September 21, 2009 I Issue-13 Manley's Soccer Sideline Page 4 Running Smoothly: Brick Memorial's Mike DiGuilmi
Page 7 Another Dimension: Ocean's Brandon Robinson
Page 8 Stuck in a Rutter: Lacey's Soccer Star Returns
Page 9 Girls Tennis: Holmdel's Wojciak Trains Overseas
Page 10 Joe McAuliffe: Use It Or Loss It
Page 12 Stumpy’s Corner Page 15
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Matt Manley covered boys soccer for three years at the Asbury Park Press and now joins All Shore Media to further expand soccer coverage in the Shore Conference. His coverage in the paper a n d o n t h e a p p . c o m w e b s i t e e a r n e d h i m t h e M e d i a M e m b e r o f t h e Ye a r f r o m t h e N e w J e r s e y Soccer Coaches Association in 2007. The new boys soccer page at AllShoreMedia.com will feature articles, photos and highlights, with such extras as bonus video highlights, n o t e b o o k s , e x p a n d e d To p 2 0 l i s t s a n d p o d c a s t s . G o t o A l l S h o r e M e d i a . c o m t o s e e t h e new soccer page, watch video, and join the discussion on Matt's blog. I t ' s a m u s t s e e f o r a n y h i g h s c h o o l s o c c e r p l a y e r, c o a c h a n d f a n .
I’ve never really decided what I think about playing a brutal division schedule. There is the school of thought that says competition breeds excellence, which I think is the camp most people subscribe to. When you talk to any A North coach, he usually thinks his team is wellprepared for anything they see in the state or Shore Conference Tournament. Manalapan and CBA have proved that in the last few years with each making runs to their respective Group finals two years ago.
thought they were heading into last year, the response from opposing coaches and objective onlookers last year paled in comparison to the reviews they are getting this year. Simply put, people are impressed. The Christian Brothers Academy crowd might not be blown away, but that team is a different animal altogether. I had one A Central coach tell me that Raritan is going to run away with the division, which is very tough this year, and everyone else would beat the daylights out of one other.
Then there’s the other side of the coin, which I’m starting to worry is taking effect with some of the teams in the Shore Conference. Last year, A North and the Shore Conference Tournament was a borderline bloodbath, and you basically had the Group IV schools run out of gas in the playoffs: Freehold Township lost to Howell, Howell lost to Steinert, Manalapan lost to Marlboro, Marlboro lost to Brick Memorial. Howell, Freehold Township, and Marlboro all made deep SCT runs, exerted themselves for 14 A North games and just didn’t have much left in the state tournament. You might rather be Brick Memorial, a talented team who plays a little bit lighter division schedule but still got a dose of premium talent like Toms River East and Freehold Township during the season. Sometimes a taste of competition is better than a steady diet.
The question is, how much does A Central challenge Raritan and do they get to see a big school in the SCT? Personally, I think A Central might take a little more out of them than it would in most years. A lot of people are crowning them already, but let’s not forget that Raritan started last year on a tear as well before enduring an injury to goalkeeper Dave Gonzalez and hitting the wall a bit. I’m sure head coach Ron Poll is telling his team the same thing, and in a division with five other quality teams, the Rockets don’t get a night off to recuperate. I’m interested to see if that takes anything out of them. If not, and they’re able to use a deep rotation and breeze through a tough division, well then maybe they are that good.
Which brings me to my first two subjects: Toms River North and Raritan. Let’s start with Raritan, because the Rockets recently held off St. John Vianney in a 1-0 win. As good as I
so talented. Secondly, they have a good sampling of tough games mixed in. They play Toms River South twice, as well as solid
Group III schools Lacey and Brick, along with squads like Toms River East and Jackson, who are always tough. As long as they can make a run through the SCT to the point where they get to test themselves against a team like Marlboro or even Raritan, they’ll have a great frame of reference for what it takes to beat a hig- caliber opponent. If they get to see CBA, it likely means they made it to the SCT final, because it would be hard to envision a scenario in which either did not win its respective division.
Toms River North looks like a team that can do a ton of damage in the state tournament for a lot of reasons. First of all, and with all due respect to the other teams in A North, they are going to be able to win games without playing their best against certain teams because they are
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Running Smoothly By Scott Stump – Managing Editor Brian Staub may have become a household name by the time his brilliant career ended at Brick Memorial with a state title last year, but only a season earlier he was an anonymous junior trying to pick up the nuances of the Mustangs’ triple option offense under head coach Walt Currie.
his varsity debut, a 29-26 loss to Sayreville, and then followed that with 100 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on just nine carries in a 38-21 win over Southern. So much for worrying about what the Mustangs would get out of the quarterback position this year.
