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About The Cover
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atcher Nick Ardente was robbed of his senior season at Absegami due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn’t lessen the impact he and his brothers have had on the Braves’ baseball program. There has been an Ardente playing for the brown-and-gold for the better part of a decade, and this family has come to symbolize the values that Absegami holds dear, mainly that hard work and a humble attitude pave the pathway to success. In this edition of Glory Days we take a look at the careers of all three brothers and how the family has engrained itself in Absegami Braves baseball history. Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher
GLORY DAYS 2020 General Contact Information Phone: 609-788-4294 Email: advertising@acglorydays.com Publisher Dave O’Sullivan Email: sully@acglorydays.com @GDsullysays on Twitter Contributors Amy D’Adamo, graphic design Bill Lynskey, advertising sales Mark Trible, special football writer Giuseppe Ungaro, content editor Volume 7, Issue 13. (Issue No. 148) 2020 Glory Days Magazine LLC, all rights reserved.
Story Idea? Email sully@acglorydays.com or direct message Sully on Twitter, @GDSullysays
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headlines u PRESENTED BY BUNTING FAMILY PHARMACY u Baseball makes its return
u The major leagues might be scuffling over how to begin the 2020 season, but locally players will be returning to the diamond very soon. The Atlantic County Baseball League announced its shortened 2020 schedule this week, with opening day slated for Monday, July 6, and the playoffs beginning on Aug. 3. There will be eight teams vying for the championship, chief among them last year’s championship series finalists, the Northfield Cardinals and Margate Hurricanes. Northfield won the title two years ago by beating Hammonton, but the Hurricanes returned to their former glory last summer by grinding out a victory over Northfield in the decisive Game 5. 200 teams at 54 sites across the state for the first round of action, which features pool play. The One more time u This year’s baseball seniors may get one last top two teams in each four-team pool will adchance to step on the diamond, although they vance to single elimination rounds. The idea is won’t be wearing their respective high school’s to allow the 2020 senior class to have one more uniforms. The “Last Dance” event, which has opportunity to play high school baseball since been in organization for several months now, their season was wiped out due to the coronavilooks as though it’s getting closer to becoming rus pandemic. a reality. Last week, 54 potential regional sites 50 years of excellence were announced and according to nj.com near- u Millville field hockey coach Claudia McCarly 200 teams have shown interest. The teams thy (pictured above) told nj.com recently that won’t be affiliated with high schools, but most this coming season, her 50th coaching the Thunwill likely feature rosters that probably would derbolts, likely will be her last. McCarthy is not have been used this spring at the varsity level, only one of the best coaches in the state, but an or close to it. Tournament organizers, accord- icon in the sport nationally. McCarthy notched ing to nj.com, have tentatively placed more than win No. 600 last year and is the all-time win-
ningest coach in South Jersey field hockey history. McCarthy is 71 years old, and last fall led Millville to 17 wins and a Cape-Atlantic League conference title.
NJSIAA fall sports protocals
u The governing body for the state’s high school sports announced plans to begin fall sports workouts on June 19, tabbing July 13 as the day when teams will be able to meet and start practicing. The NJSIAA released guidlines for “Phase 1” of getting back to high school sports. The first phase will last from July 13-26 and allows noncontact workouts that can last for a maximum of 90 minutes, among other restrictions. There are four phases planned before the official start of fall sports on Aug. 10.
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FOOTBALL
Submitted photos
Holy Spirit coaches A.J. Russo (foreground, right) and Mark Barbetto spent several days last month delivering more than 80 state championship rings to players and fellow coaches, including senior captain Ahmad Brown, an Egg Harbor Township resident.
SPECIAL DELIVERY Because of Covid-19, Holy Spirit football coaches had to make a new plan to give out state championship rings, and it turned into a three-day adventure across South Jersey By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ne morning in mid-May, Holy Spirit football coach A.J. Russo excitedly gassed up his car for a tour of South Jersey. He had a lot of stops to make, and each one was going to be like Christmas morning. In the back of his vehicle, Russo had boxes and boxes of state championship rings to give out. Russo, a Spirit graduate, took over the program four years ago and had come tantalizingly close to winning a state title three times. In 2016 the Spartans were only seconds away from capturing the prized hardware before Mater Dei pulled off a trick play, scoring from 50 yards out with seven seconds remaining on a hook-and-lateral that secured a 2620 victory. The following year, that same Mater Dei team bounced Spirit from the state semifinals, beat-
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ing the Spartans 35-34. Then, in 2018, Holy Spirit made it back to the state championship game, this time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, and were going toe-to-toe with a monstrously talented St. Joseph-Hammonton team before the Wildcats pulled away in the fourth quarter to win, 41-22, after Spirit starting quarterback Ryan Yost suffered an injury. It was beginning to seem as though Russo and the Spartans were eternal bridesmaids and never the bride. But this past fall they put it all together, and got some much-anticipated payback against rival St. Joe. The Spartans dominated from the opening whistle and cruised to a 38-0 victory. All the sacrifice and hard work that his players put in the past four years made driving all over South Jersey a few weeks ago much more of a pleasure than a chore. “We were going to do it at a home baseball game
sometime in May, but obviously that got thrown for a loop. We stretched from Millville to the north end of Brigantine and as far south as Ocean City. So we were all over Atlantic County and even into Cumberland County. If you count the coaches, we made 86 stops,” Russo said. “The coordination of it took a couple hours. Coach (Mark) Barbetto and I — his wife works for FedEx so she gave us some inside scoop on some of the apps that FedEx drivers use that can map out routes for you. You plug the addresses in and it takes you on the shortest route between stops. We had a little insider stuff working for us there, and that cut down on some of the time.” The first couple of stops coaches Russo and Barbetto made were to captains E’lijah Gray, the Spartans’ star running back, and standout defensive back and receiver Ahmad Brown. “E’lijah was the first one we dropped off to since he is our captain, and he was really excited about it. And then Ahmad was all pumped up, his parents had their house all decorated. Everyone was really excited about it,” Russo said.
See Delivery, page 7
June 22, 2020 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 7 Delivery, from page 6 “It was a neat experience. I’ve never won a championship before, in youth league or any level, so that was my first time getting a ring or a jacket or anything like that. It was a great experience getting to see my coaches, and obviously being awarded that ring,” Brown said. “I was really anxious because Cedar Creek had gotten their rings the week prior to us getting ours. Once I saw Cedar Creek’s rings, I couldn’t wait. I had a dream about the ring. (Once I had it in my hand) it was like butter. It was so nice. Being able to celebrate that with all the seniors and the Walsh family. Being able to get that meant so much to me because it’s not just so much effort, blood, sweat and tears that went into getting that ring, it just felt so unbelievable.” Russo said it took he and Barbetto three days to deliver all the rings to players and coaches. “The first day we did EHT, Mays Landing and Millville, and those are
big communities so the kids were really spaced out. We did 22 kids that day and it took us about seven hours. Then the next day we did 52 kids, and that took us about the same time because they were all in Brigantine, Ventnor, Margate, and the area wasn’t as large,” he said. “It was actually a good adventure. We had good weather, and it was good to see the kids. We hadn’t really seen the kids in two months, so it was nice to see them in person. We’ve been doing Zoom chats and things like that, but that’s not really personal at all. It was good to see their parents, too. Most of the parents were home and it was good to catch up with them. Especially the seniors with that they are going through and not having the kind of graduation they thought they would have, no prom. To be able to get them the championship rings and to see the smiles on their faces was neat.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Submitted photos
The coaches’ first stop was to the home of senior E’lijah Gray, a star running back who helped give head coach A.J. Russo his first state title.
