South Jersey Glory Days February 23

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There are certain numbers in sports that are somehow magical. Getting to 3,000 hits in Major League Baseball. Scoring 100 points in a basketball game. Numbers that somehow seem larger than life. This winter, St. Augustine Prep baseball coach Paul Rodio reached 1,000 career wins, and he was just the second high school boys basketball coach in New Jersey to accumulate that many victories. Heck, he’s one of less than 25 boys coaches nationally to reach that number. He’s been coaching at the school in Richland since the 1970s and his legacy already is stamped in concrete (or etched in ink, if you will, as the court at Prep bears his name). But it still leaves a sports fan a little breathless to think about the things he’s still achieving, and will continue to, as he said he has no plans to stop now. Check out Page 10 of this digital edition to see what reaching the 1,000-win milestone means to coach Rodio, and what some other people are saying about him.

SOUTH JERSEY

GLORY DAYS

General contact information:

Phone: 856-336-2600

Publisher Dave O’Sullivan: Email: sullyglorydays@gmail.com

On Twitter @GDsullysays

@glorydaysmag on Instagram

Contributors: Mark Trible, Senior Football Writer

(@MTrible on Twitter)

Larry Henry Jr., Correspondent (@Lhenry019 on Twitter)

Ben Hale, Social Media & Web Development

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2/FEBRUARY 2023

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HEADLINES

PRESENTED BY BUNTING FAMILY PHARMACY RUTGERS/ CAL CONNECTION

When the Scarlet Knights began their 2023 baseball season there were three former Cape-Atlantic League stars in the starting lineup. Joining returners Jordan Sweeney (Egg Harbor Township) and Tony Santa Maria (Atlantic Tech) was freshman outfielder Trevor Cohen (Holy Spirit). He made quite a first impression, going 8-for-11 in a season-opening series against Campbell (N.C.). Cohen got a chance to go up against another former Holy Spirit star, Matt Rivera, on Saturday when Rutgers took on Ball State at the Swig & Swine Classic at Shipyard Park in Charleston, S.C.

MAKING HISTORY

Our Lady of Mercy Academy hasn’t been known in the past as a swimming juggernaut, but this year the Villagers have made some history as they won the Non-Public B state championship for the first time ever. They got a bye into the semifinals, where they took down St. Rose, 121-49, then, in the championship round, OLMA cruised past Newark Academy, 106-64.

Also making some history for her school was Cedar Creek wrestler Riley Lerner, who became the first Pirates wrestler, male or female, to win a region championship. In addition, for the first time ever, the St. Augustine Prep wrestling team captured five region titles. Kaden Naame won at 113 pounds, Richie Grungo at 144, Brady Conlin at 150, Dennis Virelli at 157 and Jake Slotnick at 165 pounds.

Chris Sacco / Hammonton High MEET YOUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Back where he belongs

Hammonton 2003 grad Chris Sacco returns to his alma mater as the Blue Devils’ new AD

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer

Chris Sacco is about as Hammonton as blueberry pie. The 37-year-old was born and bred in the quaint town on the western edge of Atlantic County, and his was the first graduating class in the new Hammonton High School on Old Forks Road.

He’s been a lifer in town and now — professionally — he’s come back home to stay as the new athletic director of Hammonton High. He takes over for Marni Parks, who left last summer to take the AD job at Wall Township High School in Monmouth County. It’s a dream job for Sacco, who for the past several years has been a counselor and head football coach, first at Pleasantville High and most recently at Absegami.

In fact, Sacco said he had no plans to leave Absegami, but an opportunity to run the athletic department at his alma mater and hometown school was simply too good to pass up.

“This kind of happened last minute. We were rolling at Absegami with our offseason (football) program, and it was the first time since I had been there that we had a full offseason due to the covid restrictions. So, we were feeling really good about the progression of the football program and where it was going, but then this opportunity came up,” Sacco said. “This is where I grew up, we’re part of the community here, so I figured why not interview and see what happens? And it ended up working out. But it was hard; it was a tough decision to leave Absegami because we were in the middle of building something, but I always said that if this job ever came open I would have to at least try for it because (athletic director) positions don’t come open very often. Sometimes it might be 15 or 20 years before a job comes open.

“I went back to get my supervisor certificate for this position,” he added. “I could have been a counseling supervisor, but this was the role — because of being so involved with sports throughout my life — I feel like with my background and knowledge, and my relationships with people, that we can continue to grow these programs. This is the job that I wanted, I just never knew when it was going to be available.”

Sacco grew up playing all kinds of sports in Hammonton, including football, and remembers fondly how he and his high school teammates helped the coaches move all the equipment from the old building to the new high school back in the early 2000s. He said he believes his ties to the town will play a big role in his success as the new AD for the high school.

