Spring Sports Strive for Success

As the days lengthen and flowers bloom, Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) student athletes are gearing up for a spirited spring sports season.

Walt Reiser, the athletic director at RFH, said, “The teams are preparing hard for another great season.”  The RFH athletics philosophy revolves around a dedication to creating a quality experience. 

Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, Spring Track, Baseball, Softball, and Boys’ and Girls’ Golf are all spring athletic programs at RFH.

While RFH offers a variety of spring sports, Reiser said that he is extremely excited for lacrosse season. “Both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams will have a very, very good season,” he explained. 

Boys Lacrosse 

The RFH Boys’ Lacrosse team has a great season ahead of them, with a strong dedication from both the players and the coaching staff to developing character and winning games.  

Jim Barbiere is entering his 8th year as coach and has an overall 93-28 record.  He says as a coach he hopes “to teach boys about life lessons that are going to make them successful as lacrosse players and really successful in all aspects of their life.”

Reid Jackson, the assistant coach, won the Gold Medal for Team USA in the 1998 World Games after going All-American three times at Rutgers University. Darren Beatty, the JV coach, has been coaching for 6 years. A number of volunteers, alumni and community members also assist the team. 

Six senior players will go on to play college lacrosse next year, including Matt Gilbertson (Dartmouth), Mike Huttner (Cornell), Ian Moore (Ursinus), PJ Maher (Manhattan College), Beau Bernardo (Regina), and Dylan Benedickson (Rollins College).  “By far the most we ever had,” said Barbiere.  

This season, the team expects to effectively work together as a team, and gain life-long values to further their character and their athletic success.

Christian Brother’s Academy (CBA) and Red Bank Catholic High School (RBC) are RFH’s “bitter” rivals. The team lost to CBA two years ago in overtime and to RBC last year.  With a stellar team of up to 80 players and an exciting season ahead, the RFH boys’ lacrosse program is one to watch. 

Girls Lacrosse 

The RFH Girls’ Lacrosse team also has an impressive program, winning both the Shore Conference and Group II State Championship in 2010.

Amy O'Keefe, the head varsity coach for the past 8 years, leads the stellar team with Kelly Knapp, assistant head varsity coach, and Peter Richardson and Jackie Toner, who coach the JV and freshman teams respectively.  The “amazing coaching staff” is important to the team, and is the “key to having a successful program” said O’Keefe.  

Another key to success for the team is enforcing a "we is greater than me" attitude. “Promoting the different values of being part of a team and the importance of teamwork in winning” are a part of the RFH Girls’ Lacrosse philosophy. 

This philosophy has helped form a talented team, with four seniors going to play Division 1 lacrosse next year.  The exceptional students are Megan Douty (University of Maryland), Chrissy Lushefski (Dartmouth), Aileen Pearman (Bryant University), and Charlotte Brodsky (Holy Cross).  Also, Claire Scarrone, a junior, has verbally committed to Duke. 

The expectation for the season is to win their conference and go the state tournament.  “Our biggest rival in our Division and Conference is Shore Regional High School. We lost to them in the Shore Conference final in 2008 and 2009,” said O’Keefe.

With an exemplary combination of teamwork, talent and coaching, this team is looking forward to a successful season.  Coach O’Keefe said, “It would be nice to finish a Top 4 team in the State,” and by the looks of it, they just might.  

Spring Track

 65 athletes have come out this year to create “one of our best teams in the past few years” said Jerry Beaver, the head boys’ track coach for the past 26 years. Mr. Batchler is the head girls track coach supported by Coach Tim McLoone, Coach Harris, Coach Lagrotteria and Coach Mercer. 

After wrapping up a great winter track season, the track stars are gearing up for a great spring season. This year, the girls’ team won the Divisional title. Junior Shannon McCarthy of Fair Haven is going to Nationals for the 800 meters.