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT:
KURT DRISCOLL, HOLY SPIRIT FOOTBALL/WRESTLING
Beating the odds routine for Driscoll The charismatic OL began his career on the scout team and ended it by winning a state championship By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer urt Driscoll didn’t enter Holy Spirit High School four years ago with a lot of fanfare. He knew as an undersized offensive lineman his chances of landing a starting role his freshman year — or even as a sophomore — were remote. But that didn’t discourage the Egg Harbor Township resident. Former head and assistant Spirit football coach Bill Walsh, who passed away last fall after battling ALS, told Driscoll that if he stuck his nose to the grind and worked his tail off, he could be an impact player as a junior and senior. And anyone who knew coach Walsh knew that he was a straight shooter. He wasn’t going to sugar coat a kid’s potential. So, Driscoll believed him when he gave his analysis, and went about doing his job every day, both on the football field and on the wrestling mat. Now, looking back after recently graduating, Driscoll can proudly say that coach Walsh was right — he did make an impact. With Driscoll wearing the Navy and gold, Spirit’s football team made three state championship appearances and took home the title this past December with a dominating 38-0 win over rival St. Joseph-Hammonton, and Driscoll also was a lynchpin in the resurrection of the Spartans’ wrestling program, which went from having only a handful of guys in the room to winning a couple of sectional titles. “All I can remember was coach Walsh telling me in eighth grade, ‘hey
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Glory Days photos/Dave O’Sullivan
Offensive lineman Kurt Driscoll came off the bench for the first two years of his career before eventually earning a starting spot and leading Holy Spirit to a state championship in his senior season. man, you gotta come out here and help out. You might not start your freshman and sophomore years but you’ll definitely become a starter, and (in the meantime) you can be helping us out on the scout team and giving us the best look possible for the starters.’ And that’s exactly what I did, I went out there and did everything he told me to,” Driscoll said. “I worked so hard all the time. I would get in the game sometimes as a freshman when we were blowing people out, and it was just nice to get into the game because I
had worked so hard in practice. “Going from losing a state championship with seven seconds left to winning one 38-0, that’s quite a difference.” Four years ago, the Spartans had their hearts broken when Mater Dei scored on a hook-and-lateral play with seven seconds remaining at Kean University to win the Non-Public Group 2 state championship game. The following year featured another round of heartbreak, as Mater Dei beat Spirit 35-34 in the state semifinals. As a ju-
nior, Driscoll’s Spartans lost to St. Joe after making it back to the state final. “We were struggling at first. We lost three really good offensive linemen from the year before, so we just had to help out the younger kids. And they listened, did what they were told and did everything correctly. Once October hit, it was nice because we were clicking so much,” Driscoll said about this past season. “We put a lot of new plays into the playbook in the playoffs and we got
See Driscoll, page 9
June 22, 2020 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 9 Driscoll, from page 8 a lot done. It was nice that Cheeks (RB Patrick Smith) had that seven-touchdown game, that was awesome and made us look really good. All I can remember is on Monday morning (of championship week) we came in and looked at nj.com and six of the seven guys had picked St. Joe to beat us. That was hung up in everybody’s locker, and I bet it’s still sitting there today. Nobody was going to clean that out. We just kept that in the backs of our minds and we had the best week of practice. That was the best week of practice in my four years of high school. Everything was so crisp and so clean — it was just meant to be.” Spirit’s 38-0 win over St. Joe was eye-popping, not only because of such a lopsided score against one of the best teams in South Jersey, but also because of how Spirit won that game. The Spartans dominated the line of scrimmage, and that was no easy task considering the Wildcats had veteran defensive players such as Ethan Hunt, Brad Lomax, Ahmad Ross and Keshon Griffin, among others. “We did the best we could. Those kids (on the line) are big — all of them are over 6 feet tall and well over 220 pounds, and they were all fast, too. We knew what we were going up against, and the line they came out with was really difficult because we didn’t expect them to come out in a six-man front, but we adjusted to it, especially in the second half. The big thing was to be able to create a pocked for Trevor (Cohen) to throw from in the first half, that was the whole game plan,” Driscoll said. “To finish off as that being my last high school game, and my last game ever of football, it was nice. Going through all those ups and downs — losing to Mater Dei twice in the playoffs, and we only beat St. Joe twice in my career, but it was the first time and the last time. It wasn’t like we were playing bad teams (in the playoffs), we just lost to some really good teams. Mater Dei ended up getting pushed up to Non-Public Group 3, and St. Joe always gave us a run for our money. Even though it ended up 38-0, we were brawling out there until the end.” “He’s a good kid. He’s down to Earth and wants nothing but the best for everyone involved with this team. He worked his tail off to earn a starting spot the last two years. His freshman and sophomore years he was a backup, and junior and senior years he was able to jump in as a starter because of the effort he put in,” said Spirit coach A.J. Russo. “As a senior leader this year on the offensive line, those guys really solidified us going into the playoffs. And it’s great to have kids like that who are so enthusiastic about the program. They worked hard the first couple of years and didn’t see the field too much, and some kids quit when they don’t get playing time. But those guys stuck with it and Kurt is a tribute to that. He’s a great kid who really held us together. “That’s what’s good about our kids, they are all so humble and they do a good job of complimenting the
Driscoll also was an outstanding wrestler during his career, finishing with nearly 100 wins while also leading the Spartans to a couple of sectional titles. other guys around them, and that’s what a team is all about. And Kurt in particular, emphasizing that all the time.” Driscoll’s wrestling career was very similar. He got off to a rough start as a freshman, as a skin issue limited his mat time, suffered a couple tough losses at districts as a sophomore but really came on strong as a junior and senior, winning more than 30 matches each season to finish with 94 career victories and coming within an eyelash of qualifying for the state championships as a senior. “I just can’t wait to pursue my athletic and academic career at Elizabethtown (College). I can’t wait to get back on the wrestling mat. I know I’m going to miss the football field a ton and I think about it every day. I look at pictures and reminisce about it all the time. But now I’m getting ready to wrestle again,” Driscoll said. “I came in and had guys like Mike Waszen, Alec Harper and Tim Fitzpatrick who were pushing me in the room. I didn’t have too good of a freshman year because I had a skin issue and was in the hospital for 10 days. I missed half the season, and then sophomore year I did completely terrible in districts, but I ended up being 18-12 and lost in the consolation finals. But to come back my junior and senior years and have more than 30 wins in both seasons was nice, just to rebound. Unfortunately I was six matches short of 100 wins and I was two pins away from breaking Holy Spirit’s pin record held by Pat D’Arcy. And I came up short at regions (this year), which was tough, but I’ll just have to get to the podium at the (NCAA) nationals at the Division III level.” Russo believes that Driscoll’s dedication to wrestling helped him become a better offensive lineman throughout his career. “I think that has a lot to do with his wrestling mentality. Wrestling is the type of sport where sometimes