That’s how quickly stardom can happen in Currie’s system, and the next one in line is current junior Mike DiGuilmi. Just like Staub in 2007, DiGuilmi entered this season as a complete unknown. The difference is that DiGuilmi is facing the challenge of replacing a quarterback who was named the Most Valuable Player in the Shore Conference last year by All Shore Media after leading the Mustangs to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Gr oup I V title.
“Coach just told me to be the point guard of the offense, make my reads and get the ball to the right people at the right time, and we’ll be fine,’’ DiGuilmi said. “I worked out with Staub all of last year, and he was a good mentor for me.’’
“I di dn ’t r e al l y fe el p r es s u r e a t all be c au s e c oac h Cu r r ie s a id , ‘We’re n ot as ki n g yo u to b e S ta u b , we’re as ki n g y ou t o b e yo u r s elf ,’’ Digui l mi s ai d.
DiGuilmi still keeps in touch with Staub, who has seen playing time as a freshman at Springfield College. DiGuilmi has also worked closely with new Brick Memorial assistant Rob Orrok, who was a star in Currie’s system when Currie was the offensive coordinator at Point Boro before coming to Brick Memorial in 2007. “(Orrok) has helped me out a lot,’’ DiGuilmi said. “He teaches me one-on-one, and I think it's made me a lot better. He goes over my reads step by step, and shows me how to make the tough reads and get used to every kind of defense.’’ While Staub carried much of the load last season, two things make the Mustangs even more difficult to attack defensively this year. The first is that the backfield is deep and experienced with the trio of seniors Vinnie Sabba, Jared Aksdal and Glenn McGinnis. The second reason is that DiGuilmi is a solid passer for a running quarterback, so teams have to respect his ability to step back and throw the ball. “Having those guys back there makes things a lot easier, and our line is great,’’ DiGuilmi said. “(Passing) is an area that I have worked on a lot, and we have good receivers, so we want to get them the ball. We don’t pass much, but we want to keep the defense on its toes.’’
Regardless, DiGuilmi has done his best Staub impression in the early going, as he had over 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing in
D’Elia, the Mustangs don’t plan any taking any type of step back in search of their third state title in school history.
“ I t ’s n o t s o m u c h p r e s s u r e f r o m t h e o u t s i d e , i t ’s m o r e f r o m o u r s e l v e s , ’’ D i G u i l m i s a i d . “ We h a v e a s h o t t o w i n another state championship, a n d w e w a n t t o g e t i t d o n e . ’’ Now they have a quarterback who has excelled in his first varsity action, quickly acclimating himself to the difference between practicing the triple option and executing it against a live defense. He is already picking up the different stunts of opposing defenses, who lately have been sending the middle linebacker to try and grab the pitch when DiGuilmi looks to pop it outside to McGinnis or one of the other backs. “I think my biggest challenge was reading the defense as fast as possible and knowing where your keys are,’’ he said. “In time, the steps have gotten easy, and our line is doing a good job of picking up a lot of the stunts from the defense.’’
Despite the season-opening loss to Sayreville, which is the team that Brick Memorial beat to win its state sectional title last year, the American Division title and a second straight state title are still in play for the Mustangs. Despite the loss of Staub and Monmouth University lineman Anthony
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Another Dimension By Scott Stump – Managing Editor
L
ast season, Ocean had enough of the necessary ingredients to be one step from playing a state championship game.
This year the Spartans may have found the missing piece that can allow them to take that final step in the race to unseat Freehold as the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III champion. With a rugged defense and a physical running game, the one element missing from their offense last year was an explosive player who would make defenses pay for missing a tackle or taking a bad angle by hitting them for an 80-yard touchdown.
En te r m u c h -im p r o v e d s e ni o r Br and o n R o b in s o n. A three-year starter in the secondary on defense, Robinson has emerged in the early going of the 2009 season as an all-purpose offensive threat with the speed to take it the distance on any play. He came up in the Pop Warner system as a running back and a quarterback, switched to wide receiver during high school, and is now playing wideout and some running back in order to take advantage of his play-making ability. He has gone from a bit player offensively to the one player on the Spartans who worries opponents the most.
quarterbacks in the Shore.’’
emphasis for the Spartans heading into this year, and Robinson’s work on his speed and his participation in Klein’s rigorous offseason strength and conditioning program have turned him into that missing element of Ocean’s offense that forces defenses to respect the Spartans’ ability to make plays deep down the field.
