Montgomery Recreation Summer Sports Camps
Montgomery Recreation Summer Sports Camps
Camps are headed by MHS Varsity coaches and teachers and assisted by Varsity players. Weekly camps include baseball, softball, football, floor hockey, field hockey, soccer, track & field, lacrosse, gymnastics, cheerleading, wrestling, volleyball & tennis.
Information for all camps can be viewed online at the township website: www.twp.montgomery.nj.us. From homepage, please click on “Newsletter” and then “Recreation Summer News”.
For more information, call Montgomery Rec at 609-466-3023.
MHS Athlete of the Month June 2008
The MHS athlete of the month for June is Matt Tholis.
Matt throws javelin for the school’s varsity track and field team. This season Matt has set a new school javelin record of 180 feet 6 inches at the group four state championships where he placed third. He placed first in the Somerset County Championships, second at the Skyland conference championships, first at the Eastern Relays, second at the Central Jersey Group 4 Sectional Championships, and eleventh at the state javelin event.
In addition to all that, he was undefeated during the school’s dual meet season. Matt believes that his biggest accomplishment of the year was when he qualified for the Meet of Champions. He was the only member of the boy’s team to qualify from MHS.
Matt has been throwing javelin on the Montgomery high school’s track and field team for four years now. He first began joined the team hoping to throw shot-put, but when he saw how many people where in that event he chose to throw javelin instead.
The first time Matt threw a javelin, it went 100 feet, so he decided to stick with it. His role model over the years at the school was Chris Kondorossy, a thrower who graduated in 2004. Kondorossy assisted Matt in improving his technique, and helped him to be a better thrower overall. Matt said that all these years of track and field have made him a hard-working individual and much more confident about himself and his abilities.
“Matt is the best javelin thrower I have ever coached,” stated assistant track coach Zoran Milich. His technique is nearly flawless and when you combine that with his strength and speed, it makes for a lethal combination! Matt was the ultimate captain as well. I cannot tell you how many times he coached all of the other javelin throwers during practice when I was working with the discus or shot-put athletes. He definitely set the standard at Montgomery High School for all future javelin throwers!"
Matt says that the best thing about the MHS track team is the relaxed feeling after an event and good times everyone has. His apparent goals for this season were just to be the best that he could be and to throw to 200 feet. He said he was a little disappointed by not reaching 200, but he was happy with his school record of 180.
Next year Matt will be attending Rowan University, where he hopes to continue to throw javelin for the school’s track and field team. He anticipates that the team will continue to excel without him in future years and wishes them the best of luck.
Matt says that there are good group of young throwers coming up, and he has some good advice for them. “You need to work at it and keeping practicing everyday, because it will pay off in the end.”
Travelers Soccer Club Registration for Fall
Montgomery Travelers Soccer Club
Youth Development Program
Registration is now open for the Fall 2008 season of the MTSC Youth Development Program. This soccer program is available to all youth 5 – 9 years of age, regardless of their skill level or experience. Professional trainers and trained volunteers will guide players through a curriculum which emphasizes development over winning, player time on the ball and small sided games as a teaching approach. Optional “travel” is offered to older players.
To register for the fall season or learn more about the program, sign on to www.bluesombrero.com/montgomerysoccer. Questions can be directed to Bruce Guest, Director of Coaching, at Guehouse@aol.com or 908 904-9428.
Carnegie Lake Rowing Association open registration for their annual learn-to-row program
Carnegie Lake Rowing Association (CLRA), a community crew team that rows on Lake Carnegie in Princeton announces open registration for their annual learn-to-row program which begins September 13, 2008 and continues to November 27.
Sharon Eaton, a graduate of last year’s Learn to Row program says “after two seasons of weekend rowing at a boathouse near my summer home, I knew I wanted more. I loved rowing from the start. At 57 years I had decided to become an ‘athlete’. I joined The Learn To Row (LTR) program at the Carnegie Lake Rowing Association (CLRA) hoping to improve my technique, gain strength, and have more days to practice and enjoy a sport that I had grown to love. The LTR program provided what I was looking for and in a beautifully appointed boathouse, on a lovely protected lake. The coaching staff gave me encouragement and the criticism I needed to improve my skills. They see everything.
“Having graduated from the LTR program, I now have a new circle of friends and have become a member of CLRA. My routine is to get up at 4 am, 3 to 4 days a week, travel 30 minutes to the boathouse, stretch my muscles, participate in a coached rowing session, travel 30 minutes back home and get ready for a full workday at UMDNJ. My family has been supportive of my early hours (and earlier bedtime). My husband writes me a “rowing poem” each day that I row. These poems reflect the joys and struggles of my rowing experience that he hears from me. My husband and daughter (and her boyfriend) have come to my races to cheer me on. They always ask “how was rowing today?”
“I have a new passion in my life. They say that rowing is a life-long sport. Although, I wish I would have started rowing when I was younger, I am glad that I have started and I look forward to what lies ahead for me in this sport that I love.”
