Winter Sports Preview

Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School (RFHRHS) fans are in for an exciting winter sports season.

The athletic program at the high school has one goal for all of its teams: All student athletes to have a quality experience. "I believe it's much more important than the actual winning," said Walt Reiser, the athletic director at RFHRHS. 

Reiser says he is able to achieve that goal because of the coaching staff, which he calls the most valuable asset to the program. "They all care about the kids and when they win, which they do quite often, it's a bonus," he said.

Reiser also said fans can expect excitement from all of the teams this winter season. "The usual high competitive level we always aspire to, which always makes for good entertainment."

Winter sports at RFHRHS include basketball, indoor track, hockey, swimming and wrestling.     

Boy's Basketball

Boy’s basketball coach Chris Champeau was equally excited about this season.  "We had a pretty good year last season," he said. "And this year, we fully intend to build on it.” 

He says they have a great team even though the RFHRHS student body is smaller than most schools they are up against.

"We might be small, but we're scrappy and tough," he said. "We always play hard and if we can stay healthy, I see no reason why we can't compete with, and beat, the bigger schools.” 

Champeau's key players this year include  what he calls"Pookey and the Four Jacks". This lineup consists of Kevin 'Pookey' Alter, Jack Wise, Jack Donnelly, Jack Keating, and Jack Curren.  He said Wise, a 6-foot, 3-inch tall forward, is a "slasher and defender." After this season, Wise will be heading to Duke to hopefully be a wide receiver for their football team. 

The coach noted Raritan as a key rivalry game not to miss. He also said the home opener against Asbury Park on Dec. 17 should be a fierce and competitive game.

Girl's Basketball

Coaching the girl's squad this year is George Sourlis, who believes his five returning star seniors will give the team a valid chance to beat all comers. Sourlis is confident his girls are going to win "all of them."

Key rivalry games according to Sourlis include Red Bank Catholic and St. John Vianney. St. John beat the Bulldog ladies twice last year. "This year it'll be quite different. I'm sure of that," he said.

His five starting seniors all have scholarships and signed letters of intent. The lineup includes Ashley Cooper (Holy Cross University), Victoria Lesko (Boston College), Nicole Isaccs (Manhattan College), Stephanie Isaacs (Fairleigh Dickenson University), and Ellie Wilbur (University of Tampa).

The seniors agree with their coach's attitude about the upcoming season: Anything less than a state title would be a letdown. "We've got one goal and one goal only. That is to win a state championship," said Ashley Cooper, a 5-foot, 10-inch tall shooting guard.

Indoor Track

Tim McCloone, the head coach of the boy's and girl's indoor track team, will have his hands full this season. Forty-five boys and 35 girls came out for the team.

"I'll be able to handle it with the help of my great assistants, Bob Keogh and Kevin Hill," McCloone said, "We are looking to surprise many this year so people should come on out and watch us."

McCloone says his expectations are high for a much-improved girl's squad. "Last year we had an extremely young girl's team with a lot of freshman. This year they'll be older and much more competitive I'm sure," he said. The boys, on the other hand, are starting fresh this year. "This year our boy's team is young, reversed from last year, but we're still expecting the boys to improve also," he said.

The big meets for the teams are the Monmouth County Championships and the state sectionals, which happen at the end of the season.  "Those meets are always special, but it's not really about beating other schools,” said McCloone. "We focus more on breaking our own school times and records." 

Breaking records this year will not be an easy challenge for the 2010 team. Seven graduated girls as well as five graduated boys have set the bar very high and are now enjoying successful college careers.