game. Subs are used for injuries or for fresh legs near the end of the game to give a team a boost. These players are called game finishers and are just as talented and important to the team as the starters. As far as the rules go, they are not complicated. First there are the minor rules. The ball cannot go forward, meaning no forward passes or dropping balls forward. Once a player is tackled they have to release the ball so that everyone has a fair shot at taking it. If any of these minor rules are broken, the other team is awarded the ball via a scrum. A scrum is one of the unique aspects

of rugby. It is like a face-off in hockey, but instead of involving two players it involves two sides of eight players each. The team that is awarded the scrum gets to “put-in” the ball or roll it into the scrum with the plan being that their team of eight will push over the ball and have the ball come out on their side for their team to recover and play. The problem is that the opposing team’s scrum is not supposed to cooperate. Their objective is to push back hard and try to win the ball for their team. Scrums are fun to watch and an integral part of the game. If a team commits a major rule violation, the opposite team is awarded a penalty. Penalties are major and can vary from illegal tackles to foul play to illegally blocking an obvious try. There is also an offsides rule and an obstruction rule. Some penalties result in a yellow card. The offending player is placed in the rugby “sin bin” and the offending team will play the match with one less player for 10 minutes. A red card means you have done something so bad you are out and cannot come back. Again, your team would be a player short for the duration of the match. Lastly, one more aspect of rugby needs to be explained: If a ball is kicked or knocked out of bounds, the game needs to be restarted. This is accomplished with a line-out. As many as eight players from each team line up next to each other near the sideline and the team that didn’t knock the ball out of bounds gets to throw the ball in. Just like a jump ball in basketball, either team can recover the ball. That’s it. Rugby 101 in a nutshell. A very simple game that is extremely fun and exciting. Every player on the field plays offense and defense. Every player gets to run the ball, every player has an opportunity to score. It’s awesome! I hope you enjoy your next match on TV or live at our field! Or, better yet, as a player on the Sharks! Dr. J. Zimmerman is the president of the Jersey Shore Rugby Club Board of Directors. He is the men’s club head coach and director of youth rugby. Dr. J. is also the team chiropractor. For more information on Jersey Shore Sharks Rugby, including our high school rugby team, or if you are interested in playing, visit www.JerseyShoreRugby.com or on Facebook at Jersey Shore Rugby Club, or call 609-652-6363 or email Jerseyshoresharks@gmail.com.

Page 34 w Glory Days Magazine w Oct. 5, 2018

SNAPSHOTS/JERSEY SHORE SHARKS RUGBY CLUB VS. PHILADELPHIA GRYPHONS

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Oct. 5, 2018 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 35

SNAPSHOTS

Oakcrest’s Phoebe Ohnemuller waits for a restart during the Falcons’ win over Holy Spirit on Sept. 19. Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan

Mainland Regional’s Robin Spector leaps high in the air to deflect a shot on goal by Ocean City during the Mustangs’ matchup against the Red Raiders in late September.

Pleasantville cheerleader Tia Spence gets tossed into the air following a Greyhounds touchdown in their win over Cedar Creek on Sept. 29.

Mainland wide receiver Dan Misa lines up for a play during the Mustangs’ win over Bridgeton on Sept. 21.