“Even when I was coaching in other areas, like Pleasantville and Absegami, I’ve always lived in Hammon-

ton. I’ve been a part of this community for 37 years. It means a lot to me, personally. Anytime you have an emotional interest in your job beyond just going to work, it carries a lot more weight. I’ve always been very adamant that Hammonton always has very good athletics, there are great facilities here at the high school and I think the town has done a great job trying to upgrade facilities for the feeder programs. I think this community has a lot to offer, and being a part of it the past three decades, it’s important for me to do whatever I can to try to grow these high school programs,” he said. “I used to work on the farm. I’d go to (football) weightlifting sessions then go back to work on the farm. It’s defi-

See SACCO, Page 7

South Jersey Impact photos/Sully

Chris Sacco, former head football coach at Pleasantville and Absegami high schools, took over in 2022 as the new athletic director at his alma mater, Hammonton High.

nitely a blue-collar town and I think the athletes have always taken that approach that they are going to come in and work hard. We’re not always the biggest, strongest or fastest, but there is something that these programs have on the inside that is hard to replicate. These kids grow up together and stay together, which I think is a huge benefit when you get to high school. You care more about your teammates and you play harder for them. You see that on the field, and the programs here have been very good.”

Sacco took over during the second week of August, so it was a full sprint to try to get caught up to speed on everything an athletic director needs to handle throughout the school year. But the good thing is he’s not trying to build something from the ground up. The Blue Devils have some outstanding sports programs and are competitive in every sport, and the facilities are some of the nicest in South Jersey. The school just installed an artificial turf field right behind the gym to be used

by the field hockey and soccer teams, and there is all kinds of land behind the school for sub-varsity fields in sports such as soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball.

“I don’t necessarily have to build anything from the ground up, there are a lot of people who have been here and know what’s going on,” Sacco said. “There are a lot of people who have been helping to run this ship for a while and my goal is to just continue to steer it in the right direction and see how else we can promote our student-athletes. We want to get more exposure to our athletes, and I really want to see all of our programs compete at a high level.”

He does have some big shoes to fill, however. Parks did an outstanding job with the athletic program, and she followed up Mike Gatley, who now is the athletic director at Mainland Regional High in Linwood and formerly was the president of the Cape-Atlantic League.

“Marni did a very good job, and prior to her was Mike Gatley, so the foundation has been laid,” he said. “What I went over during the interview process was, from an organizational standpoint, the desire to continue to build up the feeder programs and have our high

school athletes do more with them; we want to look at any sports we might want to add that we don’t have that maybe other schools have. And what kinds of things we can do to get out in front and make sure our student-athletes have everything they need to be successful. That was part of the conversation. What can we do to continually enhance this athletic department? We want to bring the technology aspect of things up to date, and there are a lot of ways we can promote our student-athletes so we want to start hitting on all of those.”

Sacco said it was a difficult decision to leave Absegami, but that his family — including his three young children — is happy he’s going to be home more often and only works five minutes from home now.

“It was hard, but we’ve had things personally the past couple of years that have transpired that change your thought process a little bit,” he said. “I know this move going forward is the best, and I can always get back into coaching (at the youth level). Football, in some aspects, will always be there, and these kinds of jobs aren’t always available, so you have to make

a choice. It was bittersweet because my wife knows how much I love football, but it’s not about me anymore. We have little kids and it’s nice to be closer to them. My wife is a speech therapist in the Hammonton School District, so we’re both happy.”

This is Sacco’s first full year as an athletic director, and it may take some time before he can fully tear himself away from the football field. As a coach for so many years, he still has that yearning to get on the field, whistle in hand.

“I stopped out at practice the other day for a few minutes, and it’s different now being on the other side of things,” Sacco said this past fall. “That coach is always going to be in me. I know on Friday nights I’m going to be excited for them, but it’s going to be different for me. In my mind, I’ll probably be going crazy. But our coaches know what they are doing so I’m not going to be the kind of guy who interferes. I was never a micro-manager as a football coach and I’m not going to be that guy now.”

Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

Sacco had a very successful career as a high school counselor and football coach at Pleasantville and then Absegami before taking on the role of athletic director at Hammonton.

A different role

An ACL injury wiped out Amelia Zinckgraf’s senior basketball and lacrosse seasons at EHT, but she’s still managed to make her mark

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer

Amelia Zinckgraf has been playing basketball ever since she could walk, but entering Egg Harbor Township’s “Senior Night” on Jan. 27 she had never been so nervous about converting an uncontested layup.

That’s because all eyes were on her the moment the referee tossed the ball into the air for the tipoff against Atlantic County Institute of Technology. EHT coach Adam Swift and Atlantic Tech coach Jackie Siscone agreed to allow Zinckgraf to stand under the basket and score the first two points of the game for the Eagles. Those were the last two points Zinckgraf will score in her storied Eagles career.

Back in August, at a recruiting showcase tournament in Pennsylvania, Zinckgraf was making a move to the basket and felt her right knee give out. Torn ACL and meniscus. Her senior season in two sports, basketball and lacrosse, wiped out in an instant. Her high school athletic career was over before she even sat down for her senior cap-and-gown picture.

