All Shore Media High School Sports 4-23-12 Issue - Volume IV Issue-8

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3Mater Dei's DickinsonGets 400th Win

4 Raritan's AamanCommits to Rhode Island

6TR South's FrankSets State Record

8-9BACK INTHE BOX

10New Elite SportsPerformance Center

11 The Shore Loses ALegend

12Rumson Lax WinsShowdown

13Coscarelli MakesHis College Choice

14Jackson's Holup off to Great Start

15Stumpy’sCorner




8-9BACK INTHE BOX






15Stumpy’sCorner




8-9BACK INTHE BOX






15Stumpy’sCorner

April 23, 2012 - Volume-IV - Issue-8

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April 23, 2012Volume-IV I Issue-8

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Mater Dei Prep softball coach Jeanne Dickinsoncertainly takes pride in the fact that she has reachedthe 400-win milestone, but it’s the achievements ofher players and the bond they have built over a 30-year span that has made it a memorable journey.

“It really has nothing to do withme,’’ she said. “I would love tosay it was me that made adifference, but if I didn’t havegirls that believe inwhat I believe in andworked hard,something like thiscould never happen.It’s really special.’’

On April 5, the Seraphs cruised toa 23-0 win over Asbury Park thatput Dickinson at the rare 400-winmark in her 31st season as headcoach. Mater Dei Prep has had awinning record in 28 of her 30seasons, including a magical run tothe NJSIAA Non-Public B title in2008.

It was that season that Dickinsonlearned just how much the programhas meant to her players over theyears. She wanted to take theplayers to Disney World to play ina showcase early in the season, soshe sent out fund-raising letters toevery one of her former players,which dates back to 1982.

“The response was amazing withthe letters and the wishes forsuccess, and girls saying theywished they could come back and

do it all over again,’’ Dickinsonsaid. “To see a lot that stillremember it and had a greattime was great.’’

In 2008, the Seraphs beat St.John Vianney and Wall for thefirst time ever and then latercaptured the Non-Public B titlewith an 11-2 win overMontclair Kimberley for theprogram’s first state title.

“It certainly was a memorableyear,’’ she said. “I could replayevery out of every game. Thatseason is definitely somethingat the top of the list.’’

Dickinson can also rememberreaching a sectional final in herfirst season in 1982 and losingin extra innings on a coachingmistake.

“I re-live that one as well,’’ she said before laughing.

She also has seen the game change dramatically withthe rise of travel teams, skill-specific coaches and girlsplaying year round rather than playing multiple sports.

“The girls are different, the parents are different, andthe sport is different,’’ she said. “It has its pros andcons. If you talk to the players who played for mewhen I first started, I’m sure they will tell you that Ihave changed a lot, too.’’

Regardless of how some things have changed, twothings that have remained constant under Dickinsonare winning and girls forming life-long memories byplaying softball for Mater Dei.

“It’s a great feeling when you see the kids come backand reminisce,’’ she said. “We break out the old statsheets and laugh a lot, so it’s fun.’’

Mater Dei Prep Softball CoachJeanne Dickinson Reaches400 WinsB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATIONContact : Steven Meyer 732-233-4460 smeyer@al lshoremedia .com

After nearly deciding to play for Dan Hurley in high schooland then committing to play for him at Wagner, Raritan'sMike Aaman finally will realize his goal of playing for him atHurley's new job at the University of Rhode Island.

While visiting Rhode Island, Aaman committed to theRams on April 14, becoming one of Hurley's early recruitssince he left the head job at Wagner to take over the Rams.The distance from Aaman's home in Hazlet was initially aconcern, but playing for Hurley and his brother, former Dukestar Bobby Hurley Jr., eventually won out over any hesitationof playing too far from home. The 6-foot-9 Aaman, who wasa two-time All Shore Media Player of the Year selection, hadsigned with Wagner before being released from his Letter ofIntent after Hurley took the job at Rhode Island.

"Rhode Island is four hours away, so the distance was afactor,'' Aaman said Saturday night. "I thought, 'Am I reallyready to go 4 hours away?' I realized it's a once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity to play for the Hurley brothers. Even if I don'tplay professionally, I'm still connected with the Hurleyfamily if one day I want to be a coach or a scout.''

The senior forward became the second commit sinceHurley took over, as 6-9 power forward Jordan Hare fromSaginaw, Mich., who had previously committed to URI, re-affirmed his commitment on April 5. Rutgers center GilvydasBiruta, who played for Hurley in high school, also recentlyannounced he is transferring to URI.

Aaman was impressed with the Ryan Center, the URIbasketball arena that seats 7,700, as he took a tour and alsoplayed a pickup game on the campus.

"I did the tour, and I couldn't name one bad thing about theschool,'' he said.

He also was excited about jumping up a level to theAtlantic 10, a multiple-bid NCAA Tournament conference,from the Northeast Conference.

"I like to challenge myself, and the A-10 was ranked theseventh-strongest conference out of 32,'' he said.

The bond he had built with the Hurleys, who beganrecruiting him as a sophomore, was an important factor.Aaman also nearly went to play for Dan Hurley at St.Benedict's Prep in Newark before deciding on Raritan, andthen Hurley later took the Wagner job. Both Hurleys met withhim at a Dunkin' Donuts in Hazlet earlier this week. He notedthat he is particularly close to Bobby Hurley, and when hespoke to Dan after he took the Wagner job, Dan indicatedimmediately that he was interested in having Aaman followhim to Rhode Island.

"I've been talking more so to Bobby,'' Aaman said. "He andI always talk on phone (since Aaman was granted hisrelease). Also, right now (Dan Hurley) is someone I look atas a person who will always be in my life. I just thought,'This is the coach I want to play for, and this is the place Iwant to be.'''

