For the last three years, Rich Glover has spent time each June getting some local kids ready to play high school football – kids that not necessarily are from his own high school program.
Glover, the former Dickinson coach who recently received his appointment as the new head coach at Ferris, has been involved with the National Football League’s High School Player Development program, a free camp that enables kids of high school playing age the opportunity to get a head start on the game of football.
“I was involved in some of the camps in Newark, but they needed someone to get it started in Jersey City,” said Glover, the former University of Nebraska All-American and two-time Outland Trophy winner as the nation’s best collegiate interior lineman. “It helped a lot that I had experience in the NFL.”
Glover spent a few seasons as a defensive tackle for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
“The NFL reaches out to former players to see if they could help this program,” Glover said.
So last week, more than 150 kids from all different Hudson County high schools came to Caven Point Cochrane Field to gain some instruction and basics from a host of different coaches, led by Glover.
“It was a good opportunity for the kids to get some basic fundamentals,” said Glover, who had assistance at the camp from coaches from Marist, Lincoln, Ferris, Dickinson, Bayonne and Jersey City Recreation. “Temple University sent a practice plan that we followed that showed drills. It also gave the kids a manual how to keep track of their classes so they could follow the NCAA guidelines.”
Glover said that the NFL Player Development Camp is still in its infant stages, but it was free of charge, provided the participants brought a physical waiver form from a physician.
“The goal is to get every local kid who plays high school football to come here,” Glover said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to learn.”
It’s also helped Glover to meet and greet some of his new players.
“We had about four or five kids from Ferris here, so that helped,” said Glover, who is in the process of assembling a coaching staff at his new school. “I’m looking forward to the new challenge.”…
Although it’s never truly sad news when someone lives to the age of 99, there was a twinge of sadness last week when it was learned that legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden passed away just a few months shy of reaching the century mark.
Before Marquette University became a part of the personal lexicon, UCLA basketball dominated the childhood years and there was always this deep admiration and idol worship for Coach Wooden.
That sentiment was once relayed to former Seton Hall University and new Toronto Raptors assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo, who is the one of those rare breed of individuals who hears something about someone and remembers it forever.
That was the case at the 1991 Final Four in Indianapolis, when a sportswriter was spotted trolling through the National Association of College Basketball Coaches convention by Carlesimo, who asked the sportswriter if he was truly a big UCLA fan as he remembered.
When that was affirmed, Carlesimo took the big sportswriter by the hand through a crowded ballroom. There, seated with his legs crossed in a chair by himself, with no one around him at all, was Coach Wooden.
Carlesimo then took the sportswriter to Coach Wooden and introduced the coach to the sportswriter. It began an hour-long conversation about anything and everything and finished with the sportswriter, who was also a boys’ Biddy basketball coach at the time, actually asking Coach Wooden about how to teach youngsters how to play man-to-man defense.
That’s how comfortable Coach Wooden made me feel. I was able to sit with the most famous coach of all time and ask him about teaching man-to-man defense.
“Jimmy, the next time you have practice, don’t introduce the ball at all,” Coach Wooden told me. “Pair the boys off with each other and make them guard each other everywhere they go, without the ball. If they want a drink, have him guard him to the fountain. If he has to go to the bathroom, tell him to cover him to the bathroom. It may work.”
In speaking about Coach Wooden’s passing, I learned that another local legend had an encounter with Wooden and UCLA.
Jersey City basketball legend Mike Rooney, one of the all-time greats to ever come from Jersey City and the athletic director at County Prep, went on a recruiting trip to UCLA to meet Wooden.
“I had never been on a plane before and knew nothing about Los Angeles,” Rooney recalled. “I remember telling my mother I was going to Los Angeles and she said, ‘You live in Curries Woods. How are you going to Los Angeles?’ I went to the airport wearing a winter coat and winter clothes. Coach Wooden said to me, ‘If you come here, you’ll need new clothes.’ ”
Rooney ended up playing at the University of Oklahoma after a stint at St. Bonaventure, but he recalled meeting Wooden on a recruiting trip in the early 1960s, before the legend of “The Wizard of Westwood” became folklore.
There will never be another coach anywhere like John Wooden…
There was another passing that can’t go unnoticed. Famed Asbury Park Press sports columnist Bill Handleman, a personal friend for more than 25 years, died Wednesday after a brief battle with cancer. Handleman was 62.
Bill was a great writer, someone who I totally admired, but he was an even better friend. He was a fixture at Monmouth Park and someone who I sought out every time I went to watch the ponies. In fact, a few years ago, Handleman won a national handicapping contest, showing his prowess at picking winners. But he was a good friend and good for a hearty laugh. I will think of him at the first trip to Oceanport this summer…
The St. Anthony basketball program has totally benefited from the closing of Paterson Catholic. Not only did the Friars land Kyle Anderson, Jr., the son of the former Ferris coach, who is one of the top juniors in the country, but they also landed diminutive guard Myles Mack, who scorched the Friars for 32 points in the sectional semifinals two years ago. It’s a major plus to the Friars…
It was a down year locally in terms of the Major League Baseball free agent amateur draft, with no local products getting selected. The only one with local ties was St. Peter’s College pitcher/infielder Conor Mullee, who was taken by the Yankees in the 24th round. Mullee was mostly an infielder with the Peacocks, but the Yankees will use Mullee as a pitcher, because he throws 94 miles per hour…
Local heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek, who trains in Jersey City and used to reside there, has signed on to face Michael Grant Aug. 21 at Adamek’s home away from home, the Prudential Center in Newark. Adamek, fresh off his win over Jason Arreola last month, is seeking a chance to fight for the world heavyweight title…
Two up-and-coming local products will be on the same card Sunday, June 13 at the Hyatt Regency-Penns Landing in Philadelphia.
Light heavyweight Jason “Monstruo” Escalera of Union City will put his 8-0 record on the line in a four-round bout and cruiserweight Pat “Paddy Boy” Farrell of Jersey City will take his 5-0 pro record into the ring against Kamaral Pasley, also in a four-round fight. Aaron Pryor, Jr., the son of the former middleweight champion, will headline the card in Philly.
Farrell has already signed on to be part of the Main Events card July 16 at the Prudential Center, a card that features Main Events’ recent signee and former world champ Zab Judah… — Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.