“It was just a simple move, I just pivoted. I felt it, I heard it. I knew. I tried to act like it wasn’t (an ACL blowout). I tried to go back out there, but I knew what it was. Nobody can prepare you for what goes on mentally. I’ve been around basketball since second grade, so to have that taken out of my life — it’s been rough. I try to stay in it, and being on the bench helps. Today was a good day. I had a good week looking forward to this, but, mentally, it’s been draining,” Zinckgraf said after the Eagles beat the RedHawks, 51-35. “I still haven’t accepted it. I still feel like I’m going to have another year (of high school basketball). I’ve decided to go to Cabrini College next year to play basketball and I think that makes it a little more settled in my mind; I won’t be back playing for EHT this year but I still have four more years to play basketball. I wasn’t decided on playing in college until this injury.”

Swift said he beefed up the Eagles’ schedule this year expecting to have Zinckgraf as his go-to forward along with guards such as Lyla Brown and Ava Kraybill. With fellow forwards Lindsay Dodd and Averie Harding, EHT looked to have a pretty strong starting five. But the absence of Zinckgraf and everything she can do on both ends of the floor has made an impact.

Egg Harbor Township finished 14-13, and 8-4 in the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference. Things could have been a lot different had Zinckgraf been in the lineup all year, Swift said.

“That was devastating news,” Swift said of the moment he got the call about Zinckgraf’s ACL tear.

“She’s a great kid, a four-year varsity starter. She did so much, not only as a player but also as a team leader. Her effort — she was a great defender — so, yeah, that was devastating for us. Obviously it was more devastating for her, and what do you say to a

Forward Amelia Zinckgraf is missing her entire senior basketball and lacrosse seasons at Egg Harbor Township High because of an ACL injury suffered last summer, but on Senior Night she got a chance to score the final basket of her career. See

kid who is going through something like that when she’s worked so hard and so long for this year? But she’s been great. She’s been around the girls and has been that leader on the bench, that extra voice.”

Zinckgraf finishes her career with 423 points, 275 rebounds, 75 assists and 105 steals in 64 games played, but her impact goes well beyond the stat sheet. The year before Zinckgraf arrived on campus, the Eagles went 11-14 and were blown out by Lenape in the opening round of the state playoffs. The next year EHT went 14-11, during the covid year the Eagles were 8-6, and last year they went 14-10, made it to the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament and nearly knocked off Toms River East in the opening round

South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully

of states.

Zinckgraf said she had some trouble adjusting to the fact that she had a much different role with the team this year — somewhere between cheerleader and assistant coach — and there were times when she’s felt depressed about her situation and the long road to recovery, which typically takes about a year for most high school athletes.

“At the beginning of the year I didn’t want to be on the bench. It didn’t feel right being here, watching my team and not being able to help them. But I think I’m starting to get into my role as a leader in a different way. You get a different perspective on the game (from the bench). It’s different, but it’s good,” she said. “Mentally, it’s tough to stay in it, but you have to find the people who can keep you going. I’m not an emotional person, but the last couple of months have been very emotional. And I’m not good at sharing my emotions, I don’t like to talk about it. So it’s been challenging, talking to people about it, letting people know I was upset. But I think I’ve become okay with being upset and understanding that it is okay to feel that. It does get better.”

Swift said she’s been doing a great job of handling the situation, and that he and his coaching staff loved having her as sort of an impromptu intern on the bench. She acted as kind of a liaison between coaches and players, he said.

“For the most part, she has managed it pretty well, and that’s a credit to her that she’s been able to fight through that. There are times when she’s down about it, but to say anybody else deserves the credit for her positive attitude would be a disservice to her. She’s been really good with how she’s handled a really tough situation,” Swift said. “She knows what our expectations are as a staff, and it’s nice for the girls to have somebody like that on the bench. You can only hear from your coaches so many times, so she can get the other girls to follow up on what we’re saying or give a different perspective as to why we’re saying it. And that’s been really valuable.

“She’s been a vocal leader and a peer

that the girls can lean on when they are struggling, somebody they can relate to if they have a bad shooting game or if they get into foul trouble. You can only hear from your coaches so much, so it’s nice to have somebody like her who has been in their shoes. Being that extra voice of reason and that one that the girls can go to and confide in with their frustrations has been great.”

Her teammates have done everything they can to keep her feeling like she’s involved, Dodd said.

“She’s been there supporting us through it all, she’s always there in the locker room, at practice, on the bench during games. She’s been a big help,” Dodd said. “I was in shock (when I heard about the injury). I couldn’t even understand it because I’ve been playing basketball with her since we were little, so it’s been weird not having her out on the court. It’s hard to understand (what she’s going through). I’m trying to, but you can’t unless you’ve gone

through it. We’ve done a lot of hangouts outside of basketball, we’ve hung out at her house, we go to a lot of the boys basketball games together.”