you’re going to get whipped and sometimes you’re going to whip other guys. And he knows that. On the offensive line, it’s four or five seconds each play of smash mouth football, and you’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some, but you don’t quit, you just keep going. I think that’s a tribute to Kurt and his wrestling background and being tough. He knew he was going to win sometimes and he was going to lose sometimes, but at the end of the day he won more than he lost,” Russo said. “Having that confidence yourself and being able to push other guys play-toplay is something Kurt brought to the table, and our kids definitely fed off that.” Driscoll, who said he may major in accounting once he gets to Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, said he is proud of everything he accomplished at Holy Spirit and plans to return as a proud state championship-winning alumni in the years to come. “If you talk to every single person at Holy Spirit, it’s just the family and the community. Everything they give you is unreal. They give you the best resources and they are behind you no matter what, it doesn’t matter what sport it is. It was nice being one of the faces of the school because I put in all that hard work and it finally paid off. It’s nice to say now that I’m a Holy Spirit alumni and that I’ll be able to be one of those people who comes to games wearing a state championship jacket. All the people who donate to us, that’s awesome, and I’m proud to say I’m now a Holy Spirit alumni,” he said. “I’m going to think that this was the greatest four years of my life, at least so far, but I don’t think much can top being a state champion (in football) and finishing with 94 career wins as a wrestler. For everyone out there, if you put in the hard work, the odds may be against you, but if you put in the work you’ll have success.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
Absegami’s Ardente legacy For the past 11 years there has been an Ardente brother playing baseball for the Braves, and their time in Galloway has been marked by success both on and off the field By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer he Manning family in football. The Currys in basketball. The Griffeys in baseball. Seemingly every sport has an iconic family that comes to mind, and that’s true even on the local level. At Cedar Creek, the Meltons have become synonymous with Pirates football. And when you’re talking about Absegami baseball, the Ardente name is the first that comes to mind in recent history. There has been an Ardente brother wearing the white, brown and gold of Absegami every year since 2009, save for the 2016 season — a year after Matt graduated and a year before Nick, the youngest, entered the halls of the Galloway Township school. It all began when Anthony entered as a freshman in 2009, and the family’s successful run has come to an end, albeit in a way they never would have expected. Nick’s senior season was wiped out due to the coronavirus pandemic, and while he plans to attend Rowan University this fall to begin studying biochemistry, he has chosen not to play baseball in college. It truly is the end of an era in South Jersey baseball. “I get emotional. (My kids) say I’m over the top, but our kids are our lives. I was president of the booster club for Absegami baseball and Bob has helped out. We enjoyed it and always looked forward to the season. When Anthony was a senior, Matt was a freshman, so they played for one year together and that was exciting. And they played travel ball as well, so there was never a moment when we weren’t doing some kind of baseball, “ said mom Silvana Ardente, a 1984 Oakcrest High School graduate. “Coming from a background with no sports to having three boys
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Brothers Nick (2020 graduate), Anthony (2012) and Matt (2015) Ardente all were four-year varsity players during their Absegami baseball careers. Nick and Anthony both were catchers, while Matt was a pitcher who holds the school record for career victories. playing baseball, I jumped in and joined them. I am truly a baseball mom. We did everything we could to make it enjoyable. When Anthony was little we let him choose whatever he wanted to play, and he chose baseball. The other two grew up watching him and followed suit.” Sylvana and Bob Ardente, a 1983 Oakcrest graduate, knew each other in high school but didn’t start dating until they were in their 20s, and their family includes three boys: Anthony, now 26, Matt, 23, and Nick, 18. Anthony and Nick both were catchers for the Braves while Matt was a star pitcher who holds the school record for career wins. Anthony played for a year at Rutgers-Camden before deciding college wasn’t the right path for him, and now he works for a utility line company out of Cape May. Matt played several seasons at Seton Hall before arm injuries ended his career, but he recently finished up his masters degree in athletic training.
And while all three are taking paths beyond high school that have led them away from the baseball field, the diamond — particularly at Absegami High School — will always be a second home for the entire family. Silvana is the former president of the Absegami Baseball Boosters Club and still remains active in fundraising efforts, as does Bob, and they’ll likely continue to attend games in the years to come. They just hope that whoever ends up wearing jersey No. 3 understands the significance it holds to the Ardentes. “It has been hard knowing this was going to be the last year. But all three of my boys did well and they have that camaraderie with their friends. They all wore No. 3, so that number is big in our family,” Silvana said. “When Matt took over Anthony’s number, that meant something to me. And with Matt doing well and moving on, then Nick came in and
See Ardente, page 12
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Page 12 w Glory Days Magazine w June 22, 2020 Ardente, from page 10 wanted to wear that number. So, No. 3 has been known as the Ardente boys. I think people will remember the Ardentes playing there because they made an impact, both on and off the field. I’m going to miss it.” Last season, Nick made a huge impact as the starting catcher for Absegami, a junior on a senior-laden team that went on a late-season run under first-year coach Mike DeCicco and beat his alma mater, Mainland, 1-0 in the opening round of the state playoffs behind a complete came shutout from Sam Daggers. “Coach DeCicco always wanted to beat Mainland because that’s where he played, and (the coaching staff) gave us great motivation. They always said to keep a chip on our shoulder, and that was a great motivator to just get to the playoffs. We lost both times (during the regular season) to Mainland and that cost us the conference title, but it all ended up in that one playoff game that really meant something to us,” Nick said. “I felt like us working as a group, it was a perfect year. It was an all around team effort. When I was a freshman, coach (Brian) Wastell told us we were the next group to do something special, and ever since he said that we all had that mindset that we were going to win a playoff game. As for losing his senior season, Nick said, “It’s been pretty rough. I didn’t want to play in college because I want to concentrate on academics, so I was looking for one more season to prove myself as the last of the ardentes and show everyone why I was up there on varsity. I wanted to play with the kids who I grew up with because they are my best friends and we’re all now going our separate ways. I just wanted to go down to South Carolina, have a really fun year, and possibly go on a playoff run again.” The Ardente legacy all began with Anthony, who as the son of a former Oakcrest football player decided that baseball was his sport of choice. Matt and Nick, as younger brothers, naturally tagged along and became outstanding players in their own right. “Baseball is what they gravitated to. They tried soccer, but they really enjoyed baseball. I played football in
