Sports

Sports & Recreation

Belleville’s Cristian Matos heads to Taiwan was major worldwide tournament

Photo by Jason Bernstein

Cristian Matos

By Jason Bernstein

jason@theobserver.com

Heather and Rafael Matos first knew that their younger son, Cristian, was a special talent when in a coaches pitch game, the then-7-year-old launched a home run over the left field fence at Belleville Recreation Field, hitting an unsuspecting car some 175 feet away from home plate.

Next week, Cristian will get to show the whole baseball world what his family, friends and his hometown have known for a very long time.

Now 12, Matos is traveling more than 8,000 miles to represent Team USA at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan, scheduled for July 29 to Aug. 7.

Some 18 players from across the country were selected for Team USA July 1, with Matos, a lefty-hitting catcher, being the lone player selected from the Northeast.

“It was unreal. I was so nervous and when I was one of the last to be called, I was shaking,” said Cristian, who has grown to 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds. “Once I got called, it was a huge sigh of relief.”

“It’s definitely been great to be a part of it. You think about Little League and Little League World Series, events like that,” Rafael Matos said. “But playing for Team USA with those letters across your chest is something that’s really phenomenal. We’re so proud of him.”

Prior to the selection, Matos was one of 36 players who participated in the 12U National Team Trials over five days in Cary, North Carolina.

“Being in there with a

See MATOS, Page 10

Hill and her players put on basketball camp for 100+ youngsters

By Jason Bernstein

jason@theobserver.com

If Jody Hill had any concerns about the interest level of girls’ basketball in the Town of Kearny, this past week eased any possible worries the veteran coach could have had. It turns out Hill’s biggest worry was making sure there were enough basketballs and T-shirts to go around.

Hill hosted her annual Kearny Girls’ Basketball Camp at Kearny High School last week, providing instruction to 103 girls aged 5-15. With such a large number, which included roughly 40 sameday registrations, this year’s version was arguably the biggest in the more than 15 years Hill has run the camp.

“I was hesitant to even have the camp last year because of Covid. I think we had 70, maybe 75 kids last year and this year, we had 103,” said Hill, who will be entering her 25th season as Kardinals head coach this winter. “It was just really good to see a gym full of kids. It feels like life’s kinda getting back to normal. I missed being there and it was great to get everyone back into the gym. I even had to order more shirts and balls for everyone.”

For four straight mornings, it was a full gym of girls learning the game under the instruction of Hill, who scored more than 2,000 points during a storied career at Harrison. What makes the camp unique among those in the area — it’s for girls only.

“The goal is just to get the kids who love basketball or want to start the sport,” Hill said. “I had a couple of kids there for the first time, just touching the ball for the first time and wanting to start the sport. The parents are like, ‘Can my daughter sign up if she’s never played before?’ Those are the kids I love the most, let’s introduce them to basketball. I hope they walk away loving the sport.”

In addition to all the campers, this week more than any other showed the level of commitment Hill has within her varsity program. For four consecutive days, her players served as counselors in the morning, then a few hours later, were back in the gym for summer league basketball either in the league Kearny hosts or in the nearby Bayonne league, which features some of North Jersey’s top programs.

In total, the girls played double-headers on Tuesday and Thursday in Kearny and on Wednesday in Bayonne. Even with those games later in the day, many of the players stuck around after camp to put up more shots on the shooting machine for an hour before Hill had to kick them out of the gym so they could get lunch and some rest.

“I told them this was going to be the week where we play the most basketball that we’ve ever played,” Hill said, noting she has at least 12 girls for every summer league game. “And I wanted everybody to do everything in their power to show up and commit to this week because this is