Robinson has received interest from Monmouth University and Stony Brook, two programs that feature several former Ocean stars, although what position he will play at the collegiate level is still up in the air. He also is adjusting to being circled on opposing scouting reports when it comes to slowing down the Spartans’ offense, which only averaged 15 points per game in the first two games.
Wherever Robinson lines up, he has to be accounted for. He could take a handoff and hurt teams or snatch a pass from senior quarterback Christian Bailoni and race down the field. He also has only scratched the surface of what he can do. “Learning receiver was tough to get all the routes down because you have to be right on point,’’ he said. “I still need to improve on running routes, but I’m confident with my hands.’’ It also helps that he is comfortable with Bailoni entrenched as the full-time
“I think I enjoy playing receiver more, depending on how the g a m e i s g o i n g , ’’ Robinson said. “It d o e s n ’t m a t t e r t o m e where I have to play to h e l p t h e t e a m w i n . ’’
“I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and watch as much film as possible to find the weaknesses in opposing defenses,’’ he said. “We need to improve on the mistakes that we're making right now like penalties and missed assignments. I don’t think our offense is completely clicking yet, so we have some work left to do.’’ With sophomore Greg Moore and bruising runner R.J. D’Apolito also back there, the offense has potential to have great balance with Robinson as a home run threat. Add that to a physical defense led by George Sofield up front, D’Apolito at linebacker and Robinson in the secondary, and the foundation is there to make a run at Ocean’s first state sectional title since 2005 and a Liberty Division title. “I don’t think anyone is going to score more than 13 points on our defense, so if our offense can get to 20 points a game, we’re going to be very hard to beat,’’ Robinson said. Ocean displayed the versatility of its offense in the first two weeks, leaning on Neptune in a 14-6 win in the rain and then hitting Brick with the big play in Week Two.
The Spartans are off to a 2-0 start with solid victories over fellow Central Jersey Group III contenders Neptune and Brick, and Robinson flashed his ability to alter the course of the game with one play in a 17-7 win over the Green Dragons. He ripped off touchdown runs of 80 and 58 yards and also had an interception to fuel the victory, energizing the Spartans with every touch of the ball.
“In a game like Neptune, we weren’t really going to break a lot against them because they’re fast and it was a rainy day, so we just pounded the ball,’’ Robinson said. “Against Brick, they weren’t as fast, so we were able to break the big play a couple times.’’ As for the collegiate level, Robinson said he would like to play cornerback, but the prospect of being a game-breaking receiver is tantalizing. That’s a thought that should be keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night. starter, as last year Bailoni often rotated with the nowgraduated Rhett Cowley at quarterback.
“I had a feeling coach (Don Klein) was going to call my number a lot,’’ Robinson said. “I made a couple big plays and it changed the game.’’ Getting Robinson the ball more was a point of
“Chris and I have been working together for the last three years and he’s comfortable with me,’’ Robinson said. “I think he’s one of the best
“I feel that once I get the hang of playing r e c e i v e r, t h a t w i t h m y h a n d s I’ll be one of the best r e c e i v e r s a r o u n d , ’’ h e s a i d . Photos by:
Bill Normile www.billnormile.zenfolio.com/oceanbric
Dave Thorne www./allshoremedia.mycapture.com
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Stuck in a Rutter: Lacey’s Star Returns By Matt Manley – Staff Writer
L
ast Thursday night, in his team’s 3-0 win over Brick Memorial, Lacey senior midfielder Craig Rutter fell to the ground midway through the second half of a game that was well in hand.
cut short before it even got going. He tore the anterior crutiate ligament (ACL) in his left knee early in the schedule and could not play soccer until the next high school season.
“He played for me as a freshman and we thought he was going to be starting all four y e a r s , ” said Humenik, whose first year as head coach coincided with Rutter ’s freshman year.
“ U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h e i n j u r y w i p e d out his sophomore season and he played in pain for a lot of last y e a r. H e ’s w o r k e d h a r d t o g e t back and we’re looking for him to be one of our leaders.”