high school, but baseball is what they wanted to play. It’s cool,” Bob said. “I was just an average athlete. I played varsity football but I was never a starter, and all three of my sons were fouryear starters and there’s something to be said for that. I don’t think any of them were superstars but they all contributed to their team, each in their own way. Now that they are older, we’re at the next stage. Matt is into his medical career, Anthony has found his career in the workforce and Nick is venturing on to college.” “I didn’t even think I was going to play varsity, I just assumed I was going to have to work my way up like anybody else. I was sitting there doing homework and coach Wastell called and said, ‘make sure you bring your stuff tomorrow, you’re going to try out with the older kids.’ And it went from there. I might have played a few JV games when I was injured, but other than that it was varsity. I didn’t start as a freshman, but I played and lettered,” Anthony said. “I played with those guys my whole life and that (in high school) was the last time we all played together. My junior year was our best year because we had a heavy senior class and a few kids in my grade. My senior year, more than half the team was freshmen. Matt was going to pitch anyway, but (because of injuries) he was brought into the No. 1 spot.” “In recreation I had a growth spurt and I could throw harder than the other kids. I was more of a thrower than a pitcher, originally, and then I started to tailor my skills toward pitching,” Matt said. “I always wanted to be an outfielder. I was a first baseman because I was a thicker kid before I hit my growth spurt. I started pitching because I could throw hard, and it was easy being able to throw bullpens to Anthony. He knows what a good pitcher looks like so he was able to tell me what I was doing wrong. I took lessons from him, and when he stopped playing baseball I would turn to Nick, and that upped his level of competition when I was able to throw to him.” Absegami was special to the Ardentes, Matt said, because the program kind of mirrored how their family ap-
See Ardente, page 13
June 22, 2020 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Ardente, from page 12 proaches life. They relish being in the underdog role and believe that hard work, sacrifice, and playing for your teammates is what drives success on the diamond. “I always saw Absegami as a middle tier team. We were never the front runner in our conference, but I enjoyed that because we were always playing up to the level of the better teams,” he said. “We never thought we were going to crush teams, so being that underdog helped us prepare for different situations and made us work harder. We fed off each other in that sense. We were looking toward, say, the 10th game of the season to work toward. There were some easier games, but there were always tougher games we had to prepare for. Absegami has always been in contention and I liked playing for that kind of team.” “I was brought up my whole life on the baseball field,” Nick added. “I was the bat boy for Matt’s all-star team and they would tell me about strategy. I wouldn’t say it was note taking, but those things were always in the back of my mind, so when I hit middle school and eventually high school it was kind of second nature to me.” As any baseball mom knows, there are plenty of ups and downs in a sport where frustration thrives and success is so difficult to achieve. Through the years, Silvana and Bob have been much more than parents, they’ve been roommates on travel weekends, housekeepers washing uniforms, and amateur psychologists. “(Washing uniforms) never bothered me. We’ve traveled up and down the East coast. We’d be one weekend in North Carolina, another in upstate New York, Pennsylvania; I can honestly say I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. Maybe we’ll adopt a player. I don’t think we’re done with Absegami baseball. It’s a great community,” Silvana said. “The coaches have been great. Wastell coached all the boys and was always very supportive, as has been coach DeCicco. They were always looking out for the boys’ best interests first. “There were a lot of quiet rides home,” she added. “You have to let them digest everything (if they had a bad game) and let them talk about it
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Mom Sylvana Ardente points out plaques and memorabilia on a wall in the Ardente’s home dedicated to her sons’ baseball success. when they are ready. They get frustrated and get down on themselves, but they come around and they know it’s baseball, there’s another game and they have to shake it off. That comes with maturity with all the kids. They got frustrated when they wanted to perform better than they did, but they were all successful in their own ways. They all were on varsity for four years, so we couldn’t have asked for any more determination from them. And that came from within themselves. And I think them playing with their friends made all the difference. Sports are important in any kid’s life. They learn to work with each other, and learning to balance being a student-athlete is very difficult these days.” “They’ve always played with the right attitude. That’s just the kind of kids they are. They’re not cocky, they don’t take anything for granted, and they enjoyed playing the game. They played hard, they played with pride, and they played for their team,” Bob said. “Baseball has taught them how to work with other people, the discipline — there are all kinds of things you
learn from playing an organized sport.” Baseball is fading from view for the Ardentes like a sunset in the rearview mirror — well, at least until some grandkids start coming around. But this family has plenty of memories to keep the good times alive in their hearts — including an entire converted garage full of plaques, game balls and trophies that will remind them of what their life has been like for the past 25 years, and how much of a legacy they have left on the Absegami program. “When my friends and I hang out we think this would be a perfect day for baseball,” Nick said. “We went to the field recently and took some pictures as the last time being on that field. It was really sad, but at the same time you have to remember all the good memories, us hanging over the fence and cheering on our teammates. It’s bittersweet, so you just have to remember the good times.” “We have a lot of plaques and photos. And those are the moments that as parents, become your life. It becomes your social life, seeing the other parents at the games, and those friend-
ships continue after baseball. We’re the other kids’ biggest fans. We don’t have to go to a professional baseball game, we can go to an Absegami game and be just as content,” Silvana said. “When somebody had a game, we all went. It became our family outing, and Bob and I took pleasure in that. I enjoyed every moment, and I’ll be missing it.” These days, when people think of Absegami baseball, the Ardente last name quickly comes to mind, and Silvana and Bob couldn’t be more proud of the impact their children have had, not just on the baseball field, but in their school and community. “It’s a big honor,” Silvana said. “I think they have always had a good way of representing the school. If they did a good job, on or off the field, and people are bringing up the Ardente name — I think coach Wastell or DeCicco would say they same thing, that they are good all-around kids. That is what means more to me than anything.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT:
BRIAN FUREY, ST. AUGUSTINE PREP BASEBALL
When duty calls, Furey answers
The Naval Academy is a perfect fit for hard-nosed Hermits catcher Brian Furey By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer he Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md., is looking for leaders. Young men and women who are willing to answer the call to serve their country honorably, and who have the intestinal fortitude to handle whatever challenges the brass dishes out during a Midshipman’s four years on campus — whether that be academically, militarily or athletically. It doesn’t take their recruiters long to figure out if a high school kid can cut the mustard at one of the most prestigious academies in the world. Brian Furey was a starter for just one season — 29 games — while wearing a St. Augustine Prep baseball uniform, but it probably didn’t take much more than one conversation for Navy baseball coach Paul Kostacopoulos to know he had a catcher he could depend on bringing not only talent, but dedication into the program. “It was another sense of brotherhood and bonding between a group of people, and that’s what drew me (to the Naval Academy). When I was going on my visits, I wasn’t drawn to the military right away, but Navy contacted me and my family and I went down, and once I stepped on campus at Annapolis it was all over. I knew that was the place I wanted to be, for sure,” said Furey, a
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“I’m beyond blessed to have this opportunity. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s life changing. So many great men and women have gone there, and I hope to become one of them and make an impact on society and what our world is today.”