 Last year featured a strong spring season with a winning record of 5-1. RFH lost its only meet to Matawan, making the meet with them the biggest of the year. The head coach predicts a rivalry showdown for a title. “It’s us and Matawan for the conference championship,” said Beaver. 

Spring track is not like its counterparts, winter track and cross-country, because it has different events.  There is 100, 200, and 400-meter sprinting, 800-meter middle distance, 1600 and 3200-meter distance, high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault, hurdling, semi-hurdles, 400 intermediate hurdles, and throwing events like shot put, discus, and javelin. 

Although spring track is based on individual performance, Coach Beaver said that the athletes are all a piece of a bigger puzzle. “We come together as a team. It takes all the events to win a meet,” he said.

Golf

According to Brad Margolis, the varsity boys’ golf coach, the goal this season is to “bring back the banner like last year” when they won the Monmouth County Tournament. Margolis coaches this year with the help of Coach Chris Alworth and Coach Jonathan Pennetti. 

Although there are 7 to 8 players on the RFH team, the top 5 golfers play in each match. Coach Margolis instructs them to “play with respect to themselves, the other team” and ensures “they’re not acting inappropriately on the golf course”. The team practices at Rumson Country Club. Matches are held there or at Beacon Hill. Teams that rival the team’s success are CBA and RBC. 

In the State Tournament, RFH is the Central and South Jersey Group 2 Champion.  Charlie Edler, a senior who is going to Dartmouth for the sport, won the Monmouth County Tournament and the Shore Conference last year.   On expectations for this season, he said, “We are looking good early. We are looking to defend our state championship that we won last year, and look to possibly win the entire state if we play to our potential.” 

The RFH Girls’ Golf Team is also looking to play to their potential. Tom Highton, the coach for the last 7 years, said he is focusing on “doing the best in states and other tournaments.”  7 girls are on the team total, and 5 play on varsity just like the boys.  However, other than sharing practice with the boy’s team at Rumson Country Club, it is a totally independent program.  

Its success rate is just as high. They won the Shore Conference Championship three out of the last 4 years and had an undefeated season the previous two years.  Rivals also include RBC, and Colts Neck High School. 

Having lost 5 seniors last year, Highton wants to create a sense of unity on the team of young players. He hopes to “break the individuality and let the girls know that it is a team sport”.

Baseball and Softball 

“This year is interesting,” said Head Varsity Coach Kevin James about the upcoming season.  Unlike his previous ten years as coach, this season’s roster is stacked a little different. “We have a small senior class but a good senior class, and a junior class that is very athletic.”

Out of those 10 years, the RFH Baseball team has been to the state playoffs 9 times and semifinals four of the last 6 years.  Also on the coaching staff are Coach Gary Costello, Coach Brett Gainer, Coach RJ Carp and Coach Jon Reynolds. There are 18 players per team, and 3 teams in the program. 

According to James, the coaching philosophy is hard work and competition breeds success. “You have to challenge yourself everyday to be a better player, a better person, and a better teammate.”  Practices ensure this, with 5:00 a.m. practices followed by afternoon workouts throughout the season.  

“At this level, the athletes are self-motivated and want to work hard on their own,” said James. Going to college for baseball are seniors Matt Sinopoli (Wagner) and Dan Miller (Skidmore). 

The RFH Girls Softball Team is “looking to improve this year” according to Coach Jeff Herkimer.  He has coached the team for 10 years, spending one year as JV coach.  Also on the staff are Coach Morgan Howard and Coach Foley.  

With approximately 15 players on both the JV and Varsity, the goal with year is to “have the girls get better, improve everyday, and have a lot of fun,” said Herkimer.   To be competitive in a very tough conference is important, and the coaches teach the players fundamentals and how to make the right decisions in games. 

The big tournaments for the team are the Monmouth County Tournament, the Shore Conference, and States.

Boys Tennis

The season has not yet started, for the team this year will be completely new. Coaching this year is Coach Russell and Coach Mike Emmich. The teams are still in the process of trying-out.