The trainer immediately rolled out the golf cart to middle of the field where Rutter laid in obvious discomfort. As he grabbed his leg, the entire Lacey bench exchanged audible expressions of concern with one another, some to the effect of, “Oh no,” and “Not Craig,” and even, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Again?” Lacey coach Joe Humenik stood on the sideline with his hands folded while his team on the field tended to Rutter. He did not want to have to jog out to his fallen player, fearing it might mean the worst. Then, a little more than a minute after Rutter went down, one of his teammates screamed a prognosis from the huddle that settled the Lacey down and got the Lions back to thinking about having their best season in program history, rather than pondering what could have been. “He’s okay. It’s just a cramp,” the voice said from inside the huddle. With that, the Lacey bench went from on edge to back on cloud nine. The quick quips of concern turned into those of relief. “Thank God. We would have been screwed,” was the most notable quote from the bench. Lacey is all too familiar with life without Rutter, the team’s center midfielder, leader and best player. He was a varsity starter as a freshman in 2006, the same year Humenik took over the program as head coach. In Rutter, Humenik saw a potential building block for not just his senior year in 2009, but for the next three years. Lacey, a Group III school, was trying to establish itself as a perennial winning program in a Class A South division packed with Group IV schools, and players like Rutter would be central to that goal. As a sophomore in 2007, Rutter ’s season was
Rutter returned in 2008 to a Lacey team that had aspirations of surprising a talented Class A South field that would end up featuring a Shore Conference Tournament and NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV semifinalist in Toms River East, a Central Jersey Group IV semifinalist in Brick Memorial, a senior-loaded Brick team, and rosters from Toms River North and Toms River South that were loaded with talented juniors. Humenik thought his group was on its way to joining that class of teams, but one game into the season, Rutter again went down, this time with torn ligaments and tendons in his right ankle. Rutter played in pain for three games, then sat out four when the pain became too much. Fortunately for Rutter – and Lacey – he eventually made it back and had a strong individual season, posting nine goals and four assists in 13 games. More importantly, he helped Lacey run off a string of four wins in five games to get to a record of 8-8 at the NJSIAA Tournament cutoff date. Rutter ’s seminal moment, as well as Lacey’s, came during a 4-3, overtime win over Brick on Oct. 16. Rutter took a pass from teammate Steve Torre and knocked the ball into the net with just 1:48 left in the second overtime period. Had Rutter not finished, Lacey would likely have had to settle for a tie or worse. Teamed with a senior, AllDivision midfielder in Steve Torre, Lacey was a tough draw for any team down the stretch and as the No. 13 seed in the state tournament, the Lions drew No. 4 Hammonton in the first round. Lacey outshot Hammonton in the game, but fell 1-0. Still, the Lions, packed with returning talent in 2009, were encouraged by their showing and Rutter was excited at the prospect of a healthy senior season,
even if he had to say goodbye to Torre, his longtime friend and teammate. “Steve and I have been playing together forever,” Rutter said. “I always played up an agegroup in club ball, so we were always teammates. We had a great chemistry in the midfield while we played in high school. He’s a great player and I’m gonna miss him this year.” Lacey had the kind of senior nucleus returning in 2009 that practically guaranteed a great season, one that could end deep in the South Jersey Group III playoffs and perhaps even the Shore Conference Tournament. But once again, Rutter and the Lions were reminded that there were no guarantees when the senior captain had to go under the knife again this past March, this time for a torn meniscus in the same left knee. “The meniscus surgery wasn’t a big deal,” Rutter said. “I was out for a little while but it’s not something that bothers you that long. “With the ACL, it takes about a year to get back to full strength, especially playing the position I play in the center mid. It’s a demanding position. You have to be able to change direction a lot and react with your legs, so it takes longer to fully recover from the injury to play center mid than it does to play other positions and other sports.” Now that Rutter has been through three major injuries to both of his legs, he has developed a sense of humor about his situation that reflects a sense of perspective he has gained from the experience.
“ I’v e h a d t hr ee su rg e rie s o n m y legs before my 18 th birthday,” Ru tte r jo k e d . “I ’ll p ro b a b ly h a v e ar thr itis in b o th k n e e s by the time I’m 2 5 .” For now though, Rutter is healthy and enjoying a great start to his senior season, and as a result, so are the Lions. Lacey is off to a 3-0-1 start, its best four-game start since joining the Shore Conference Class A South in 2006. With a healthy, experienced nucleus, Lacey is prepared to challenge for the division title. “It’s huge having Craig back,” junior defender Max Dolphin said. “He’s a great player and a great teammate. If he’s healthy, he’s one of the best players in Shore Conference. We have a great team a r o u n d h i m , b u t h e ’s o u r g o - t o g u y. ”
Photos by
Matt Manley
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Off-Season Tennis Training: With Holmdel Star Karolina Wojciak B y C l a y t o n Ta y l o r, D i r e c t o r o f Te n n i s a t T h e A t l a n t i c C l u b
Off-season training for tennis is usually done on a tennis court, but for Holmdel star Karolina Wojciak, most of her training was done on grass or a running track and not even in the United States. Karolina traveled to Poland over the summer, where she spent six weeks training on her tennis game via through fitness. Karolina, one of the top tennis players in the Shore Conference as a freshman, led Holmdel to the Shore and Monmouth County Tournament titles but had a dismal season last year as a sophomore. After achieving first-team All-Shore as a freshman, Karolina had a break even season as a sophomore and Holmdel lost the Shore Conference title as a team for the first time in years. That was when Karolina vowed to renew her tennis spirit and her game. Karolina realized that for her to regain the form she had as a freshman she would have to improve her mental toughness on the court. Mental toughness on the court involves a strong belief in yourself, that with maximum effort positive things will happen for you and most importantly, having fun doing what you are doing.