Rhode Island was Aaman's first visit, and he had numerousother schools interested in him, but decided to commitwithout taking any of his allotted four other official visits.

"I could've taken other visits knowing I was going here justto get free stuff, but I just couldn't do that,'' he said. "Itwouldn't feel right, when I know I'm going here. I'm justreally happy right now.''

He averaged 21.9 points per game, good for second in theShore, and led the conference with 16.4 rebounds per gamewhile also blocking 4.1 shots per game. Aaman is Raritan'sall-time leading scorer with 1,330 points, and he also set thesingle-season school record with 550 points. A four-yearvarsity player, he also finished with a school-record 1,034career rebounds. His career-high 41 points in a regular-seasonwin over Red Bank were one shy of the single-game schoolrecord and marked the season-high for any player in theShore Conference this year. Aaman led a team with four newstarters to a 17-8 record and the Rockets' second straight

Class A Centraltitle. He also wasselected as theShoreConferencePlayer of theYear by thecoaches.

Aaman says hewill begin as apower forward atRhode Island butis trying todevelop his skillsto also play thesmall forwardspot.

Raritan Star Mike AamanCommits to Rhode IslandB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

4 / ASM Volume- IV / Issue-8 / 4/23 / 12

Photo cou r tesy o f :

Cha r l i e Gutch

www.allshoremedia.com ASM / 5


Following his team's 7-1 win over Southern Regional onApril 11, Toms River South baseball coach Ken Frank spokein front of a throng of fans, family members, former players,alumni, administration and seemingly everyone that ever hada conversation with the 34-year skipper of the Indians, andsaid he felt like he was speaking at a wedding reception.

If there is anybody who could host a major life event on abaseball diamond, it is Frank, especially considering thebaseball complex at Toms River South High School is namedafter a still-active coach - Ken Frank Baseball Stadium. Forthe last 34 years, Frank has led Toms River South's baseballprogram and for quite some time now, even with Division Iplayers and future Major Leaguers playing between the lines,Frank has been Toms RiverSouth baseball.

In front of a large crowd atthe stadium bearing his name,Frank and his team celebratedhis 755th win as a headcoach, giving him a place inNew Jersey baseball historyas the state's all-timewinningest coach. Frankpasses the late TonyFerrainolo of Memorial HighSchool in West New York,who passed away last year.

"It's an honor to be the topguy, I just can't believe it. I'ma little stunned with all that'sgoing on," Frank said."There's people here I haven'tseen in a long time. I'vetalked to them on the phone,but I haven't seen them andit's unbelievable to see all ofthem here. You ought to takea picture of that (the crowd)rather than me."

"The people in this crowd,there were a lot of ballplayershere, they made this jobeasy," Frank said. "I thankeverybody from my wife, tomy parents, to my kids, to theplayers, to the administrationhere, to the Diamond Club, toyou guys, to the fans here. I hope I don't leave anybody outbecause everybody deserves credit, I'm just a part of it."

As much as the night was a celebration of Frank'saccomplishment, his focus was insulating his players as muchas possible.

"I didn't mention a word about the number before the gameto the kids because I didn't want them to think about it,"Frank said. "I thought they were a little nervous at the start ofthe game with all the people here and playing under thelights, but they eventually settled down and played ball."

Among the people in attendance to congratulate Frank wasthe coach in the other dugout, Tom Natoli, who graduatedfrom Toms River South in 1995 and was the right fielder onthe 1994 NJSIAA Group III championship team. Natoli andhis Rams team were out to win the game first, of course, butonce the Indians recorded the final out on a fly-out, one ofFrank's many former players had nothing but praise for theman who helped shape his coaching career.

"He's a class act," Natoli said. "The thing I remember mostabout him is he got the most out of me and he got the mostout of every player that ever played for him, whether it wasthe best player on the team or the last guy on the bench. Healways stressed family and what you learn on the field, the

life lessons you learn while playing for him, you never forgetthat."

"If anybody was going to beat us tonight, I'd want it to behim," Frank said of Natoli. "We're still close, we talk a lotand he's one of my guys. He was part of the '94 statechampionship team. He knows what it takes."

Frank has been coaching at Toms River South for morethan 40 years and took the head coaching position in 1979.The first person he invited to be an assistant coach with himwas younger brother Bill, who has been the head coach atToms River East for 28 years, and according to the youngerFrank, the two set out to bring the "city ball" they played at

Snyder High School inJersey City to the Shore.

"We want to beat eachother more than anything,but when we're not goingup against each other, wewant to see each othersucceed," said Bill Frank,who has 484 wins himself."We're brothers, so he'smy biggest rival and I'mhis biggest fan at the sametime. I look at him tonight,and I'm just so proud to behis little brother. I'vealways looked up to himand I can't think of a betterbig brother and a betterman to accomplishsomething like this."

While the two brothershave contributed to thecrosstown rivalry as rivalsthemselves, they have alsobeen each other's biggestsupporter. Ken Frank wasnoticeably taken back bythe outpouring of support,but his younger brotherwas equally reflective,especially when bringingup their father, Bill Sr.,who died at 89 inFebruary of 2010.

"I know the one thing we both wish is that our dad iswatching," Bill said. "He had such an influence on who weboth became and was always our biggest supporter, and Iknow it hurts not having him here. But to see the support andwhat this means to the people who came out tonight, I knowit means a lot to my brother and to me to see everyone whocould be here tonight."

The Frank brothers had a good day overall, with BillFrank's Raiders knocking off Jackson Memorial, the No. 3team in the All Shore Media Top 10, 4-1 earlier in the day.