Going through a high school career-ending injury and the subsequent rehab process (Zinckgraf is doing three-times-per-week physical therapy and can start running again probably in March, she said) has given Zinckgraf a new appreciation for how short an athletic career actually is.

“I used to think it was cliché, but genuinely you should never take anything for granted. I went to a recruiting camp thinking this was a school I wasn’t really interested in but it was an opportunity. Looking back, I should have really taken advantage of every opportunity. Morning, noon and night, if you can get into the gym, get into the gym. If you can go for a run, go for a run. It’s the little things that get taken from you,” she said. “My role is different now, but I still feel like I’ve been part

of something here (at EHT). Referees will come up and ask me what’s going on and why I’m not playing. So I feel like I have made some impact, whether it be as a player or a teammate.”

Swift said he’s excited that one of the top players of his four-year tenure as Eagles coach will get a chance to play at the college level, and not have an uncontested layup on a gimpy leg be the final chapter in her athletic career.

“We’re excited that she’s going to have that opportunity (at Cabrini College) because she has a ton of potential,” he said. “For three years she was a great player for us, and there’s no doubt in her fourth year she would have been that, too. So we’re very excited that opportunity is going to be there for her.”

Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully

Zinckgraf has been an invaluable part of EHT’s coaching staff this year, in a way, serving as sort of a liason between the coaches and players, head coach Adam Swift said.

VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY

A lighthouse for the CAL

Paul Rodio, owner of more than 1,000 wins, has been the Cape-Atlantic League’s standard bearer for nearly five decades

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer

The shots that critics may take at St. Augustine Prep basketball coach Paul Rodio are easy. Of course it’s easy for the Hermits to win so many games each year, they get all the best talent from multiple counties.

The shots that opposing players try to take against St. Augustine Prep? Not so easy.

Yes, the Hermits attract all-star caliber players from around the area each year, but you don’t reach 1,000 career high school victories with just talent alone. And it wasn’t always that way. Back in the late 1970s, St. Augustine Prep was just a remote little school buried in the woods in western Atlantic County. It wasn’t the basketball juggernaut you see today.

Back in early January, coach Rodio — who has his named inscribed on the court at St. Augustine Prep because he’s been coaching, and winning, there for more than 46 years — reached the near-mythical 1,000 career wins plateau, becoming just the second coach in state history to reach that famed number behind the legendary Bobby Hurley Sr.

And Rodio did it in ultimate Rodio fashion. Visiting Ocean City — coached by John Bruno, owner of 450plus varsity wins — threw everything it had at the Hermits when they played in Richland on Jan. 11. The Red Raiders kept coming back, getting defensive stops, making steals, making big shots. And still they lost by nine points.

The Hermits simply did what they do best: handled the pressure, stayed calm and hit their free throws down

the stretch. That’s been a hallmark of Rodio-coached teams throughout his nearly five-decade tenure: play smart, play under control, exploit the other team’s weakness, get a lead and make them chase you.

“What I’ve learned from him over the years is he really knows his team well. He knows what buttons to push and seems to know what changes to make,” Bruno said. “And his charismatic attitude really rubs off on his kids and makes them want to play for him. That’s what you have to get, more than anything else. Not just have kids play, but get them to play for you — and that’s what he does so well. His ability to communicate with his kids is something you can clearly see. He does a great job at working kids into the right spots for what they can give to the team.

“You very rarely see them have down moments,” continued Bruno, “where as most of the high school teams, a two-minute lapse is an eight-point swing. That’s what we’ve encountered when we played them this year. He just exudes confidence. His players have confidence in him and they never really seem to get flustered. That’s what makes them so hard to beat — they are always so in control, and that’s a reflection on him and what he stressed to them. That’s how they play.”

Thinking about that number — 1,000 wins — almost makes your head hurt. Most high school teams play about 25 games per season. Even if you won 20 games every year, and did that for FORTY years, you’d still be 200 wins shy of a grand.

“It’s kind of really unconscionable

when you think about it. Not many people have a really good perspective on it. I’ve won more than 450 games but have also lost more than 300. I’ve COACHED less than 1,000 games, and I’ve been doing it for 34 years. For me to grasp winning 1,000 games — it’s one of those numbers you never thought anybody would do it, and that’s why only two people have done it,” Bruno said. “The biggest thing is the longevity. I know everybody says he has good teams, but when you’re coaching every day for 40 years, it’s not as easy as people think, regardless of the quality of the team you have. So, I give him so much credit for wanting to get the gym every day for all those

years. And winning doesn’t always make things easy. I’m sure he’s had his share of tough losses and situations he’s had to deal with, but to do it for 40-plus years, he’s coached longer than some of the coaches in South Jersey have been alive. And in this day and age, with so much going on, longevity is a lost word.”

