The St. Anthony athletic family came together in unison recently to pay tribute to perhaps its most influential member, even more important than legendary basketball coach Bob Hurley.
For more than 30 years, Sister Mary Alan has served a variety of roles at the school, most of time serving as the school’s athletic director. During her reign as AD, Sister Alan was more visible at St. Anthony sporting events than the basketball itself. She was constantly running around, selling tickets to big games, making sure the teams were properly taken care of in terms of uniforms and was definitely a presence.
So a few weeks ago, the St. Anthony family paid tribute to Sister Alan with a special reception at Rosie Radigan’s in downtown Jersey City. It was just a way for former athletes, coaches and friends to say thanks for three decades of devotion to the school and to Friar athletics.
“She’s been like everything to me, with me since childhood,” said Dan Hurley, the son of Bob who is currently the coach at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark.
Dan Hurley went to St. Anthony and played basketball for his father, but credits Sister Alan for keeping him on the straight and narrow.
“She really was like an extra Mom to me,” Dan Hurley said. “She helped me navigate four of the toughest years of my life. She still holds some of my deepest, darkest secrets. I hope she keeps it a secret. But Sister Alan was clearly the driving force of that athletic program. She managed all the kids from when they walked in the door at 8 a.m. until they left at 2:30 p.m. She would put your foot to your butt if you needed it and pat you on the back at the same time.”
Added Dan Hurley, “I really could talk to her about anything. Outside of my family, there is no one who has had more of an impact on my life. No one does more for the school. No one is there more for the kids. She’s the reason why my Dad never left St. Anthony. I think it was great that so many people came back to pay her tribute. We all get busy with our lives, but we had to come back and give Sister Alan her just due.”
Carlos Cueto, the head basketball coach at Union Hill, also recalled how important Sister Alan was to him during his four years at St. Anthony.
“We used to talk even after I graduated from St. Anthony and I went to college [at the University of Richmond],” Cueto said. “She was always the buffer between me and Coach Hurley. I felt comfortable going to her to talk to her. I was so surprised that a nun could act like that. She was tough and always fighting for us. She’s absolutely one of a kind.”
Bobby Vogt was a St. Anthony basketball player in the 1980s and has now been a long-time Jersey City police officer and detective.
“She’s a very strong woman, firm, strict, but loving,” Vogt said. “She was always looking out for our best interests. She loved us all unconditionally. Not just the athletes, but every student who ever went there. She was at my wedding. My wife, Karen, is also a graduate. This was a great day and I’m glad we can do the right thing by giving her a day like this, a day she deserves, a day that she can remember forever. It’s always good when the St. Anthony family can come together.”…
St. Peter’s Prep defeated Bayonne in straight games to move on to the NJSIAA state volleyball championship. The two local schools locked horns for the fourth time this season and the Marauders prevailed for the second time. It marked the first time ever that two Hudson County teams met for a state sectional title. It was also the first state sectional in Prep’s volleyball history.
Just last week, Bayonne defeated the Marauders to win the HCIAA title. Now, the two powers met for a state sectional crown. The Marauders are slated to face East Brunswick in the state championship match this weekend. We’ll have more on the state finale in next week’s editions…
The 2007 Major League Baseball free agent amateur draft was slated to begin after press time Thursday. Some of the local players who might get selected in the draft include West New York’s Gil Zayas, who had a fine year playing for St. John’s University, Weehawken’s Kevin Kallert, who is a fine pitcher/third baseman at St. Peter’s College and Yoken Castro, who is a standout at Emerson High School.
Baseball America also lists Ramon Feliz of Memorial and Damien Seguen of North Bergen as draft possibilities, but in much later rounds.
We’ll have more about the draft next week, especially if one of the local products gets the call this weekend…
Former Seton Hall assistant coach and North Bergen native Greg Herenda has landed the head men’s basketball coaching job at Cabrini College in suburban Philadelphia. Herenda, a standout player during his schoolboy days at St. Peter’s Prep, was previously coaching at Elgin Junior College in Illinois… —