Brian Furey Prep catcher (on attending the Naval Academy)
Strathmere resident who leaves July 2 for “Plebe Summer”, the induction of the Naval Academy’s Class of 2024. “First and foremost, Brian is a gentleman and a great young man. He comes from a great family. He was really focused this year, he’s going to the Naval Academy, which is a true testament to him as a human being and his character,” said St. Augustine Prep baseball coach Mike Bylone. “He had complete control of our pitching staff (last year). I feel bad for him (about losing this season) but the bright side is his little brother (C.J.) is a freshman and his is a name you’ll be hearing about in the
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Catcher Brian Furey started just one season of varsity at St. Augustine Prep, but helped lead the Hermits to 24 wins and a berth in the state championship game as a junior in 2019. future. I feel bad for Brian as well as Kenny (Levari), Kevin Foreman and all the rest of our seniors.” Even if Furey doesn’t believe in destiny, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that he’s entering the military. His father, Joe, is in the FBI and has raised Brian and C.J. to live with a moral code that prizes helping and thinking of others before oneself. “If I can make it through down there it will be an incredible honor, and it will be an incredible honor to serve my country and serve for a bigger purpose in life. That’s what I’ve always strived to do. My father is in the FBI and he’s instilled a work ethic in me from a young age,” Furey said. “I’m beyond blessed to have this opportunity. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s life changing. So many great men and women have gone there, and I hope to become one of them and make an impact on society and what our world is today. That’s what I’ve always tried to do, serve for other people and think of other people before myself. “I’ve always been on my toes — you can ask any of my friends, I’ve always
had a serious mentality about things,” he added. “But I also know when to take things lightheartedly as well. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents instilling all the core values in me and the family aspect of life.” That serious, all-business approach to the catching position helped the Hermits to a 24-5 record a year ago that included a trip to the Non-Public A state championship game, where Prep lost a heartbreaker to rival Delbarton in extra innings, a year after winning the title. Furey — who was Prep’s bullpen catcher during that championship season two years ago — wanted nothing more than to win another trophy before he graduated, but the coronavirus pandemic wiped out his senior season. It’s a shame, too, because the Hermits were poised to enter the season as a top-5 team in the state and it’s not hard to imagine them being in contention to win another state championship with the talent-laden roster Bylone was working with when the season began in March.
See Furey, page 15
June 22, 2020 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 15 Furey, from page 14 “We had probably three of the top 10 pitchers in the state last year, and even in my 2018 year, I was a young kid and I got brought up to catch those guys in the bullpen. We had Jack Billings, Kevin Eaise, Jack Halbruner, Kenny Levari, Cole Vanderslice, Jay Hoopes and Gerry Peacock (that year). I caught all those guys as sophomores and that experience made me so much better. Even though it wasn’t in games, I got so much better from catching that velocity. Then, last year, bringing that into game situations — when you get to ring a guy up when a pitcher is hitting his spots, that’s the best feeling in the world,” Furey said. “I don’t think any of us will truly ever wrap our head around the whole situation. It was out of our control and there was nothing we could have done differently to have a season. We’re all heartbroken and we’re still heartbroken to know we couldn’t go out there one final time because we knew we had a really strong team. Everybody put in those extra hours in the weight room, hitting in the offseason and pitching work. We were looking forward to having a really strong season with a group of my best friends, so we’re heartbroken we couldn’t get out there one last time.” “When we started getting good we always said you have to be good up the middle — pitcher, catcher, shortstop, center field. Those are the positions we focus on,” Bylone said. “You obviously have to have a good shortstop, and we’ve been lucky enough to have quite a few of those the last couple years, but if you don’t have a good catcher you’re in trouble. He’s the quarterback of the team, and with him being a senior, he’s going to be tough to replace.” Being a catcher is a difficult task on any level of baseball, and it’s even tougher for one of the premier teams in New Jersey. Furey had to manage the entire pitching staff while getting beat up behind the plate day in and day out, and then had to find a way to contribute at the plate as well. He did a good job with the stick, batting close to .300, but, more importantly, under his guidance the Hermits’ pitching staff allowed just 62 earned runs in 166 innings. Prep allowed less than three runs per game
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Furey guided a pitching staff that allowed just 62 earned runs in 166 and contributed with the bat as well, hitting better than .275. while racking up 180 strikeouts and allowing just 120 hits. “My sophomore year, we came off that state championship win and even though I didn’t play in that game I was a big part of it by warming guys up to come into the game. I saw the level of competitiveness and desire that my teammates had, and that game — and that whole season — was really special. They all had a certain mindset to go out and win every game and that just carried over into that summer. I had a great summer that year and that’s when I started getting recruited. Some of the guys on that team were my best friends and they motivated me and helped me have a great season last year,” Furey said. “Being a catcher, it’s hard. We had a great pitching staff so I was mainly focused on the staff, keeping them in control and keeping them in the game. You’re pretty much the quarterback, you can see everything on the field and you have to keep everything in line. I was really focused on that, trying to get know the pitchers well because you have to build a separate relationship with each one of them individually because not every pitcher is the same. You have to know when to go out to the mound and give certain talks to certain guys. Toward the end of the year, though, I wanted to make an impact on the offensive end as well as on defense. We needed a good push at the end of the year and I knew if I
could pick it up with the bat a little bit our team would be that much better.” “Brian’s toughest critic is himself. Through talking to him throughout the year, I would try to tell him he didn’t have to do everything. The fact that he was handling that pitching staff was good enough sometimes. He had a dual role and he did it admirably,” Bylone said. “He’ll be the first to admit he came up in some big situations when he didn’t get it done, but I can also look back and say there were situations when he did get it done. Being catcher is not an easy thing. If you’re an infielder, you may have to focus on catching six ground balls and making a throw to first and you’re good. Brian had to control the whole pitching staff throughout the entire game, and he had to bat. He grew up a lot last year, and I think he grew up a lot this offseason. I feel for him because I could tell this year he was really geared up to go to have a tremendous senior year. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to have a great year.” Furey will no doubt agonize over what might have been in the spring of 2020, but he’ll never regret choosing to attend St. Augustine Prep and will value not only the education he received in Richland, but also the brotherhood he became a part of. “I probably would have played a little more at Ocean City, but there’s no experience like the Prep. It’s so hard