Hillsborough resident, Yocelyn Hausser. comments: “I am currently a stay at home mother which is truly a misnomer as I am rarely at home. I have always had an interest in fitness and played volleyball competitively during high school. Rowing had never really entered my mind. After my third child was born, I became determined to find a sport which would challenge me physically while offering a schedule which would not conflict with my busy lifestyle. I attended the CLRA learn to row program and was immediately smitten. The facilities are state of the art and the staff/coaches are very eager to help you succeed. Over a year later, I have competed in my first races and believe rowing will remain a lifelong interest. The combination of competition, camaraderie and exercise have made rowing the ideal sport for me.”
The CLRA Learn-to-Row program is open to any male or female, in high school or older–there is no upper age limit. Rowing runs from 5:30 AM to 7AM Tuesday and Thursday weekdays and Sunday afternoons. The complete cost is $300. All information can be found, and applications downloaded, at www.clra.com. Rowing is a great non-impact, aerobic and anaerobic workout and the club rows year-round, indoors in the winter. The club offers competitive racing opportunities for those who want them with other area and national crew clubs.
(for press contact only: Patrick Lyons pel@lyonsgraphics.com or 609-947-5641(cell).
National Champion Cheerleaders Present Trophy To Otto Kaufmann Center
SKILLMAN, NJ ___The 2007 Midget Large National Cheerleading Champions presented their first-place Pop Warner trophy to the Otto Kaufmann Center in a ceremony held in June.
The 30-member team won the honors at the national finals at The Walt Disney Wide World of Sports complex in December. They also presented various banners, plaques and other trophies the team has won since they started in the Montgomery Youth Football and Cheer League (MYFCA) in 1999. Many of the girls have been on the team since its inception. They are not only the first National Champions for MYFCA in cheer, but also the first for the Mountain Valley Conference.
The girls won the title with a routine dedicated to their roots in New Jersey with songs including Bruce Springsteen’s Rosalita and Bon Jovi’s Who Says You Can’t Go Home. To qualify for the championship in Disney, the squad surpassed hundreds of cheer teams representing the Eastern Region which encompasses New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Washington, D.C. The girls competed in the Midget Large Novice division and at Disney, trumped more than 13 squads from across the U.S. including Hawaii.
Coach Barbara Bastardi got the idea to dedicate the trophy to Otto Kaufmann which is a hub for Montgomery residents after a team practice where she saw that the various plaques and trophies that Montgomery’s travel baseball teams have won over the last few years are displayed in a trophy case. “We never knew what to do with our team’s awards since our Pop Warner program isn’t really tied to any particular school so it seemed like the perfect place,” she said.
During the ceremony, in which the girls viewed a tribute tape of their journey to winning the title, assistant coach Kim Sohmer discussed how the team continued to get better year after year. In fact, in 2006, many of the girls as Junior Midgets earned Montgomery’s first trip to Disney were the group grabbed third place.
Otto Kaufmann serves as a place to visit the trophy. “This trophy is more than just about cheerleading. It shows what you can do with hard work. Come see it any time you need inspiration for any point in your life,” added assistant coach Faye Campeas.
Pop Warner was founded in 1929 and is the oldest and most respected football and cheer association in the world. In addition to honoring physical talent, Pop Warner awards those who achieve a 96 or above average. This year, the Midget squad had five members who met or exceeded that lofty standard – Emily Campeas, Nicolle Dudek, Kathy Niu, Alayna Treene and Ellie Winge. Additionally, Jessica Missel and Hunter Mulford qualified in 2006. Three team members, Campeas, Dudek and Treene, traveled back to Disney in May to attend an awards ceremony for the scholars.
The Otto Kaufmann Center was pleased to host the trophy in cases that were relatively unused, according to recreation director Karen Zimmerman.
The members of the National Champion Midget team in alphabetical order are: Sarah Adams, Danielle Bastardi, Nicole Benz, Marissa Birch, Emily Campeas, Dana Castronovo, Nicolle Dudek, Alexa Frederick, Stephanie Harris, Emily Hoff, Dara Israel, Shannon James, Meghan Kane, Tessa Kettelkamp, Jaclyn Konkowski, Katie Lekh, Logan Mayo, Monica McNamara, Jessica Missel, Hunter Mulford, Kathy Niu, Kristen O’Neill, Mari Skoultchi, Katie Soffer, Elizabeth Sohmer, Ali Stagnitta, Felicia Thayer, Alayna Treene, Amy Wallo and Ellie Winge. The team was coached by Barbara Bastardi, Faye Campeas and Kim Sohmer with Commissioners Lori Konkowski, Donna Castronovo, Robin McNamara and demonstrators Lauren Panasewicz and Samantha Ceponis.
“We look forward to many more teams having the chance to go to Disney to represent Montgomery,” said Beth Kingkiner, commissioner of the MYFCA.
For more information on Montgomery’s Pop Warner program, visit www.myfca.org.
Montgomery 11 U Baseball Team
The Montgomery 11U baseball team went unbeaten, 6-0, to capture 1st place in the 2008 Montgomery 11th Annual John Covino Invitational. They came back from a 9-2 deficit in the bottom of the 3rd inning to win the Championship game 15-11 against Hillsborough Gold on Sunday, June 29th.
Just 2 days earlier, the Montgomery 11U baseball team came in 2nd place in the Amwell Tournament with a record of 5-1.
They are off to another great season with an 11-1 record.
The team is lead by Manager, Mark Romano and Coaches Paul Altieri, Dennis Gutierrez and Anil Warrier.
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