Marist High School girls’ basketball coach Bill DeFazio received a special honor recently, when he was inducted into the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the Pines Manor in Edison.
DeFazio, who has been coaching girls’ high school basketball in Hudson County for 27 years, first at St. Anthony and now at Marist, was really touched by the honor.
“There were people there from all over the state and from every sport,” DeFazio said. “It was touching for me, because I was able to share it with the people I care about the most. It was hard to put into words, receiving an honor like this. I definitely got emotional. All the memories came rushing back for me.”
DeFazio said that he was proud to be inducted with a class of coaches like famed Bergen Catholic football coach Fred Stengel and Union Catholic girls’ basketball coach Kathy Matthews.
“For me to be recognized at the state level is truly an accomplishment,” said DeFazio, who has won a total of 534 games as a head coach during his career, ranking among the top 15 coaches in state history. “I met so many people that I’ve read about over the years. I’m a fan of all high school sports and follow them all, not just basketball.”
DeFazio was nominated for the award by fellow NJSCA Hall of Famer Maria Nolan, the former Secaucus volleyball coach now at Immaculate Heart Academy in Bergen County.
“I read so many great things about Maria and now I had the chance to finally meet her,” DeFazio said. “It really was a great event.”
Legendary sportswriter Jerry Izenberg was also honored by the association upon his retirement from the Newark Star-Ledger.
“Now that’s someone I’ve admired since I was a kid,” DeFazio said. “I’ve read his columns and saw him on TV. It was an honor to meet him.”…
Speaking of honors, Secaucus High School senior Nick Britt received a great honor last week when he was notified that he was selected to participate in the upcoming Penn Relays Invitational in the discus.
Britt becomes only the second Secaucus athlete ever to receive an invitation to compete as an individual at the prestigious Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in two weeks…
The list of St. Anthony High School basketball players that have made a commitment to college as juniors has increased to five, as standouts Mike Rosario, Jiovanny Fontan and Alberto Estwick have made their intentions known.
Rosario finally gave his verbal commitment to Rutgers, becoming the first St. Anthony product to head to Rutgers in almost 20 years. Rosario was on the verge of committing to Rutgers two months ago, but changed his mind and decided he needed more time. In the end, Rutgers won out and Rosario, who made First Team All-State from the Associated Press this season, will become a Scarlet Knight.
Fontan and Estwick both gave verbal commitments to Fordham, which means that the current junior class has five Division I commitments, joining Travon Woodall (Pitt) and A.J. Rogers (St. Joseph’s of Philadelphia), with fellow junior Tyshawn Taylor still to come.
That may be the best recruiting class to come from one school in the history of New Jersey basketball – and they’re all back for a senior season in November….
Last week, we received word that Keith Price was all set to step down as the head football coach at Snyder, but Jersey City Superintendent of Schools Charles Epps stepped in, contacted Price and told the former Ferris and Rutgers standout player that he didn’t want him to quit.
Maybe Epps’ words hit home, because there hasn’t been any further word about Price’s apparent resignation….
The New Jersey Golden Gloves boxing tournament is winding down toward the championship rounds and there’s a very interesting story brewing among the local participants in the tourney.
One of the would-be finalists is Pat Farrell, who was an All-Area football player during his days at St. Peter’s Prep and went on to play college football at LaSalle University. Now 25 years old, Farrell thought he would try his hand at boxing and began to train regularly at the Rocky Marciano gym in downtown Jersey City. Now, Farrell is one win away from competing in the Golden Gloves finale. Pretty amazing stuff…
There will be a Hudson County high school basketball All-Star game Thursday night at Kearny High School, with a boys’ and girls’ game on tap. It will be the last chance for local hoop fanatics to get a chance to see the graduating seniors play on the high school level, before they head off to their respective colleges. It should be a fun night and a good way for Hudson’s best to get one more opportunity to shine…