“What goes through my mind the most is that I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do this as long as I’ve been able to do it. One of the reasons why it’s going to be difficult for somebody

to break that record is because it’s going to be very difficult for somebody to be coaching for 40 or 50 years. Not many people stay in in that long anymore. If you win 20 games a year for 40 years, you’re still 200 wins away. I don’t know if it’s the wins that are more impressive, or how long I’ve done it,” Rodio said. “When I first started, in the late 1970s, it was a whole different view. The best way I can say it is, when I got a call from a parent in the 70s they would say, ‘who’s he hanging around with at lunch? Is he around the right kids? Is he moving in the right direction? Is there anything I can do to help him?’ If I get a call from a parent today it’s ‘why isn’t he getting more shots? He’s better on the right side than the left side.’ That’s one big difference. AAU has changed the game drastically.”

“I joke around all the time, Paul Rodio is a unicorn,” said Prep Athletic Director Mike Rizzo. “There aren’t many

people doing anything for 46 years, especially in education. I hope he stays around a lot longer. He’s impacting not only our students, but our adults every day. Young teachers learn from him every day. And I’ve been learning from him for a long time. He’s impacted thousands of students — not just basketball players.”

Want to know just how much of an impact Rodio has had at St. Augustine Prep? Go on campus and ask anybody

you run into if they know where you can find coach. They won’t ask you if you mean football coach Pete Lancetta. They won’t ask you if you mean baseball coach Mike Bylone. They’ll simply direct you to Rodio’s office.

“He’s THE coach,” Rizzo said. “We have about 75 coaches in 21 sports, but he’s THE coach. Everyone can relate to him. If a kid is struggling, even if it’s in another sport, he’ll make sure he goes and sees him at lunch and tells him to

keep his head up. When push comes to shove, it doesn’t matter what sport a kid is playing it’s the same types of adversity that they face.”

Rodio has also been a beacon of light shining on the Cape-Atlantic League, which sometimes gets overlooked a little bit when it comes to basketball.

See

“Kids are kids. Down in their core, they are all about the same. The kid today is the same down deep in his heart as the kid in 1975. Society has changed them a little bit and our view of athletics has changed, but down deep the kids are basically the same.”

Paul Rodio

St. Augustine Prep basketball coach

Having Rodio and the Hermits in the league raises the credibility of every other team in the league. Getting a chance to play the Hermits makes teams like Ocean City, Mainland, Atlantic City, Millville, Middle Township and others better, even if they lose.

“He’s the lighthouse to this league. I always want our league to do well and when the state playoffs come there’s never been a time when I don’t want a Cape-Atlantic League team to win. He’s perennially been that coach who can keep hope alive (for the league). When you compete against him, that sends a message to us,” Bruno said. “Prep is probably going to go pretty deep in the playoffs, and we were able to stay with them. They become the measuring stick. Everyone wants to beat them, that’s for sure, but when you don’t they become that measuring stick to where you are (as a program). Like with us, winning that game earlier this year would have been tremendous, but losing it was a positive because it gave us confidence.

“I just think he’s great for the league. He gives us an identity. For years when Gene Allen was at Atlantic City, he was one of those lighthouses, too. He put the Cape-Atlantic League on the map. Paul has done that with St. Augustine Prep. People notice the CAL because he’s in it.”

Rodio said the biggest thing that has made him so successful for nearly a half century has been his ability to adapt, not only to the particular players he has on his team in a given year, but to society and the times he’s living in, the expectations of fans and parents, and how to relate to a generation whose parents were still babies when Rodio was getting started.

“You better be able to adapt to change,” Rodio said. “The difference between high school and college is, If I want to run a fast break, I can’t just go get four or five quick kids, I have to hope I have them. If I don’t have that, I have to adapt to what I have. If you’re not able to adapt to the talent you won’t be successful. I’ve been lucky in my career, I’ve had big teams, I’ve had small teams, I’ve had quick teams — and one of the points of our success is we’ve been able to change our team to whatever our strength is.”

Still, much hasn’t changed. The game still requires kids to put a round ball into a round hoop, and the discipline and desire it takes to be consistently good at that as a unit really hasn’t changed. The philosophies are tried and true and continue to be applied to today’s players.

“The players are more skilled and much quicker than when I started coaching. You have kids today who are ready for college right from the beginning of their high school careers,” Rodio said. “But kids are kids. Down in their core, they are all about the same. The kid today is the same down deep in his heart as the kid in 1975. Society has changed them a little bit

and our view of athletics has changed, but down deep the kids are basically the same.”

Rodio suffered a major health scare last year and nearly didn’t make it out alive, but he’s feeling great now and who knows, maybe another 100 or 200 wins could be achievable. He said he’s not planning on retiring anytime soon. And that’s good news to some of the veteran coaches in the league, like Bruno, Dan Williams at Mainland and Cameron Bell at Egg Harbor Township. They value Rodio’s friendship as much as they respect him as a competitor. They don’t want to see him ride off into the sunset.

“What I’ve always enjoyed is that we’ve known each other for such a long time that we talk about friendship. We talk about what our kids our doing, and the game becomes secondary,” Bruno explained.