"I guess it's a good day to be a Frank," Bill said.

As Natoli alluded to, Frank has always paid mind to eachplayer on the roster, and not many Indians teams have agreater appreciation for that than this year's squad. Onlyshortstop R.J. Devish and pitchers Kyle Driscoll and JohnLeiter returned with starting experience, but Toms RiverSouth is off to a 10-1 start, nonetheless.

"Last year's team was picked to be number one in the Shoreand other teams have been picked high, so we really wantedto be the team that surprised people," senior AndrewHourigan said. "We knew coach was coming up on therecord, and we are honored to be the team that got him therecord. Now we want to make this season even more

memorable."

"We were all looking forward to this night and you can tellhow much it means when you see all of the former playershere to watch coach Frank get the record," Leiter said. "He'sa great coach and a great leader who gets everything he canout of the players on the team, and I was happy to go outthere and help get him this win."

Toms River South teams under Frank have been bothlauded and criticized over the years for their distinct style andapproach to the game, although few people argue with theresults. The Indians host a loud dugout, fire the ball aroundthe diamond during the middle of at-bats, and haven'tchanged their uniforms in the 34 years Frank has beenrunning the show.

"The kids buy in and that's what makes it all work," Franksaid. "The alumni were just talking about how we still havethe stirrup socks when everybody else is wearing the pantsdown around their shoes. We're a tradition team, and theylove to be a part of it. They're proud of it."

They also play ferociously hard and take little for grantedon the field, picking off runners and taking extra bases. Franknearly wrapped up his record-breaking win when Southernsenior John Hasney singled to left field and nearly got thrownout by Devish after taking a wide turn at first.

"I wanted it to end on that play and when I see (the umpire)tomorrow, around town, I'll have to talk to him about that,"Frank joked.

There may not have been a more fitting conclusion to winNo. 755 than catching a base-runner taking a wide turn, butin the end, a win against his former championship-winningright-fielder, under the lights on his own field with hundredsof people there to give him the proverbial "This is Your Life"tribute, Frank had a night worthy of a record-holder.

"I'm still pretty numb," he said. "Maybe it'll hit me when Iget home, but this is even more than I expected."

Chief Ind ian: K e n F r a n k S e t sS t a t e C a r e e r W i n s R e c o r d B y M a t t M a n l e y – S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r



8 / ASM Vo lume- IV / Issue-8 / 4 /23 / 12

or the f irs t few weeksafter i t happened,

whenever EricScamardel la would go

to nod off on his couchon a lazy af ternoon or set t le intobed at night , he would snapawake.

That same fastball was still hurtlingdirectly at his skull.

"To this day, Ican still seeit comingright forme,''Scamardella said.It was May 10, 2011,and Scamardella and hisHolmdel baseball squadwere taking on visitingRed Bank Regional in agame between Class ACentral rivals. The baseswere loaded in the secondinning with Holmdelleading 5-0 whenScamardella, Holmdel'sfirst baseman and middle-of-the-order hitter,walked to the plate.

One batter earlier,Scarmardella's father,Anthony, had trudged upthe hill to Holmdel'sfield after cutting outof work early inManhattan, happy toget a chance to seehis son play on asunny afternoon.

A switch hitter,Scamardella duginto the rightside of thebatter's box,ready to faceRed Banksenior Jack

Fowler. TheBucs' ace hadfelt good in thebullpen and wasamped up for a

big divisionalshowdown, but wasstruggling mightily tostart the game.

A lefty who throws in the high 80s, Fowlerreared up and let one fly in anattempt to back Scamardella offthe plate.

"Then all hell brokeloose,'' Fowler said.

The fastball grazed theside of Scamardella'sbatting helmet beforeslamming full force into hisleft temple. He staggered andthen lost consciousness,

falling

facedown andlyingmotionless inthe dirt asmouths werecovered inhorror in thestands and aneerie silencedescended on thefield.

"He's on theground, andI'm thinking,'I just killedhim,''' saidFowler,who isnow a

freshmanpitcher atFelician College."I honestlythought that.''

A high school playerdying after being hit by apitch is certainly notunheard of. In 2010,Thomas Adams, a 16-year-old at Garfield High School,died after he was hit in thechest by a pitch during apractice with his all-star travelteam. In 2009, 16-year-oldPatrick Clegg of Lebanon HighSchool in Missouri was killedwhen he was hit by a wild pitchjust below his helmet.

"When a kid is unconscious, you

don't know what to think,''said Holmdel head coachDan Mondelli, who hasbeen coaching for 27 years."I've seen kids get hitbefore, but this wasscary.''

Scamardella's mother, aregistered nurse, rushedon to the field asHolmdel athletictrainer Shannon Davisran to home platealong withMondelli.

AnthonyScamardellaalso rantoward

the batter's box,saying a prayer as he went.

"I was thinking, 'Just get up,''' Anthonysaid. "Who gives a damn if you'll ever playbaseball again.''

Scamardella began drifting in and out ofconsciousness while Holmdel assistant GeneCrimoli called 911 as his teammates watchedwith pulses racing. The Red Bank players,some of whom played summer travel ball onthe same team with Scamardella, all wentdown on one knee to say a prayer. Then-RedBank coach Chris Lemore, who had coachedScamardella at a Christian Brothers Academybaseball camp over the summer, later called it"one of the scariest days of coaching that Ihave endured in my 12 years."

"I saw the fastball out of his hands,''Scamardella said. "I was just late getting outof the way of it and caught it in the side of myhelmet. I remember the coaches calling myname and waking up in the ambulance.''

Emergency medical technicians fromHolmdel arrived and strapped him to a spineboard while administering oxygen as theytransported Scamardella to a waitingambulance. The incident was traumatizingenough that the teams postponed the rest of thegame, eventually replaying it in its entirety thefollowing day.