To achieve the above, Karolina realized she needed a break from hitting balls and most importantly figured out that for her to have fun and put the maximum effort in while on the court, she would need to improve her fitness training. While in Poland, Karolina hardly hit a tennis ball but spent numerous hours improving her fitness. She concentrated her training on improving court coverage in the area of foot speed while moving to the ball. She also worked on being able to set up, transfer her weight and balance once she has hit the ball. The off-the-court training has Karolina exhibiting a muchimproved positive attitude that includes strong, confident body language on the court, believing in herself and, most importantly, having fun playing tennis again. All of the above led to Karolina developing her confidence in a stronger serve and being able to move and set up to hit her strength, which is a forehand from almost anywhere on the court. Early in the season Karolina’s strategy appears to be paying off as both Holmdel and her individual record sit at 4-1. Karolina has defeated one of the Shore’s top players in Manasquan’s Farah Smoke and the team’s only loss came from the rackets of the Shore’s topranked team, Red Bank Catholic, as Karolina lost to another one of the Shore’s top players, Dena Tanenbaum. Karolina has figured out what most athletes never do - that the harder you work, the mentally tougher you become, and the more success you have.
How To Hit The Modern Semi-Open Or Open Stance Forehand In hitting the semi-open, or open stance, forehand there are notable differences and below I list the key to developing both while including their strengths.
Open Stance Forehand ■ To s t a r t y o u n e e d a w i d e b a s e w i t h y o u r feet, thus allowing the ground reaction and pushing of your feet to create rotational torques that contribute to your angular momentum. ■ To e f f e c t i v e l y g e n e r a t e p o w e r y o u primarily use angular momentum (body must rotate around its vertical axis). ■ The open stance allows you to handle and effectively hit hard-paced shots. ■ Use this type of footwork when returning serve or forced wide at the baseline. ■ Open stance also allows for a faster recovery after you have hit your shot.
Semi-Open Stance Forehand ■ Yo u r b a s e h e r e w i l l b e n a r r o w e r a n d your weight shift slightly forward during the shot. ■ Yo u w i l l n o t o n l y u s e a n g u l a r momentum here, you will also need to use linear (forward and upward motion) momentum when hitting the ball and shifting your weight. ■ The semi-open stance allows more versatility in your shot-making and also allows you to handle and effectively hit hard-paced shots. ■ Yo u c a n u s e t h e s e m i - o p e n s t a n c e w h e n hitting neutral, offensively or on defense. ■ Semi-open also allows for a faster recovery after you have hit your shot.
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College Night At The Jersey Shore B y Wa t s o n H e i l a l a – A l l S h o re M e d i a C o n t r i b u t o r school counselors Donna Kuch from Brick To w n s h i p H i g h S c h o o l a n d Wa t s o n P. H e i l a l a f r o m L a c e y To w n s h i p H i g h S c h o o l .
Once again this fall, “College Night at the Jersey Shore” will take place to help many Shore-area students with their future plans. College Night at the Jersey Shore, which will take place at the Poland Springs A r e n a a t t h e R i t a c c o C e n t e r i n To m s R i v e r o n Sept. 24 from 6-9 p.m., brings in roughly 11 5 c o l l e g e s f r o m t h e E a s t C o a s t r e g i o n a n d provides the opportunity for many students to help make smart choices with the college admissions process.
Kuch has been a part of this evening since 1995 and has seen this event evolve and a d a p t w i t h t h e g r o w t h o f t h e c o u n t y. H o w e v e r, w h e n a s k e d a b o u t t h e g o a l o f t h e evening, Donna Kuch said, “The mission behind this event hasn’t changed and it provides a forum for students to gather information in order to make better choices throughout the college admissions process. In this economic environment, there is even more stress placed on families to make the right choices.”
This evening began at Ocean County College over 20 years ago with the Ocean County Professional Guidance Association ( O C P G A ) . To d a y t h e O C P G A r u n s “ C o l l e g e Night” at the Ritacco Center with a committed team of counselors from the Shore area and
I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e c o l l e g e f a i r, t h e O C P G A i s a l s o p r o v i d i n g s e m i n a r s i n t h e To m s R i v e r High School North auditorium from 6-7:15 p.m. on Sept. 24 about college admissions trends, financial seminars, and standardized t e s t i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e P r i n c e t o n R e v i e w.