“It’s kind of like that friend you grew up with in high school, you may not see them all the time, but when you do see them it’s like you just saw them yesterday. We really stress the camaraderie and basketball

becomes secondary, especially with what he went through last year. What I wish other coaches would do is develop that kind of friendship first and have the basketball competition be second. But with so many coaching changes the last 10 years, it’s hard to develop that.”

Whenever Rodio does step away from the bench, he doesn’t care how many wins go up on a banner on the wall. What he cares about most is people, and having a positive impact on them every day.

“I hope I’ll be remembered for having helped a lot of kids, both on and off the court,” he said. “That’s why I got into education. I’m influencing kids every day, and when I hope that when it’s all said and done that I’ve influenced enough.”

South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully

Coach Rodio is greeted by members of St. Augustine Prep’s student cheering section, The Richland Rowdies, after picking up career win No. 1,000.

SWIMMING

Family bond

Competitive swimming has been a Canale tradition for two decades

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer

On the morning of Dec. 10, 2022, Gianna and Kendra Canale took a ride to a swim meet, like they had thousands of times growing up. This time was a little different, though, because once the sisters got to the Hess School in Mays Landing, they split off and went to opposite sides of the pool.

For the first time in their lives, the pair were opponents and not teammates or sisters. Kendra, 16 years old, is an outstanding junior at Cedar Creek while older sister Gianna, 22, is a 2022 graduate of Juniata College and is spending this winter as a volunteer assistant coach with the Absegami swimming program.

“It was a lot of fun coming into (that meet). It was great to see her swim,” said Gianna, who was a star swimmer herself at Cedar Creek before graduating in 2018 and going on to swim and play soccer at Juniata. “I know I was nervous and I’m sure she was, too. I was nervous about coaching at first, but the kids are great and the other coaches have been awesome. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know everyone. It was a little bit weird at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

Swimming has been a big family bond for the Canale sisters and their parents for more than two decades now. It all started because parents Sue and Mark wanted their three daughters — Gianna, Marlee, who is 19 and a swimmer at the University of Maine, and Kendra — to learn how to swim. Sue and Mark are both avid outdoors people and wanted to be able to enjoy

things like swimming and kayaking without fear that they were putting their kids in danger.

“We just didn’t want them to drown; that’s how this all started,” Sue said.

Little did they know back then that swimming would soon consume their lives all year long.

“We’re around water all the time so we wanted them to be safe and enjoy their time around the water rather than be clinging to us. Plus, it was something I could do to bond with them was to take them to swimming lessons,” Mark said. “Originally, we weren’t interested in competitive swimming, but Gianna got into her first meet and ever since then it just grew. The other two expected to be able to do it, too. Through Gianna’s love and desire for the sport it grew in them, and they took it one step further. It’s been a great ride. It’s also been great for us to learn about swimming because we weren’t swimmers growing up. So it’s also been a learning experience for us.”

Added Gianna, “it just started as swimming lessons then grew into competitive swimming, and we’re all still involved with it. Marlee is at the University of Maine and Kendra is at Cedar Creek still. It started with Marlee and I just so we knew how to swim, but then we got roped into competitive swimming. It’s been fun.”

Kendra said it’s been great having two older sisters who are competitive swimmers. She strives to be as good as them, but also she has a couple of confidants outside the pool if something is going on in her life.

“It really gives me something to reach for. I don’t really like being in

the shadows, so it makes me think, ‘this is where I could be,’ and I try to be just like them,” Kendra said. “They’ve always been there for me and have been great mentors. If I had a problem in the pool, or outside of it, they’ve always been there and have understood. They’ve definitely helped me become the best person I can be. It was a little crazy growing up, and with all the swimming we did we made our parents run around a lot, but they love knowing that we get joy out of it.”

“I love it. I love how supportive they are of one another. This whole meet (back on Dec. 10) I was texting Marlee to tell her what Kendra did. As a parent, that’s what you want to see — them supporting each other no matter what. We’re really lucky to have kids who really enjoy each other’s company and will support each other no matter where they are, through everything,” Sue said. “Swimming is such a mental sport and they are always there to lift each other up. As a parent, you really can’t ask for anything more.”

“They each have certain personal-

ity traits that stand out, as it is with any siblings,” Mark added. “But it’s a neat combination and a great support system. They are able to support each other through tough times and good times.”

Gianna graduated with a degree in wildlife conservation and she’s still searching for her calling in the professional field, so while she figures out what kind of career path she’s going to take she said she loves still being involved with swimming.

“I’ve always thought, even when she played soccer, that she had that type of personality and she’d be great as a coach. There’s just something about her personality. She’s the first born, so you can kind of see that. She loves this sport so much and when this opportunity came up she jumped on it,” said Sue.