While Scamardella was being rushed to JerseyShore Medical Center in Neptune, Fowler felt theeyes of the entire crowd boring a hole into him.

"I just felt weird,'' he said. "I was that (expletive). Iwas the one who caused him to be carted off.''

At the hospital, Scamardella was diagnosed with asevere concussion but no further damage. He hadbeen hit so hard that the imprint of his battinghelmet was still on his face that night at the hospital.

"I think that was the benefit of beingunconscious,'' he said. "I didn't get to see how uglyhow it looked to everyone else.''

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor


Finding NormalScamardella was discharged from thehospital and returned home the following day.He experienced typical concussion symptomslike dizziness, nausea, sleepiness and irritationby bright lights.

The night of the incident, AnthonyScamardella called Fowler to tell him that hisson was in stable condition.

"After I heard that, I felt so relieved,''Fowler said. "I had just felt horrible.''

Fowler later reached out to Scamardella onFacebook and the twospoke about it.They had knownof one anotherjust by theirteams beingdivision rivalsbut did not haveany personalrelationshipbefore the fatefulpitch.

"The first thing hesaid to me was sorry,that it slipped and hehad no intention ofhitting me,''Scamardella said. "Isaid, 'Don't worry aboutit, it's part of game.Don't make it take awayfrom your stuff andpitching inside.'''

Scamardella was out forthe rest of Holmdel's season,and he also spent the last fewweeks of his junior year onhome instruction instead ofattending school. He oftenattended Holmdel's games,watching in frustration as theHornets sunk to an 8-14 season afterhaving been in contention for adivision title.

He also had issues to deal withaway from his anxiety andhelplessness while stuck in thedugout. In the first few weeks afterthe beanball, the nightmares began.

"For a few weeks itwas rough on him,''Mondelli said."Every time he triedto go to sleep,he would seethe ball

coming at him. When hewas telling me that,there was a time in Junewhere it was crossing mymind that he might notplay again.''The summer after a player's junior year isabsolutely crucial to baseball recruiting. It's achance to attend showcases and play in travelevents before college scouts. Missing that timemight mean missing an opportunity to play at thenext level. That meant there was only one thingScamardella could do to stop the nightmares ifhe wanted to be able to play in the summer - getback in the box.

Scamardella plays for the New Jersey 9ersBaseball Club, which features a host of localtalent, primarily from Monmouth County. He hadbeen invited to participate in the prestigiousSelectFest event in late June featuring some of

the

Northeast'stop talent and dozens of

college and pro scouts. Prettymuch every pitcher at the eventthrows in the high 80s or 90s,and they are certainly not afraidto come inside.

He barely had two weeks toget ready.

Scamardella began byhitting off a tee at practicesfor Holmdel's summer-league team. Then withSelectFest looming, hefinally stepped backinto the box duringan intrasquadscrimmage bythe 9ers.

"I purposelyhad anintrasquadbefore

SelectFest to make surehe would see pitchesbefore he went there,''said NJ 9ers coach RobMaida. "I remember beingnervous. Leading up to thescrimmage, he took a couplerounds of batting practice, andI purposely put kids out therewho were strike throwers,pitching 75-80 on a flat line.''

"Obviously you step in andyou still have memories of

what happened,'' Scamardella said. "You clearyour mind and get in there like any other at-bat.After the first pitch was thrown, I was right backin it.''

He performed as well as he could at SelectFesteven though he was far from 100 percent, but itwasn't until about mid-July in a showcase inNorth Carolina where he said he finally began tofeel like his old self again. Getting back in thegame had melted the nightmares away.

"What really was a shame was that it happenedin the beginning of May, which hurt hissummer,'' Mondelli said. "I think this injurymight have cost him. I think he's a Division I-level player. If he had his full junior year andsummer, I think things are different. He wasn'tright until the end of the summer.''

Whether it's wondering what mighthave happened if that pitch was afew more centimeters to theright and struck himflush withoutgrazing hishelmet or

where hemight have

ended up with ahealthy summer,

Scamardella will not wallow init. Shortly before his senior season

began this spring, he committed to CatholicUniversity, a Division III program.

"You could always play the 'what if?' game,''Scamardella said. "I try not to do that. The onlything that it can do is to just keep it in the backof your mind, which is not helpful.''

Scamardella and Fowler have also forged anunlikely friendship out of the tension of that day.

"I check up on him to see how he is doing atFelician,'' Scamardella said. "Our relationshipgot stronger through the incident.''

"I just hope they just take it easy on RedBank,'' Fowler said before laughing.

The Hornets are off to a 7-3 start this seasonafter winning eight games all of last year.Through April 18, Scamardella was hitting ateam-high .444 with 12 hits, 9 RBIs, 5 stolenbases and 3 doubles while also boasting a team-best 1.45 earned run average on the mound.However, he suffered a hamstring injury on April20 that he is now trying to recover from.

"He's back to the way he was,'' Mondelli said."Watching him play now, there's no effect. Henever bails. He stays right in there. I'm glad tosee that because he's such a good kid. You seewhat happens to guys like Tony Conigliaro wherethey're never the same after something like that,so I'm glad that didn't happen to him.''

He digs back into the batter's box withconfidence despite the type of incident that hasturned many players into a shell of themselves.

"I look at it as afluke,'' Scamardellasaid. "I love baseball,and there was no waythat was going toprevent me fromgetting back in the

game.''

While building a successful physical therapybusiness over the past nine years, Dr. SharonWentworth was able to witness firsthand what workedand what did not when it came to performance trainingcenters.