Every fall, students throughout the Shore area return to school and leave the sun, sand, and beach behind until the f o l l o w i n g s u m m e r. W h e n t h e y r e t u r n t o s c h o o l they will sharpen their academic skills in preparation for the future that lies ahead.
The first 500 people in attendance will also receive a free environmental-friendly shopping bag. Kuch said, “The OCPGA is here to help f a m i l i e s s i f t t h r o u g h t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . ’’ Heilala, who will talk about college admissions trends, suggests “families should create a budget first then find the best education that fits within that budget.” He also tells students to “not fall in love with one school. There are many schools out there. Just talk to your school c o u n s e l o r. ” Kuch added that “there is a lot of work involved in this e v e n t . H o w e v e r, there are many dedicated, hardworking people who go above and beyond what is asked of them in the school setting in order to better help the s t u d e n t s i n t h e S h o r e c o m m u n i t y. ” So encourage your student to shake the sand from their shoes and come out to “College Night at the Jersey Shore” in the Ritacco Center on Sept. 24.
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Power Without Steroids: Use it or Lose it... B y Joe McAuliffe M.A., C.S.C.S – Head Strength & Conditioning Coach-Edge Sports Academy, Drug Free World Record Holder Squat & Bench Press train very hard during football. The “Just Do I t ’’ c r e d o o f c o n s i s t e n t l i f t i n g w o r k s v e r y w e l l f o r t h e h i g h s c h o o l a t h l e t e . Tw o d a y s a w e e k for about 40 minutes is all you need to maintain you gains, whereas it takes about four to five days a week at 90 minutes per session to make progress during the off season. This is the time of year every football player works f o r. Tw o - a - d a y s a r e o v e r a n d the dog days of the Jersey Shore summer weather are hopefully behind us. Now it time to buckle up the chin straps and play some ball. This is a time when you spend lots of energy a n d m e n t a l f o c u s o n f o o t b a l l , w h e t h e r i t ’s practice, watching film, or game preparation. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, m o s t h i g h s c h o o l f o o t b a l l coaches lose sight of the importance of inseason weight training. The teenagers playing in the Shore Conference have only a couple of years of experience with aggressive strength training and because of that, they don’t have a mature muscle mass. If untrained, they will l o s e s i z e , s t r e n g t h , p o w e r a n d s p e e d q u i c k l y. F o r t u n a t e l y, t h e p l a y e r d o e s n o t n e e d t o
During the last 20 years of training high school players, I can safely recommend that the intensity of training is about 60 to 80 percent of maximum. Lower repetition workouts are more specific to the demands of a f o o t b a l l p l a y e r. T h r e e - t o - f i v e s e t s o f f i v e repetitions are a good guideline to follow for powercleans, squats, bench press, deadlifts, pull-ups (with weight if possible), rows and shrugs. To r s o w o r k l i k e s i t - u p s s h o u l d b e d o n e i n the higher repetition range of 15-25. Extra assistance exercises for shoulders, arms and calves should be done with one or two sets of 8 - 1 0 r e p s . Va r y e a c h w o r k o u t s o y o u d o n ’ t g e t stale, and only 15 to 20 sets maximum per workout. Don’t let minor injuries sideline you. Keep exercising non-injured body parts, as they won’t de-train as fast and actually speed r e c o v e r y o f t h e i n j u r y.
Hopefully your coach will make the weight room an extension of the practice field. If not, you will be on your own and can always reach me for help at The Edge. Good luck and good health to you. Coach Mac.
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Join The
All Shore Media Team Today! Interested in joining our team and think you have what it takes to be covering sports in the Shore Conference for All Shore Media? We are looking for local writers interested in covering sports like field hockey, volleyball, gymnastics, cross country and more as part of our newspaper and our website (www.allshoremedia.com). Grab your chance to appear regularly in The All Shore Media Sports Review and on www.allshoremedia.com while helping us recognize more athletes and bring more stories to Shore Conference sports fans. This is your chance to become a regular contributor to a growing business on the cutting edge of covering sports in Monmouth and Ocean County.