to explain to someone who didn’t go there, but once you get on campus it’s a different type of feeling. You feel at home instantly, and the brotherhood,” he said. “I’m friends with every kid I go to school with. The second you step on campus you know you’re with a group of guys who are all there for the same purpose. You’re all instantly best friends and I’m going to enjoy those friendships for the rest of my life, so I have absolutely no regrets and there’s nothing I would change about that.” The one regret he does harbor, however, is not being able to take the field together with C.J. “That would have been a dream come true, honestly,” Furey said. “We’ve grown up together, playing Wiffle ball, basketball, football on the front lawn. In baseball, he’s a pitcher and I’m a catcher so we’d always ben throwing bullpens or just having a catch.” Despite the disappointment of the 2020 season getting canceled, coach Bylone believes Furey has set himself up for success well beyond his baseball playing days. “Whatever he does, his work ethic and mentality, he’ll succeed,” Bylone said. “He’s going to serve our country, and you couldn’t ask for anybody better to serve our country. It’s been a pleasure coaching him.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Page 16 w Glory Days Magazine w June 22, 2020
SPONSOR CONTENT
Shore Hardware shows its strength A fire in 2018. The Covid-19 pandemic. This Atlantic County landmark business has been through it all and continues to thrive. By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer aul Giunta, owner of Shore True Value Hardware in Somers Point, recently turned 50 years old. There’s a little more salt than pepper in his stubble these days. With a thriving business, a great staff that he could count on, and his boys off to college, Giunta figured that when the big 5-0 birthday rolled around he would be able to spend more time with his wife, Shannon, and doing the things he loves — namely surfing in the summer and skiing in winter. So much for that plan. A fire in 2018 that gutted the store, and now the coronavirus pandemic, have had Giunta feeling more like the young man in his 20s who had to hustle every day to keep the family business successful, and less like a guy with more free time on his hands. So much for his big plan! Giunta and sister, Alison Dannehower, are working 60-plus-hour weeks trying to keep everything running, as the pandemic has created huge demand for all kinds of items. People have been stuck at home for several months and have had the time to get to those home and yard projects they have been putting off. Some may envy Giunta and his staff, as their business was deemed essential and therefore allowed to remain open during a statewide shutdown that lasted from March into early June, but with that has come a whirlwind of challenges. There have been interruptions throughout the supply chain, which hasn’t made stocking the products people want an easy task, and like any small business owners Giunta and his sister have had to worry about their staff and their fears about contracting the virus and taking it home to their
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Shandell Jackson and Rebecca Davis are two of Shore Hardware’s reliable cashiers and part of a customer service team that goes the extra mile to deliver what is needed. loved ones. “We are very fortunate that we do have a great staff. We hire some retired trade people, who I lost when (Covid-19) started because they didn’t want to come in, I lost a key cashier because she has kids and she was stuck at home with them because there was no school. Couple the loss of 20 percent of your staff with an increase in business like I’ve never seen in all my years of doing this, it made for a challenging first month. Giunta explained that the CEOs of the major independent hardware distributors got together and wrote a letter to every governor in the country that local hardware stores should be deemed essential, and fortunately the governor’s agreed. We experienced things our friends who had to close didn’t, but they’re experiencing that now,” Giunta said. “In other words, a staff that is freaked out — they do not know what the protocol is, should I wear
gloves? Should I wear a mask? The first two or three days after the pandemic hit we were walking around like business as usual. There was no order to limit the number of people in the store, there were no orders to wear masks yet — all the things that were put into place, like social distancing, wearing a mask, sanitizing, cleaning the store — we implemented a few days after the shutdown. The first few days were nuts. “We were dealing with employees who were concerned, worried they might take the virus home to their families; I was worried about them, and myself,” he continued. “It was one challenge on top of the next and every day it seemed the rulebook changed. What I am seeing now is all these businesses that are just opening up are going through the same thing. They have people who have been sitting home for three
See Hardware, page 18
Page 18 w Glory Days Magazine w June 22, 2020 Hardware, from page 16 months, watching the news, reading social media posts and coming back to work and they are worried about catching the virus.”
The fire of 2018
Two summers ago, in early June, a fire broke out at Shore Hardware and the store was forced to close for five months. One of the most relied upon hardware stores in the area had to shut its doors, and it took until late fall before the store was ready to be reopened. The entire store had to be emptied and cleaned out, repainted, new wiring. Nearly all the inventory was lost because of fire or smoke damage. “We barely made it through that,” Giunta said. “Luckily, when you pay your insurance, you have business interruption, so we collected on that and the insurance company helped make us whole again. It’s not like we lost money, but we probably lost customers because people find other places to go. But the community was so supportive throughout.” “When we had the fire, I remember hugging (Paul) and I’d was cry-
Billy Cabiness measures out a gas grill for a recent customer as Gabe FooksMichnya, a former Mainland boys basketball standout, assists. Glory Days photos/ Dave O’Sullivan
ing, saying, ‘I’m too old for this!’ I don’t want to do this again,” Alison said. “(This was their second fire in 20 years) so we got through that and we were like, OK, now we’re on cruise control, everything is new in the store, this is great. But then corona hit, and it’s been insane. Some days I have to remind myself how fortunate we are to be able to remain open when so many of our friends and customers are forced to shut their doors. We have brought our kids in to help, we’ve tried to do everything possible to insure a safe environment and adapting to changes every day.”
Supply and demand
What many people might not realize about the retail business is there are so many moving parts, starting with manufacturing and continuing down through the supply chain. Disinfecting wipes and Lysol sprays have been nonexistent in grocery stores since March because the manufacturers couldn’t have anticipated needing that much supply, and it may not be until early 2021 when they can finally catch up with that. The same has been true for the hard-
ware industry. Giunta said he has seen incredible increase in the demand for items that normally would sell at a much more pedestrian rate, such as paint, wheel barrows, lawn and garden items, etc. “Everybody has been stuck at home. They could not go out, there were no restaurants to go to, no clothing stores open. This is it. We saw an incredible increase in paint sales — anything lawn and garden. Many people have returned to gardening and growing their own. We did not see that coming. Our soil vendor, Scotts/Miracle Grow, couldn’t forecast a 40 percent increase, so the wholesalers are out of everything, the distributors are out of everything — right down the supply chain, they’re going through everything that we are. It’s the entire industry. When you go into a store and see an aisle that is completely empty, it starts at manufacturing. They cannot produce it fast enough, and that trickles down to distribution. We’re starting to see a recovery, but I’m thinking it will be January before they are back to full speed in all facets of distribution, whether it’s the grocery supply
chain or hardware stores,” Giunta said. “We’ve been out of stock on items we are never out of because of the supply chain interruptions. We took two afternoons and closed the store to just to get merchandise out on the shelf and clean and sanitize the store. “Every day we have a cleaning protocol where the staff goes around and cleans all the high-touch areas. They are doing that three times a day. The challenges are so many to list.” And with so much free time, suddenly everybody wants a fire pit in their back yard. “One of the things that started selling immediately after the lockdown were firepits. Everybody wanted to have a fire pit,” Giunta said. “These are items that are typically imported once a year and when they are gone you don’t see them again until the next year.” Face masks have also been in high demand, and back in March, when everyone was scrambling to find them, Shore Hardware was one of the few places in Atlantic or Cape May counties that had a steady supply.
