37th WOBM Christmas Classic Program by Shore Sports Network Journal

elcome to the 37th annual WOBM Christmas Classic, presented by the US Army and hosted by Townsquare Media, the Shore Sports Network, 92.7 WOBM and the Toms River Regional School District. Once again, 32 varsity basketball teams (16 boys/16 girls) will be participating and playing 52 games over seven days at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena. The tournament was established in 1984 as a replacement for the Southern Regional Roundball Festival and began with eight boys teams playing over three days at Ocean County College. The girls division was added in 1994 and the tournament moved to the campus of Toms River High School North in 2003. Today, the WOBM Christmas Classic is one of the largest holiday basketball tournaments in New Jersey. Special thanks to the Toms River School District and Board of Education for hosting the event and providing such an outstanding facility for the participants.

The WOBM Christmas Classic... a True Holiday Tradition! WOBM CHRISTMAS CLASSIC OFFICIALS Founder/Director:

Kevin Williams, Townsquare Media/Shore Sports Network

Assistant Director:

Joe Arminio

Senior Management: Paul Barnoski, Jim Hibbs, Ed Sarluca, William Madigan Tournament Staff:

Steve Meyer, Gina Arminio, Jane Williams, Mike Conover, Dawn Sullivan, Dom Alagia, Skylar Arminio, Maria Lupo, Erin Cosentino

Athletic Trainers:

Stacy White (Middletown South), Dan Chrashewsky (TR South), Jake McCartney (TR East), Kendall Culver (TR North-Supervisor)

Jim Hibbs, Ed Sarluca, Kevin Williams, Joe Arminio, Paul Barnoski & William Madigan

Pictured left to right:

F Y O U A S K T H E P L A Y E R S W H O TA K E P A R T I N T H E

WOBM

CHRISTMAS CLASSIC WHAT THEY LIKE MOST ABOUT THE EVENT Y O U ’ L L L I K E LY F I N D A F E W W H O W I L L P I C K T H E T I P -O F F B R U N C H

WHICH OVER THE YEARS HAS BECOME THE OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF

C H R I S T M A S C L A S S I C W E E K . O N T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 14 M O R E T H A N 260 P L A Y E R S , C O A C H E S , O F F I C I A L S A N D G U E S T S G A T H E R E D A T T H E C L A R I ON H O T E L & C ON F E R E N C E C E N T E R I N T O M S R I V E R T O E N J O Y A D E L I C I O U S B R E A K F A S T W I T H M O S T M A K I N G M O R E T H A N ON E T R I P T O THE BUFFET LINE. A member of the Choice Hotels branch, the Clarion has been a gracious supporter of the WOBM Classic since 1995 by sponsoring the hosting the opening event which allows the participating teams to come together before they step on the court to battle for the championship. Bob Van Bochove has been our host for more than 25 years but will be passing the torch to Kevin Hanfield, the current Banquet Manager but will soon become GM while Bob stays on for a bit in a reduced capacity. He has earned a semi-retirement and has been a great friend to WOBM for many years. As he does each year Tournament Founder/Director Kevin Williams served as Master of Ceremonies and host of the morning event and spent several minutes thanking the near two dozen sponsors who help make the event possible. Topping that list is the U.S. Army who has come on as the Presenting Sponsor for the tournament and will be on site for several days talking about careers and more for those young men and women who might be interested. As they have since the WOBM Classic started in 1984 the Christams Classic founder/director Causeway Family of Dealerships in Kevin Williams Manahawkin is once again a big part by sponsoring tee-shirts for all the players and coaches and providing the Most Valuable Player awards which they sponsor. Those awards will be created by Ocean Trophies of Lanoka Harbor who will continue the tradition of donating the spectacular team championship awards to both the boys and girls winners.

Neil Bryant, VP of Operations at Community Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health Facility

Welcoming the players and coaches to this year’s tournament was Neil Bryant, Vice President of Operations at Community Medical Center/RWJBarnabas Health. CMC has been a huge supporter of the tournament and has provided funding for academic scholarships in recent years. Of course the entire 52-game event will be held at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena on the campus of Toms River High School North.

Sgt. First Class Erik Shanner, Station Commander of the U.S. Army’s Toms River Recruiting Station also helped welcome the players and coaches and expressed his thanks for the opportunity to serve as presenting sponsor for the tournament. He briefly spoke about the many career opportunities in today’s Army and said he is looking forward to speaking with students and their parents during the tournament. Serving as guest speaker was Sgt. First Class Erik Shanner, Station Commander of the U.S. Army’s Toms River first-year Monmouth University Recruiting Station women’s head coach Ginny Boggess whose team has already doubled the number of wins they had all of last season. A native of Hamlin, West Virginia Boggess arrived in West Long Branch following two seasons as an assistant coach and head recruiting coordinator at Penn State and before that spent five years as an assistant at Marquette. The theme of her speech was that student-athletes need to be prepared in everything they do from the court to the classroom and that preparation is the foundation for success. Boggess has hit the ground running in West Long Branch and it seems just a matter of time before the Monmouth women’s program mirrors the achievements Monmouth University Women’s of the men’s program in recent Head Coach Ginny Boggess years. Among others to speak at the Tip-Off Brunch were Dr. Jon Lentz, a pediatric orthopaedic specialist at Seaview Orthopaedics who are the official team doctors of the Classic and also provide the Athletic Trainers who work the event. Dr. Lentz and his staff will work hand in hand with the quartet of athletic trainers staffing the tournament including Stacy White of Middletown South who briefed players and coaches on protocols for care during the event.

Dr. Jon Lentz, Pediatric Orthopaedic Specialist at Seaview Orthopaedics

The field of 32 teams for the WOBM Classic is similar to what it’s been in recent years but there are some fresh faces. The boys field includes first-time entrants Colts Neck and St. John Vianney while on the girls side Red Bank Catholic returns to the field and Rumson Fair-Haven, who won the event six times from 2001-10 is back for the first time in several years.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18 TH (Girls 1st Round All Games in RWJBarnabas Arena) 10:00

#6 Red Bank

vs.

#11 Wall

Loser “A”