Just contact Managing Editor Scott Stump @ s t um p@ a l l s ho re m e di a . c o m
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Kalish Named Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year By Scott Stump – Managing Editor Red Bank Catholic graduate Ryan Kalish may be playing in Fenway Park before long if he keeps this up. The Boston Red Sox recently the outfielder as their Minor League Player of the Year for all levels after his robust season between Class A Salem and Class AA Portland. The 21-year-old from Shrewsbury hit a combined .329 with 18 homers, 77 RBI, 21 stolen bases and 84 runs scored after a slow start following his promotion from Salem to the Portland (Me.) Sea Dogs. In 103 games with Portland, he hit .271 with 13 homers and 56 RBIs, and his 18 homers were second among Red Sox minor leaguers. His 21 stolen bases ranked fifth among all Boston minor-leaguers and his 77 RBIs were fourth. Next up is a stint in the Arizona Instructional League with some of the other top prospects in minor league
baseball. Kalish entered the year ranked as the 13th-best prospect in the Red Sox system by Baseball America. He signed right out of high school in 2006 and was drafted in the ninth round by the Red Sox, signing for a $600,000 bonus and turning down a scholarship to the University of Virginia in the process. Along with Toms River South graduates Jeff and Todd Frazier, who were both in Class AAA for the Tigers and Reds this year, respectively, and Pittsburgh Pirates Class AAA pitcher Jeff Sues, his former RBC teammate, next year Kalish has a chance to join Washington Nationals pitcher Jason Bergmann (Manalapan) and Kansas City Royals outfielder David DeJesus (Manalapan) as former Shore Conference players in the big leagues.
2009 Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year Ryan Kalish (Photo by DVM Sports)
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Catching Up With the Action Check Stumpy’s Blog regularly on www.allshoremedia.com regularly for opinions, recaps and insider information. It was a little bit of a wild Thursday in We e k Tw o a s N e p t u n e t o o k d o w n t w o - t i m e defending Federal Division and defending CJ III champion Freehold in overtime and Holmdel nearly upended Barnegat in the National Division, plus Middletown North had a sensational comeback to beat To m s R i v e r S o u t h b y a p o i n t .
fumble recovery in the 26-20 defeat and has b e e n o u t s t a n d i n g i n F r e e h o l d ’s f i r s t t w o games. He is always around the ball. Also, linebacker Richard Schwartz also had a strong game in defeat for the Colonials with a sack and two hits for a loss, and fellow
I’ll start with Neptune-Freehold, which I covered. It was a festive night a t N e p t u n e a s i t w a s P o p Wa r n e r n i g h t , so the future Scarlet Fliers were all in attendance, and Neptune was also awarded the prestigious ShopRite Cup at halftime because of the success of its athletic programs across the board in 2008-09. Both teams left their hearts on the field and the defenses made plenty of big plays while both offenses were a t o t a l m e s s a t t i m e s . C l e a r l y, s o p h o m o r e Ike Calderon was the big story for Neptune with his fantastic finish, but there were a few more players who deserve mention. I think several defensive players deserve a quick plug, including a player who I think should definitely be in early conversation for the Federal Division Defensive Player of the Ye a r – s e n i o r d e f e n s i v e e n d R y a n S o l l e y. H e had a sack, two other hits for a loss and a
linebacker Jazzmar Clax also was good and had a big fumble recovery at the end of r e g u l a t i o n . D e f e n s i v e l i n e m a n B r a n d o n We i s s also had a strong game.
David Gutzmore, who had two hits for a loss. He was part of an aggressive Neptune defense led by one of the young and up-andcoming coordinators in the Shore, defensive c o o r d i n a t o r J e r e m y B a l i n a . Wi t h J a m a a l H u b b a r d , D a v i d N e w b e y, G u t z m o r e a n d J a s o n Wo o d s a b l e t o g e t i n t o o p p o s i n g b a c k f i e l d s a n d Wa r r e n M e l l o a b l e t o b l a n k e t t h e o t h e r t e a m ’s t o p r e c e i v e r , they are a tough unit. Neptune gutted out a huge win for its program after fighting to get respect b y b e a t i n g a f e l l o w G r o u p I I I p o w e r. I know another group that was smiling when it saw that result last night, and that was Ocean. That win over Neptune in the opener looks even better now and the power points that come with it should be nice as well. Neptune coach John Fiore even jokingly pantomimed taking the monkey off his back to a well-wisher after the game, and he had e v e r y r i g h t t o f e e l t h a t w a y. I ’ m s u r e there will still be people saying that Freehold couldn’t have played worse and put the game on a platter for them to take it, but Neptune was not at the top of its game either and still came out with the v i c t o r y. H o p e f u l l y w e c a n d o i t a l l a g a i n i n l a t e N o v e m b e r.
For Neptune, a player who went a little underappreciated was sophomore linebacker
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coverage with a corner out on an island. Most teams don’t have that many defensive backs and linebackers who can cover good athletes one-on-one for an entire game.