“I can’t stay away from the pool,” Gianna said. “I’m always nervous

See BOND, Page 15

South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully

Kendra Canale is a junior at Cedar Creek High and earlier this season she got a chance to swim against older sister Gianna, who is a volunteer assistant coach at rival Absegami.

when Kendra or Marlee have meets. I love watching and I couldn’t stay away. I want to get back in the water and swim. When the meets began this year, I was like, ‘man, I really want to be back racing again!’ It’s just a different perspective trying to take what I’ve been taught and what I’ve learned to try to help these younger kids. That’s been a big part of the fun — this was something that I enjoyed doing, so how can I make it fun for these kids?”

“It’s really cool to see her have a chance to continue her love for the sport,” Kendra added. “She’s able to bring her knowledge to that team. (Having sisters who swim) has been very important in my life. It’s made me realize how much I love this sport and how much I want to be like them and make them proud.”

For Absegami coach Jim Winkler, having an assistant with the kind of talent Gianna has is a Godsend. It means at practices he can have her work with the high level swimmers while he gets a chance to give more time to the novice swimmers.

“It’s been great. I’ve managed to build a coaching staff where I can manage and let them do a lot of the coaching. Gianna is somebody is somebody who has such a high level of swimming IQ that I can hand her some of the upper level kids — she swam at a much higher level than I ever did,” he said. “I already have some great coaches for the newer kids, and now I’m able to manage my whole pool. It’s really a dream for a head coach to have young people come out as volunteers, like Gianna. We couldn’t ask for anything better.”

For a program like Absegami, which is trying to build itself up to be competitive with some great Cape-Atlantic League programs like Ocean City, Egg Harbor Township, Mainland and Vineland, having former swimmers in the district — which includes Oakcrest and Cedar Creek — come back to coach can be a stepping stone to greater success.

“It’s good for the whole district. The Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District just got a big referendum passed and the real goal is to get kids to stay in this district and not go elsewhere. Families like them who have a presence in both schools and have relationships can really help us do that,” Winkler explained. “Kendra swims for Cedar Creek and I’m always quick to seek out her dad (who works at Absegami) to praise her. We get to cheer each other on throughout the season. The two coaching staffs work together at professional development seminars and we’re all friendly, so it’s great to see these kinds of families who cross between multiple schools.”

“The most important thing is they have all been a part of this school district, and we support the district. It’s been a great growing experience for all of them,” Mark said. “We’ve been a big part of the swimming program in this district for a while now and it’s really neat. Swimming has been such a big part of our lives.”

Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

“They’ve always been there for me and have been great mentors. If I had a problem in the pool, or outside of it, they’ve always been there and have understood. They’ve definitely helped me become the best person I can be.”

Kendra Canale

Cedar Creek junior (on older sisters Gianna and Marlee)

Tackle any obstacle

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer

There are so many little things that go into building a successful high school football program, and when a team is able to win a state championship there are people behind the scenes who are the reason said team is able to go shopping for rings in the offseason.

Stacey Lucero, 17 years old, and Jecilia Morales, 16, didn’t get a chance to play in varsity playoff games as Woodbury made a historic run to become the first true state champion in New Jersey history this past fall, but everything they did leading up to the Thundering Herd’s 31-7 win over Mountain Lakes in the Group 1 state championship game on

Dec. 3 helped lay the foundation for the best season in school history.

Wait, you’re saying these girls played football? They weren’t part of the band or cheerleading squad?

That’s right, the duo became football players this year — much to the surprise of their teammates and coaches.

“I’ve never had that before (on a team I’ve played on) so it was kind of shocking to see girls who were willing to put in the work. We thought they wouldn’t be out here that long, they’ll leave, they’ll quit. But they are strong. They come out here and work hard every single day,” said head coach Anthony Reagan Sr., who was named the state’s Coach of the Year after leading Woodbury to a 12-2 record and a state

title. “We thought they were team managers at first so we didn’t really know what was going to happen when they came up and said, ‘we’re here to play football.’ We were all like, ‘for real?’ That shocked us for a minute. They’ve put in the work. They can do more push-ups than a lot of boys, they are running routes better than some boys can. They come out here every single day, they never miss a practice. They are committed. This is a very physical sport so we didn’t think they could come out here and hold their own, but they shocked us. That showed us that if they put the work in, you can’t doubt females.

“They made it through the entire summer and they gained the respect of the entire football team,” he added. “At that point, there was no turning back. They earned their stripes by putting in the work. They were dedicated every single day and to me, that was impressive.”

“I got interested in football because of field hockey.

Woodbury’s Stacey Lucero and Jecilia Morales are proving that girls can be just as tough as boys on the gridiron

Junior Stacey Lucero, left, and sophomore Jecilia Morales were part of Woodbury’s state title-winning football team this past fall.

South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully

I’d watch the boys all the time because the fields are right next to each other. I told my field hockey coach that I wanted to play football (this year) and she was like, ‘you’re not playing that.’ But I decided to sign myself up and (coach Reagan) took me in. I don’t think he really believed me at first, but I came out here in summer workouts and just kept doing it,” Lucero, a junior, said. “When I first got hit, it was a really different experience. You have to get right back up because if not people are going to think you are weak. You get bruises out here. Some boys can really hit you, and (they don’t take it easy) because you are a female. They can tell you are a female even though you’re wearing a helmet.”