Her business was housed in several different centersthat came and went over the years. Now she has aplace she can call her own that combines her EliteSports Physical Therapy business with a cutting-edgeperformance training center run by some of the topstrength and conditioning authorities in the area. TheElite SportsPerformanceCenter, which ishoused in theAmerican RedCross buildingon West ParkAvenue in TintonFalls, is a16,000-squarefoot facility,designed afterthe U.S. OlympicTraining Center,featuring thelatest equipmentand 6,000 squarefeet of artificialturf.

The centercombines Wentworth’s well-respected physical therapybusiness with a place where athletes can train for theirrespective sports under the tutelage of some topstrength and conditioning coaches.

“I feel like there’s not anothersports facility that offers what weoffer,’’ Wentworth said. “It’simportant to have that ‘wow’ factor,and there are college facilities thatare not this good.’’

Over the years, Wentworth watched as either afacility had a financial backer with money but noexpertise in the field or had strength and conditioningexperts with little money, a poor facility and limitedbusiness knowledge. Helping with the business side isthe fact that Wentworth is partnered with Dr. StephenBade, the son of Dr. Harry Bade, who has built a long-

standing successful business with ProfessionalOrthopaedic Associates in Tinton Falls.

The performance training business, which is calledReach Your Potential Training (RYPT), is run byBobby Smith, who was an All-American javelinthrower at Monmouth University, and Adam Feit. Feitis a former Division III All-American football playerwho worked on the strength and conditioning staff atthe University of Louisville before becoming the headsports performance coach at Eastern Michigan andthen joining the staff of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers as

a strength andconditioningcoach.

The businessis focused onworking withhigh school,college andprofessionalathletes, so theequipment isdesignedspecifically forthat purpose.There also is a

60-yard artificial turfarea for work on 40-yarddash times and more.

The steady clientele ofElite Physical Therapyand a 20-year leaseallows Feit and Smithtime to build their facilitywithout financialpressures immediatelybeing exerted. Thestability of the businessallows RYPT to focusstrictly on training highschool, college or proathletes, whereas manybusinesses in the pasthave often had to resort to working with youngerchildren in order to pay the bills. ConsideringIndianapolis Colts running back and Red Bank

Catholic graduate Donald Brown and Dallas Cowboysstar and former Monmouth University wide receiverMiles Austin were present at the grand opening inMarch, Feit and Smith also have establishedrelationships with high-level athletes.

On the physical therapy side, Wentworth estimatesthat 80 percent of her business is working with college

or pro athletes, sounlike many therapycenters, she does nothave to mix in treatingelderly clients doingphysical therapy withathletes in order tobuoy her business.

“No other businessesin the area can reallysay they specialize likewe do,’’ Wentworthsaid. “I can helpBobby’s business whilethey’re building, and Itruly think it’s just amatter of time before(RYPT) will be aregular destination forlocal athletes.’’

This coming summer,RYPT is looking to become a place where localathletes coming home from college can continue totrain at a high level and execute the goals set forth bytheir own coaches and strength trainers from school.With the highly-qualified Smith and Feit guiding them,they can follow their programs, whereas many collegeathletes often come home and don’t get close tosticking with the plan designed by their respectiveschools.

The staff also traveled around looking at what worksin the strength and conditioning programs ateverywhere from Rutgers to Kean University to theNew York Giants in order to design the facility withthe best equipment out there along with cutting-edgeprograms. It has all added up to an impressivecombination of a top-flight physical therapy serviceand athlete training business, all housed in one of thetop facilities in the area specifically designed forathletes.


Photos by

David Thornewww.davethorne.smugmug.com

The Best of Both Worlds: EliteSports Performance CenterBy Scott Stump – Managing Editor

Dr. Sharon Wentworth works with Danae O’Halloran on knee injury pervention

RYPT’s Adam Feit works with Matt Golden who issuccessfully recovering from a knee injury


The Shore Conference lost one of its iconic figureson April 22, when Shore Football CoachesFoundation Hall of Famer John Amabile passed awayat 73 years old after a battle with cancer.

Amabile was a head coach for 48 years, spanningfrom the 1960s in Jersey City to a one-year stint atAllentown in 2009, and he is most remembered forhis highly-successful runs at Wall and Neptune. Thispast fall he served as Long Branch's offensivecoordinator under coach Dan George. Known for hisstraw hat and fiery demeanor, Amabile cut amemorable figure on the sidelines of ShoreConference football for decades.

Amabile grew up in Jersey City and was a first-team All-State quarterback at St. Peter’s Prep beforegoing on to star at Boston College. He began hiscoaching career in Jersey City in 1961 and came tothe Shore Conference as the head coach atMiddletown High School in 1970. His teams went 20-22-3 during his time at Middletown before he becamethe head coach at Wall from 1977-1984 and had anexceptional run.

His teams went 55-31-2 during his time at Wall,winning the school’s first NJSIAA state sectional titlesever by capturing consecutive Central Jersey Group IIIchampionships in 1982 and 1983. During that time, theCrimson Knights had a 33-game winning streak, whichis the third-longest in Shore Conference history. Theyalso won four straight Shore Conference Class B Southtitles from 1981-1984.

Amabile went to Neptune from 1985-2000, pilingup a record of 118-43-3 during his time there andwinning five division titles and three state titles. TheScarlet Fliers won their first NJSIAA sectional titlein school history in 1995 and finished No. 1 in thestate after beating Franklin 21-12 in the CentralJersey Group III final. Neptune added a CentralJersey Group II title in 1997 and another CentralJersey Group III crown in 1998, the latter of whichwas the program’s last state sectional title before theScarlet Fliers won one this past fall. Neptune made11 state playoff appearances in Amabile’s tenure, andits first three state sectional titles in program historycame under Amabile. The Scarlet Fliers also won fivestraight Shore Conference Class B North titles from1994-1998.