See Hardware, page 19
June 22, 2020 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 19 Shore Hardware associate Frank Piech climbs up a ladder during a recent busy afternoon to restock shelves at the Somers Point store.
Hardware, from page 18 “One of the things that helped us initially was we were one of the only stores to have any type of mask,” Alison said. “The first few days after the shut down, I was answering the phone and people were asking for masks, sanitizers, wipes. My reply was no I am sorry we do not,” Giunta said. “That is not like me to continually say no. If somebody calls me two times for a product that we do not stock, I go and find it. So I sat here one night thinking there has to be somebody. I called a friend of mine in Philly who owns an ACE Hardware store, and he said, ‘drive up, I have all the masks you need.’ He kept me well stocked in the initial days of the pandemic. “I think people are still going to be required to wear a mask, at least until the end of the year and maybe until a vaccine comes along. You are still going to see social distancing — all that stuff will still be in effect, at least through Christmas. They are talking about a second wave, but people want to get out and do things.” The ebb and flow to supply and demand, which is normally fairly predictable year after year, is anything but these days, and that has forced Giunta and Alison to be much more focused on planning ahead and trying to anticipate what items will be needed, and when. It’s not a typical year when they can say, OK, we sold this many gas grills last summer, so if we stock a similar number this year we should be fine. The status quo is not enough anymore, and they have to make sure they are stocked with the products people want, or their customers will go somewhere else. “What I’m doing right now is I’m looking at mosquito repellents. We have order in larger quantities now because our supplier will be out of stock. Then we hope that our train of thought is correct. Umbrellas, chairs, fans, all that stuff,” Alison said. “When I finally have a chance to talk to friends, they have no idea that I’m basically having a panic attack every day. “We added curbside pickup, for people who did not want to enter the store. We didn’t realize the magnitude of the challenge to our staff,” she adds. “People call in, they want to chat, the staff member has to take time to write up the order, then they have to go shop for that order, then ring it up, and deliver it to the customer upon arrival. We were attempting to please everyone and we were already understaffed. Eventually people would see the line (at the door) so they would call in from the parking lot. It became too much so we adjusted. We still offer curbside pickup however, now when you place a curbside order you can pick it up the next day. It got to that point because we were getting overwhelmed and could not serve the customer who was in the store adequately.” “We feel good now about (being prepared), but tomorrow it could change. And it has,” Giunta added.
“I come into work some days and I am like, ‘today is going to be awesome. I have the staff in the right places, I have product in the store.’ And then something goes haywire or a rule changes.”
Reinforcements
With so much chaos happening on a near-daily basis, Giunta recruited his son, Vincent, and Dannehower’s daughter, Riley. Vincent had several of his former Mainland Regional boy’s lacrosse teammates ask for work as well. “We wasted no time putting them to work,” Giunta said. “They learned on the fly and in less than a week were doing a great job. I provide extraordinarily little training due to the volume of business we were experiencing but they all jumped right in.” These young men are all in college now and were forced to head home to finish out their spring semesters, so Giunta has put them to work to help during a time when he is short-staffed. “I brought in the Mainland (2018) CAL champions and they’ve been outstanding. My son Vincent, Pat Taylor, Hunter Faunce and Dillon Dill. They have been building grills and wheelbarrows, doing deliveries, loading soil and mulch into cars, filling propane. These kids are phenomenal. We got lucky because they got sent home from college, and now they have an opportunity to make a few bucks. They have been a saving grace to me,” Giunta said. “I have told all these kids that this is such an impressive thing to have on your resume. You worked at an essential business during Covid-19. First-hand experience, they were running-and-gunning and hustling. It’s a resume builder for them.” Giunta said he’s also relied on his managers to lead the way on a daily basis, and they answered the call. “We’re averaging more than 600 transactions per day, and, thankfully, nobody has tested positive for Covid. I have had a few staff members who have gotten sick, but it’s just been a normal cold of flu symptoms. We had to follow protocol so if they were sick, they stayed home for 2 weeks, regardless of the ill-
ness. My managers have done a great job implementing everything in the store. They ran with it, and that really helped,” he said.
Planning ahead
These days, Giunta and his team are working furiously to prepare for the summer months, and whatever might come their way this fall. They also must be hyper aware of their surroundings inside the store and make sure they are sanitizing as much as possible to ensure the safety of their customers. Giunta also believes this challenging time — coming on the heels of the fire in 2018 — has only strengthened the bond between management and staff at Shore Hardware. “We’re doing what we’ve done for the last 50 years. It is all about the local connection, having the people in place who can help you and not just point you down an aisle. It has always been our staff and our customer service and how we treat people. You are not going to get that at a box store. That is how I see our survival,” Giunta said. “We’ve always called our staff family because we spend more time with them than we do our own families,” he added. “The bond we have created during this has become even stronger. It has evolved to more of a peer relationship than, ‘I’m the boss, you’re the employee.’ They must feed me information so we can make the right decisions. I rely on that information, and for three months it has been solid. I think that bond has really been solidified.” In the retail business, one must be prepared for anything, and for the most part Shore Hardware has been. Giunta knows nothing can be taken for granted in local retail, though. “Our family grew up in this business and typically we can handle what is thrown our way. Whether it’s a hurricane, a blizzard, power outages we got you covered, we are pro’s at that stuff!” he said. “Covid sent us back to the minor leagues, I think we will get drafted soon!” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Page 20 w Glory Days Magazine w June 22, 2020
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT:
MADI HAFETZ, MAINLAND TENNIS/GIRLS BASKETBALL
A case study in perseverance Senior guard Madi Hafetz led the Cape-Atlantic League in 3-point percentage this year and was third in made threes, and during her career helped lead Mainland to 92 victories in four seasons. Glory Days photo/ Dave O’Sullivan
Hafetz spent two years working her way into a starting position and battled nagging injuries, but in the end helped lead Mainland to league and state titles during her career By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer adi Hafetz was barely five feet tall when she entered Mainland Regional High School four years ago. She’s still barely five feet tall. But the little girl with the big heart never let her height become a disadvantage on the basketball court, and during an exemplary career on the hardwood she helped lead the Mustangs to a Cape-Atlantic League title and an overall Group 3 state championship — the first one in program history — as well as dozens of other big wins. Hafetz is a case study in perseverance. She did her time on the junior
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varsity, getting spot minutes on varsity as a freshman and sophomore as part of the mop-up crew when the Mustangs had a big lead in the fourth quarter. She battled through nagging injuries throughout her career. She worked hard every offseason to improve components of her game, and in her final two seasons became a starter and one of the better defensive guards in the CAL, not to mention a deadly outside shooter to compliment the daunting inside presence of superstar Kylee Watson. Mainland never would have been near a state championship in 2019 without a player like Watson, who played for the United States U16 national team after
her freshman year and will be continuing her career at the University of Oregon this fall. But it’s also true that the Stangs probably wouldn’t have won that title with Watson alone. Players such as Hafetz, Claudia Mairone, Jillian Gatley, Kaitlyn Boggs, Taylor Dalzell, Lauren Toner and Camryn Dirkes all played huge roles during a season in which Mainland went 28-4, including just two losses in the regular season. Mustangs coach Scott Betson admits Hafetz was none too thrilled about being a bench player her first two seasons, but he kept telling her that if she stuck with it she would make a big impact on the program.