W
atching Howell outscore its first two opponents 63-21 and defeat defending state champion Piscataway, it begged an obvious question.
“Why don’t more teams i n the Shore Conference run the spread?” I’m talking mainly about the spread offense that is run at Howell, not the more run-oriented zone read option out of the shotgun that more teams are starting to employ. I’m talking about the no-huddle, four- and five-wide, pass-heavy spread like they run at Howell. The reason I’m wondering is because that offense has transformed Howell’s entire program from one that mainly struggled to just get to .500 and occasionally had a good year to a team that is capable of winning division and state titles regularly. Since Howell’s rise, no other team has really tried to copy that type of offense and stuck with it. You would think someone would take a look at that and say, “Well, if it worked for them…” I would figure that some program out there that has been struggling would give it a shot. Opponents seem to have a hard time defending it around here because nobody runs it and defenses don’t see it regularly, even at elite programs.
Senior WR Rob Handy For instance, I would love to see Howell take on an attacking defense like Middletown South, which has one of the most respected defensive coordinators in the state in Al Bigos. It would be a race to see if South’s blitzers could get to Howell quarterback Jimmy Ryan before he could get the ball to a receiver who had one-on-one
Before we go completely crazy after two games (although it’s easy to do so considering Ryan has 512 yards passing in two weeks), don’t forget that Ryan had a big game against Brick last year in the season opener, but once the film began to circulate and opposing coordinators had something to work with, Howell ended up averaging 17 points per game for the season. You certainly can’t pin that completely on the offense or on one player, but it shows that it gets harder to execute the more teams have seen it. The bad news is that by all accounts, Ryan has definitely improved with a year of experience and hard work in the offseason and so have the rest of the skill players, so it’s a better team than last year. Talking recently to a veteran reporter who has been covering South Jersey football for a long time, the spread is the most popular offense down there. Almost everyone other than maybe the smaller schools runs some type of variation on it, so it’s definitely an offense that has taken hold in other parts of the state. I asked a few opposing coaches why more teams in the Shore Conference aren’t doing it, as many are employing offenses like the run-based flexbone, which has been run for eons but has proved successful to many teams in this area, like Middletown South and Freehold. One reason is that Howell is a Group IV school whose participation numbers are booming. It’s a little easier to find a quarterback and four or five capable wideouts among 100 players than among 40 or even 25-30 at some of the really small Group I programs. The offense revolves around the quarterback, and Howell has had three good ones in a row in Sean O’Reilly, Tim Lamirande and now Ryan. Some of the smaller schools might simply not have a quarterback of that caliber to really make the offense work. If the quarterback is mediocre, the offense is mediocre. I think another reason Howell has been successful is because head coach Cory Davies has really remained committed to the offense and committed to refining it. He has borrowed from what Mike Leach has done down at Texas Tech and their explosive offense as well as other top college
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programs and continues to study it. He didn’t just install it for that one stretch, win a state title and then scrap it when he had all new personnel last year. It wasn’t just a gimmick to him. He stayed with it, the
Senior quarterback Jimmy Ryan
new players continued to absorb the system, and now the Rebels are a threat once again after winning the Central Jersey Group IV title in 2007. Davies knows it inside and out, which is another reason why it works. I think a reason teams may not be adopting it is because coaches may not want to take the time to really learn the offense inside and out if they are going to change what they are doing. You can’t just go to one clinic or buy an Urban Meyer video and think that it’s going to work to perfection. I wouldn’t call it laziness, but I think there’s some fear and hesitation from coaches about installing it because of the time commitment it takes to really learn it completely. Another reason, of course, is weather. If you look at all these high-octane offenses among the nationallyranked powers littered with Division I-A prospects in Texas, California, Florida and elsewhere, they all run the spread. The weather can get a little more iffy up here, so some coaches might be hesitant to have an offense based around the passing game if there’s a downpour or snowstorm. However, I’ve seen Howell run it in difficult conditions and still move the chains because a lot of the throws are short or intermediate routes. Still, I am surprised that more teams that are struggling have not tried this offense. If you’re going 3-7 anyway, you might as well try it. After all, that offense is fun, and could lead to more kids coming out for the team. You can’t tell me that younger kids don’t see Jimmy Ryan slinging it to all those Howell receivers running all over the field and running back Will Hayes causing trouble all over the place and not think they it looks awfully fun, like backyard football in a real game. Plus, it’s been proven that it can be successful. Just ask the West Windsor South team that the Rebels beat 46-13 in the CJ IV final in 2007.
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