Amabile then went to St. John Vianney, coachingthe Lancers from 2003-2008, finishing with a 21-39record and leading them to the state playoffs in 2006.He then spent 2009 coaching at Allentown, where theRedbirds went 4-6 and tied the school single-seasonrecord for wins before he decided to step down afterthe season. Amabile also was a long-time scout forthe New York Giants.

Since coming to the Shore, Amabile has compiled acareer record of 218-141-8, joining Brick/Lakewood’sWarren Wolf, the late Vic Kubu of Manasquan andMiddletown North fame, Lacey’s Lou Vircillo andKeyport’s Mike Ciccotelli as coaches who have 200or more career wins that were all amassed whilecoaching in the Shore Conference. Southern's Chuck

Donohue Sr. also has over 200 career wins butamassed more than 100 while coaching at multipleSouth Jersey programs.

The Shore Loses a Footbal lCoaching LegendBy Scott Stump – Managing Editor

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Losing several proven scorers to graduation and fielding adefensive trio comprised entirely of sophomores hasRumson-Fair Haven leaning on its leaders more than ever.

That's where Jack Curran comes in.

The Villanova-bound senior attackman pumped in a game-high five goals on April 17 to lead the Bulldogs past hostChristian Brothers Academy, 11-8, in a Shore Conferencenondivisional matchup. In an early-season measuring stickfor both teams, Rumson (5-0) opened a five-goal lead in thesecond quarter and held off a furious charge by the Colts (3-2) in the final 12 minutes.

"Jack Curran is a Division-I player – he's the best playerout there," said Rumson head coach Reid Jackson. "He needsto score three goals a game, and when he doesn't he's lettinghis teammates down. Today he played a great game."

"Us leaders have to step it up and it just happened to be metoday," Curran said. "We have other guys on the team thatcan step up when neededas well."

Junior attackmanMichael Clarke addedthree goals, juniorattackman StephenSutphen found the backof the net once andsenior middies DanBabiak and RyanMcCausland also scoredto help Rumson remainunbeaten. Senior goalieArtie Tildesley made 19saves against 34 CBAshots, including six inthe final quarter.

Colts senior DonnyFinn led the charge withfour goals and threeassists to eclipse thecentury mark in bothcategories. He now has103 goals and 102 assistsfor his career. LukeHabich struck for threegoals and two assists.Christian Trigani made12 saves.

"This is definitely agame we circle on ourschedule," Curran said."It's one of the biggestgames of the season andthe amount of respecteach team has for eachother is unmatched toany other team in theShore. We respect each other and play hard against each otherknowing either team can have its day."

"We need more games like this," Jackson said. "They'regood for us."

A methodical first quarter produced just one goal whenCurran scooped a ground ball and flicked it past Trigani with1:13 left. The Bulldogs began to find their groove in theoffensive end during the second quarter. Curran dished to acutting Sutphen who snapped a shot through for a 2-0 lead at11:13, but CBA answered with an unassisted goal by Finnat 10:15. From there, Rumson took control of the gamewith four unanswered goals to open up its biggest lead ofthe game.

Dominic Padula, one of the aforementionedsophomore defenders, found Clarke with atransition pass that led to Rumson's third goal at9:02. Less than a minute later, Curran added hissecond goal for a 4-1 advantage. Some niftypassing down low gave Rumson a 5-1 lead.Padula found Sutphen at the goal mouth in great

position for ascoring chance,but Sutphen madethe extra pass acrossthe crease to a wide-open Curran who had notrouble finding twine.Tildesley got into theoffensive action when heraced all the way to themid-field stripe beforeyielding to Babiak, who didthe rest for a 6-1 lead justbefore halftime.

"We just started executingbetter in the secondquarter," Curran said. "Wewere sloppy, throwing itaway in the first. But wegot our act together, cameout firing and everythingstarted clicking."

"We came here to blowthese guys out of the waterand I think wedemonstrated that in thefirst half," Jackson said."But they demonstratedthey're a very good club,and in the second half theygave us a fight."

With Rumson threateningto put the game out of reachin the second half, CBAcame out with two straightgoals by Habich to cut thelead to 6-3. Clarke restoredorder with two consecutive

goals of his own, however, to put Rumson back up by five.

The Colts wouldn't go away and drew to within 8-4 on

Finn's second strike, a brilliant shot that is the early leader forgoal of the year. Positioned to the left of Tildesley, Finnripped an over-the-shoulder shot as he was falling down intothe top corner with 1:31 left in the quarter.

"Don Finn had an amazing insideroll over-the-shoulderto the top cornergoal," Jackson said."He came off thefield and I told him

that's the best shot I'veseen in a long time."

But as they did throughout thegame, Rumson responded behindone of its leaders. Curran's fourthgoal on a straight away blast fromthe top of the box replenishedRumson's five-goal lead with 34.7

seconds left in the quarter.

Dave Santos' team refusedto go away, and closed the

gap to 9-7 with threeunanswered goals to

start the fourth quarter.Stephen Deiner

scored with ashot from thewing at 8:47.Capping a long

possession, Habich foughtthrough tight defending by Rumson to rip a shot throughtraffic and over the stick of Tildesley to make it 9-6.Finn's scorching bouncer from the top of the box with4:58 to play pulled the Colts to within two .

With CBA on the move, Rumson's big guns delivered.Tildesley made a key save on Alex Roth's scoring chancewith 3:51 to play and Curran pushed the lead back tothree with a goal at 3:05. Finn would score again off abehind-the-net feed from Babich with 2:05 remaining, butanother big save by Tildesley in the closing minutes and atakeaway off a thunderous check by Christopher Hublerwith 1:31 to go sealed Rumson's fourth win over CBA inthe last six meetings.