Morales said playing Powder Puff football sparked her interest, and, like Lucero, she initially thought she might be in a little bit over her head.

“Last year, I got interested in it through the Powder Puff game and I loved running routes and doing all the stuff to get prepared for Powder Puff, so I was like, ‘why not just do the real sport?’ Because I’m not soft. I don’t mind the contact. Getting nicks and bruises doesn’t bother me. I have no problem doing all the work it took to get us where we are,” said Morales, a sophomore. “After the first practice I was so tired and I was like, ‘do I really want to keep doing this?’ But I pushed myself to this point because if I really want something I’m going to keep pushing and grinding for it.”

Lucero and Morales put in the work during summer practice and eventually began getting into some games on the junior varsity level. Their biggest value came as scout team players, running the plays of that week’s opposition to help stars like senior linebacker Derron Moore get prepared.

“In the beginning we were all doing the same with our strength and conditioning program, so that helped them get acclimated to how we do things in the offseason,” Reagan Sr. explained. “Then, we discussed as we headed into the season that we were going to use some time to develop them and not just throw them out onto the field. We want-

ed to continue to teach them football, and we made sure when they got into games they were protected. Derron and Dominic (Abbatelli, senior linebacker) were two guys in particular who made sure they were right next to them in practice to help them build their confidence. They were saying, ‘hey, you’re out here with us, no worries, just go out and play.’ And that helped them a lot.”

Their fiery attitudes and willingness to put in the work and tough it out through pain and discomfort endeared Lucero and Morales to their new teammates in no time at all.

“Morales is a firecracker. And she’s a perfectionist. If she does a drill wrong, she wants to do it again. If she hits the sled the wrong way she wants to hit it again. There is no back-down in her,” Reagan Sr. said. “And Stacey is similar, she works hard every day and continues to get better. We saw that in the summer when we were running through 7-on-7s, she was identifying things. Those two ladies are definitely a major part of our football team.”

“Personally, I feel like they have done so much for us,” said Moore, who is headed to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh next fall on a football scholarship. “They are part of the scout team and they just fit right in with us. I’m blessed to have them on the team.

I love them like my little sisters, and we’ve taken them in as one of us. These girls have really stepped up and it makes us think that if they can do it, why can’t other females do it? I’m proud of them. They are going to keep doing their thing.”

Both girls said they are determined to stick with football next year and continue playing until their high school careers are over. They aren’t the type to back down to any challenge.

“This has helped my confidence a lot. At first there were a lot of people who didn’t agree with me playing football, but I just kept doing it even though I had a lot of people doubting me. I have my team on my side and my coaches. My mom didn’t want me to do this at all, but now she supports me a lot,” said Lucero, who also plays softball. “This is a really great feeling (to win a championship). Not a lot of people get this opportunity and I’m thankful to have it, to be out here with the boys. Of course I’ll be back next year.”

“It’s always something new with football, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s unpredictable, and I like that. With football, everything happens so fast,” said Morales, a linebacker and receiver. “It’s intimidating, but at this point, I’ve gotten myself into this so if I want to do this I have to put up with

whatever the boys bring. I’m going to stick with it all through high school. Once the season is over I’m going to go into flag football to stay consistent with it.”

Coach Reagan said these young ladies probably don’t even realize how important what they are doing is, and that they are laying the groundwork for other young female athletes to feel like if they can believe it, they an achieve it.

“(The boys) view them as peers. These girls put in the same work and were as committed (as the boys) to be successful. Our guys really took them on as family, and that’s one of the biggest things we talk about when we’re talking about ‘The Woodbury Way’ is family. It was like they became their sisters and the guys were going to do whatever they could to make sure they were successful. It brought a new perspective. If we’re able to demonstrate this as a football team, that will continue to trickle down into our school community where boys will see there can be more open lines of communication and more acceptance as far as being able to have females playing football. In that aspect, they became leaders by showing we’re all in this together, whether male or female — race doesn’t matter — if you’re a part of this football team, you’re a part of the team and a family and we’re all connected,” Reagan Sr. said. “In the same way that we talk about Derron as somebody who is creating a legacy, I think they’ll do the same thing and they’ll have other young ladies saying ‘it’s possible for me to do this and not put limits on myself.’ Because of that, they’ll be able to leave high school and take on challenges that many people say they can’t.

Knowing what they learned throughout our program and their time in football they know they can tackle any obstacle and achieve any dream they set out for themselves. (Our success) shows that their dedication, hard work and commitment paid off. They really took on the identity of our football team as far as their toughness and their sacrifice and willingness to do anything it takes for us to be successful. That was a major component in our success.”

Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays

South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully Morales is a sophomore who also plays basketball, and she said she’ll be back next fall to compete for another season in football.

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