“Her whole career arch was pretty cool. It’s what you’re looking for in a high school athlete. Early on she hoped to play a little more her freshman and sophomores years and we had conversations where I told her to just keep plugging away, it’s going to come. And that’s what happened. She was really important for us the last two years and you really couldn’t build a kid who was better suited to play around Kylee than her. With all the attention Kylee draws, she just had to find Madi and she would knock down shots more often than
See Hafetz, page 21
June 22, 2020 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 Hafetz, from page 21 not,” Betson said. “She plugged away at it, and in all honesty, part of the conversation I had with her was it wasn’t so much how good she was as a player, it was just some of the older players we had in the program. Madi would have been a four-year starter on a lot of teams, she just happened to walk into a program that was loaded with a bunch of really good juniors and seniors her first two years. She had the ability, it was just about her putting in her time and continuing to work at her game.” “My expectations with basketball was I just wanted to play my best. Freshman year I was playing with all these great older girls who were so talented, so that was a little intimidating. But going in I was really excited. I knew some of the coaches beforehand, so I had a positive outlook. Never did I think it was going to go the way it did. (Winning a state championship) was a fun surprise,” said Hafetz, who plans to enroll at the University of Delaware this fall to study business. “I actually remember my freshman year, during the summer workouts, I was so nervous. I had a shot at the top of the key and I didn’t take it. Coach Betson took me out and said, ‘I don’t know what you did in middle school, but here in high school that’s the best shot you’re going to get. I get it, the girl was a lot taller than you and coming at you, but in high school that’s the best shot you’re going to get, so you better learn to take those.’ That memory is stuck in my head, and I’m glad he told me that because I would shoot whenever I had a split second. “Freshman year I got some minutes, I would get into games we were dominating, so I got some experience,” she added. “But sophomore year is when I really started to get some minutes, and junior year was a very special year for me, the coaches and the rest of my teammates, and for the impact we made at the school. It took some time (for me to feel comfortable) but I came around.” As a junior, Hafetz and Mairone were two of the premier outside shooters in the CAL, and with Watson and Boggs in the middle, there’s a reason Mainland was so difficult to beat. This year was a much different story, as Dirkes
Glory Days file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
The last two years, with Hafetz in the lineup, the Mustangs went 4911 and won a sectional and state title. went down with a season-ending injury in December, forcing Hafetz into a much different role as a part-time point guard, part-time shooting guard. She had to add ball-handling duties to her importance as an outside shooter and off-the-ball defender. “My role changed this year. That was such a bummer and I would have loved to have played my senior year with Cam. She has a great future at Mainland. It was something we didn’t expect, but that’s sports. You get thrown a curveball and you just have to adapt,” Hafetz said. “Our team this year, the players and coaches, did our best to have the best season we could, and we proved that whatever you threw our way we could push through the adversity. It wasn’t the ending we all would have liked, but it some ways maybe it was the ending we needed to show that no matter how hard you work, sometimes it’s not enough and you have to keep going harder.” “When Cam went down this year it kind of became a point-guard-by-committee type of thing and everybody had to do a little bit of ball-handling and running the offense,” Betson said. “I thought the biggest thing for Madi was her understanding of situations and the stuff we like to run. She was a presence and a leader, and when things were tough she was the one who would tell everybody we were fine, we just had to gather ourselves.” There was no fairytale ending, as
Mainland failed to defend its state title, losing to the hated Ocean City Red Raiders in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. But Hafetz said she isn’t bitter about the loss, knowing it taught her and her teammates a life lesson. “It was hard in that moment because we were up in that game and we lost it in the second half. It was hard to absorb everything in that moment, but I feel like all the good that basketball brought me outweighed that moment,” she said. “Even losing against Atlantic City at Stockton (in the CAL final), at least we can say we lost to two really great teams that both really deserved those wins. I genuinely feel like all the good I had in four years outweighed the bad.” Part of the good Hafetz talks about is playing alongside Watson, perhaps the greatest high school girls basketball player South Jersey has ever seen. She’s been a star since she was in middle school, receiving NCAA Division I offers before even playing in her first high school game. She was interviewed by media after nearly every game she played, but there were never any ill feelings among teammates or jealousy that Watson was getting all the headlines. Hafetz and Watson are the best of friends and have grown up playing basketball together since they could walk. “(Jealousy) might have been the case if not for two things: if Kylee weren’t
so likeable and if Madi didn’t love Kylee like a sister. Those two were inseparable,” Betson said. “I used to call them ‘the odd couple’ because of how tall Kylee is and having little Madi right next to her. Those two are about as tight as you can get. And Madi knew her game was so well-suited to playing next to Ky. Kylee gets the ball inside and draws a lot of attention, and Madi is going to hurt you if sag off of her. Those are two special kids who really love each other.” “Every gym we walked into it was like, ‘look, there’s Kylee Watson.’ But what a lot of people didn’t know — and something we proved to everyone — was, yes, we had Ky, but the rest of us were so close and our chemistry was so great that it didn’t come down to talent. We all loved the game, and we all loved playing alongside each other. I remember when Taylor was doing all those interviews after games we won (in 2019) she kept saying, ‘I just don’t want to lose. I want to play for everyone else.’ We wanted to play for one another. What took the pressure off was we knew we all had each other’s backs. That season didn’t just rely on talent and skill. That was a decade’s worth of playing with one another that won us that state championship,” Hafetz said. “That ring we got is sitting next to my bed and I’ll have that forever, but what I’ll remember are the little things. Practices, having fun with the coaches — behind the scenes they are so much fun. All the thought and effort they put in to making sure our careers was more than just the wins and losses — we have this tradition before the start of playoffs every year where we go out to dinner as a team. Stuff like that, I credit my coaches and all the teammates I’ve had from freshman year to my last game, they made it worthwhile. I have awesome memories because of them, and I’ll always appreciate them for that. “Every part of my high school athletic career was kind of a surprise with the success and downfalls, but every part of it — the good and the bad — I’ll cherish.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
snapshots Mainland forward Kaitlyn Boggs looks for an outlet pass after grabbing a rebound against rival Ocean City in this year’s South Jersey Group 3 championship game in Linwood. Glory Days photos/ Dave O’Sullivan
Oakcrest boys soccer players react after their dramatic overtime victory against St. Augustine Prep in the 2019 Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game.