"This is a big win for us," Curran said. "Winning thisgame means we can compete with the best of the best andwe're going to bring that to the rest of the season."

Boys Lacrosse: R u m s o n W i n sS h o w d o w n W i t h C B A B y B o b B a d d e r s – S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r

Rumson’s Jack Curran from last year’s SCT championship game

Rumson Photo by

Cliff Lavellewww.clearedge.zenfol io.com

CBA Attackman Donny Finn


Red Bank Cathol ic senior defensive tackle JoeCoscarel l i , the All Shore Media Defensive Playerof the Year this past fa l l , has s igned with CoastalCarol ina, a Footbal l Championship Subdivis ionprogram that competes in the Big SouthConference.

The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Coscarel l i i s a two-t ime, f i rs t team ASM All-Shore select ion. He ledthe Caseys with 105 tackles , a rare amount for adefensive tackle , and also had a forced fumbleand two fumble recoveries . He had 24 solotackles and 81 assis ts , and also had 5.5 sacks ona defense that a l lowed 9.5 points per game. RBCfinished ranked No. 1 in the Shore Conference,won the Class B North t i t le , reached the Non-Publ ic Group III semif inals and did not lose to aShore Conference opponent a l l season.

Coscarel l i had 16 tackles in a double-overt imevictory against Central Jersey Group IIIchampion Neptune, had 13 tackles in a double-overt ime loss to Delbar ton in the s ta te sect ionalsemif inals , and had 11 tackles in a 21-0 win overCentral Jersey Group II f inal is t Rumson-FairHaven. As a junior, he had 107 tackles and 7sacks.This season he was also named the Class B

North Co-Defensive Player of the Year bythe coaches.

Coscarel l i jo ins a banner c lassfrom RBC, as t ight end/ l inebackerDoug Whit lock (Navy);ful lback/ l inebacker Chris Donald(Wil l iam & Mary); running backJohn DiStefano (MilfordAcademy); offensive l inemanRyan Byrne (Sacred Heart) ;l inebacker Anthony Dorsi(Delaware Val ley College) ;and wide receiver /defensiveback Greg Golden (The HunSchool) are a l l commit tedto cont inue their careers a tthe next level af ter helpingthe Caseys win a school-record 10 games in thefal l .

Football Defensive Player ofthe Year Commits toCoastal CarolinaB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r


Jackson Memorial senior right-hander Brandon Holup hastaken some hard-luck losses over the past two seasons,including earlier this year in his team's loss to Toms RiverEast, but it would have taken a near-perfect pitchingperformance on the other side to beat him on April 19 at RayRyan Field on the campus of Toms River High School North.

Holup pitched his first career complete-game shutout,limiting the Mariners to three hits and one walk whilestriking out 11, and the Jaguars - the No. 3 team in the AllShore Media Top 10 - blanked Toms River North 6-0 to keeppace with Toms River South for first place in the ShoreConference Class A South division.

Holup entered the game with a career record of 6-4 and a2012 record of 1-1 thanks to a stellar performance by TomsRiver East left-hander Trevor Fitzsimmons in a 4-1 Raiderswin over the Jaguars in mid-April. Although his record maynot reflect it, Holup has been one of the top pitchers in theconference over the last two seasons, evidenced by anearned-run average of 2.16 last season, a 1.84 ERA after thewin over Toms River North and a strikeout-to-walk ratiobetter than 4-to-1 as a varsity starter.

"This game's in my top five," Holup said. "I've pitched insome big games against good teams before and we've lostsome of those games 2-1 or 3-2, so I haven't alwaysgottenwins, but I always feel like I can pitch well enough towin and give us a chance to win."

"He's been pitching like this for us since last year," JacksonMemorial coach Frank Malta said. "He's pitched big gamesagainst good teams and unfortunately, we haven't alwaysgiven him as much run support as we've given other guys, sothe record is a little deceiving. I thought he did what healways does. He threw strikes, he mixed his pitches, kept

guys off balance and hemade the big pitches whenhe had to."

After starting the seasonby scoring 26 runs in twogames, JacksonMemorial's offense cooledoff in its last five gamesbefore Toms River North,averaging 3.4 runs in thatspan. Despite the relativelack of offense, the Jaguarswent 4-1 during thatstretch behind theirpitching, and Holup joinedthe run with his showingagainst the Mariners.

"We've faced some verygood pitching so far,maybe the best we've seenthis early in the season,and that's a good thing,"Malta said. "I want teamsto throw their best at usand force us to play closegames so we learn how tohandle ourselves indifferent situations. I hear people ask 'How did you guys loseto (Toms River) East?' Since when is Toms River East not agood team? They are always ready to play and they flat outbeat us. It happens. I think you just take it as it comes andmove on, and I think that's how our guys are handling it."

In addition to limiting the Mariners to just five baserunners

- one reached on a wild pitch onone of the 11 strikeouts - Holupinduced nine ground-ball outs tojust one fly out. JacksonMemorial's infield defense was upto the task, making all nine playswithout committing an error.

Holup's location was on throughhis seven innings as he threw 71 ofhis 113 pitches for strikes and usedhis breaking ball to induceswinging strikes. Four of hisstrikeouts ended with swings-and-misses on the breaking ball, whichhad curveball action for most of thegame.

"I don't know if it's a curve or aslider, but I call it a curve," Holupsaid. "I throw it with different gripsand that kind of changes what thepitch does, but for the most part, Iuse it like a curveball. That's thepitch that I've been using to gethitters out and that's what wasworking."

Jackson Memorial Ace BrandonHolup Off to a Strong StartB y M a t t M a n l e y – S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r

Game VideoH igh l i gh ts by :

Mat t man leywww.al lshoremedia.com

Jackson Memorial right-hander Brandon Holup


The New Jersey StateInterscholastic Associationapproved a proposal on firstreading this Month that wouldexpand the public groupclassifications to five, which wouldincrease the number of overall statesectional champions crowned to 24.

Essentially, there would be a newly-created Group Vfor the largest public schools to go along with existingfour Groups, starting in the upcoming 2012 season.The proposal is now before the NJSIAA’s programreview committee and will be voted on next month atthe NJSIAA’s executive committee meeting.

I don’t want to go crazy because it’s still just highschool football, but I couldn’t be more against thisplan. Just four months ago, the NJSIAA membershipwas voting to join the rest of civilization and actuallyplay to overall public Group champions in football,which was narrowly voted down by the NJSIAAmembership.

Now they want to add four more sections and crown24 total state champions, which is ridiculous. It’s atotal step back, in my opinion. Being called a “statechampion” in public school football in New Jersey isstarting to mean less and less. It’s becoming harder towin division titles for a lot of these teams than to wina state sectional title.

This reeks of two things:

1 The “everybody gets a medal” mentality that ispervading youth sports. This means more teams,including teams with losing records, can now

make the playoffs, more teams get a trophy and allthat, so that no one’s feelings are hurt when they don’tget to be in the playoffs. In a Star-Ledger story on theproposal, NJSIAA associate director Jack Dubois saidthat many coaches are “not thrilled” to play inconsolation games. Well, coaches, here’s a novelconcept: WIN MORE GAMES AND MAKE THEPLAYOFFS. Then you won’t have to play in aconsolation game.

A reason why I think the proposal will pass is thatathletic directors can go back to their schools and tellthem they will have a better chance for their teams to

make the postseason and win something,even if it what they are winning ischeapened. The main job of most ADs is toget the complainers off their back, and thiswould help in that instance, so they aregoing to vote for it.

2 Another money grab by the NJSIAA. Eversince this whole Burzichelli business hitthe fan over ticket prices, the NJSIAA

claims that it is struggling to make money. Withmore teams in the playoffs, that means more entry feesand more sites to sell programs, T-shirts and other assorted

swag. The more teams in the postseason, the more moneythat comes in. Now that teams with losing records at thecutoff are allowed to be in the state playoffs in every othersport, they are adding football to the list.

If it does get passed, one effect will be that winning a statesectional title won’t be all that much to write home about anymore. (Some of them don’t mean a whole lot now). Most ofthese proposed sections will have about 15-16 teams in them.Most divisions in a given conference have 6-8 teams in them.That means a state section has barely double the amount ofteams that a division has, so it’s not like you’re beating alarge region of teams to win a state title.

I wonder if the Shore Conference can just break off fromall this. Just have a Shore Conference football tournamentinstead. It will be one packed house after another, andwinning it would really mean something as opposed tobreezing through some mediocre sectional bracket.

If the proposal does happen, here is a look at the bracketsfrom a purely football perspective and who might be thewinners and losers in the new realignments.

Central JerseyGroup V – This is pretty similar to the current CJ

Group IV, so there wouldn’t be any major change.

Group IV – This is similar to the current CJ III, justwith Middletown North and Colts Neck thrown in.One addition is Pennsauken, which won the SouthJersey Group IV title last year and would certainly bea threat to the usual suspects like Middletown South,Neptune, Freehold, and Wall. Colts Neck would alsobe a new threat among these teams.

Group III – This is like the current CJ II exceptfor two major differences – no Rumson-Fair Haven,which would be in Group II, and the addition ofOcean. Allentown and the Hamilton schools wouldalso avoid the likes of Neptune, Middletown South,etc. Ocean would also not have to tangle with thoseteams, but still would have to deal with usual toughteams like Manasquan, Matawan, Long Branch andRaritan. This would be a very tough bracket. Winningit might actually mean something.

Group II – If you’re a Rumson fan, you’redefinitely not complaining about this new proposalwith Danny Roberto, Travis Clark and Co. comingback next season. The Bulldogs would no longer haveto deal with the Matawans, Manasquans and LongBranches of the world. They could dominate this

bracket. The main threat would probably be rivalShore, which would be moved up from playing GroupI schools, putting the Blue Devils in a harder bracketthan the CJ I section they are in now. Red Bank wouldalso be a big factor with the team it has coming backthis year, and Keyport is always dangerous but has notfared very well whenever it has been in a Group IIbracket.

Group I – This would continue to be Asbury Park’splayground, although Point Beach will be a seriousthreat this fall.

South JerseyGroup V – Toms River North, Toms River East and

Southern would still be stuck dealing with every SouthJersey heavyweight in sight in this bracket, which issimilar to the current SJ IV bracket, so no breaks forany of those teams.

Group IV – This is similar to the current SJ III, soLacey would face the usual array of suspects likeHammonton, Shawnee and Timber Creek.

Group III – This is a good spot for teams likeManchester, Pinelands and Central because it will givethem a better chance to make the playoffs every year.Delsea could have a field day in this bracket afterusually being in the current SJ III. Point Boro wouldessentially move up a weight class, but that might notbe the worst thing because it gets them away fromWest Deptford and Haddonfield in the current SJ II.

Group II – It would be status quo for Barnegat, whichwould still have to deal with West Deptford and Co.

Group I – No Shore teams in this bracket.

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Rumson's Danny Roberto



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All Shore Media High School Sports 4-23-12 Issue - Volume IV Issue-8