I'm not going to do that, and I'm not going to pick a coach of the year. I'm also positive that there are a dozen or more coaches out there who did an outstanding job but flew under my radar for one reason or another. What I am going to do is a short list of coaches who, from the perspective of an outsider, look like they did a remarkable job. I also may veer into some combination of "best coaching job" and "best overall story". I may be totally wrong here- with very few exceptions, I'm not privy to any inside information nor have I ever spoken to most of these folks. Hell, there's a 50/50 chance I have at least one name wrong here, since I'm going by public information. But somebody on these teams is doing something right.
Obviously, Jeff Gelnaw of Toms River North and Doug Spishock of East Brunswick are doing a huge number of things right; managing that many talented bowlers has got to be difficult, as well as meeting the huge expectations that come from being the favorite all season. If there was a coach of the year award, I wouldn't argue against either one of them. I just wanted to look beyond the #1 teams
BOYS TEAMS
Robert Wetzel, Howell
The Boys Shore-Central-B is the toughest division in New Jersey High School bowling. Period. I don't mean it's got the most talent, though it does have plenty. What I mean is that there are six teams, they're all good, and the top five are incredibly evenly matched. It's the only league that has no off days: literally, no byes, and figuratively, every opponent can beat any other. Throw in relatively tough scoring conditions (don't believe me? Look at the SCB teams, boys and girls and individuals, and see what they did in the postseason compared to their averages) and that can be draining. Howell lost the league title by one point, in a devastating last day sweep. And then they went out and destroyed the central sectional, shooting 3238 to finish second to East Brunswick and were great at states, finishing 3rd. That kind of shake-it-off ability doesn't happen by accident.
Cherie Pizzano, Linden
I think I've mentioned this team's youth once or twice. Sometimes getting a young team to buy into the fact that they're good enough to challenge for championships NOW can seem easy because they don't know any better than to believe you; sometimes it's difficult. I don't know exactly how Coach Pizzano pulled it off this year, but to lose one of the best bowlers in the state (Michelle Dekowski) to graduation, have your top three be two sophomores and a freshman, and win the regular season title, the county tournament, and a sectional title... Something was done well, I'm sure of that.
Judy Lucia, Pascack Valley
It can't be easy to coach in a 4-man league if your team has state aspirations. If you have exactly four bowlers, you can't develop a #5 for tournament season without sitting a very good bowler. If you have more than four, you can't put your best lineup out there very often. Pascack Valley started the season with a brilliant top four, and got Jake Murad plenty of reps to be their #5 for sectionals. But then they lost one of those four to injury. And then they qualified for states anyway, and shot a huge 3023 when they got there. Impressive stuff.
Joe Schuld, St. Rose
St. Rose has been building a powerhouse program as this group of seniors went through the system. Last year didn't end with any titles, but the whole team was coming back and 2018 looked to be the year. Then their best bowler transferred. They didn't change their goals one single bit. Vinny Mastria joined the lineup and grew, quite quickly, into a very good bowler, and helped them go all the way to a state title. Along the way, St. Rose continued its practice of giving substantial opportunities to JV bowlers, despite the effect on team average. I really respect that.
Chad Gasiorek, Sussex Tech
Maybe there is some sort of secret formula, and Gasiorek has found it. For three years in a row, he's had a team just get steadily better all season, put up fantastic tournament performances, and then devastate the field at sectionals and win a state title. They even did it this year after graduating three starters from last year's team, including Tim Zayac and his 213-average. Add in an exceptionally devoted and loud group of supporters, and this program is just an absolute model.
Danielle Scheuermann, Union
I may be totally off-base here. Actually, I hope I am. But I'm guessing that the issues a coach has to deal with on a truly co-ed team may be a little different than a single-sex team. Boys and girls act differently in mixed groups than separately, in my experience. Anyway, whether I'm right in my assumptions or not, this co-ed team was dynamite, tossing a pair of 3000s in the postseason behind their extremely talented (female) anchor.
John Caillie, West Milford
Andrew Finke is West Milford's best bowler, but he's also a basketball player, so he's not always available. On top of that, and the usual 4-bowler issues I mentioned earlier, WM was integrating two new freshmen, one being the sister of the star, figuring out how to bring along several other talented players into matches, compete with Fair Lawn and Wayne Hills in the toughest division in the Big North. Seems like a lot of moving parts. So getting everyone together to finish 2nd at Irwin, win the FDU Team Event, win Passaic County, and win sectionals with a 3021 set? That's a job well done.
Amanda Small, Woodbridge
2017 did not end the way the Barrons had hoped, and they lost a superstar to graduation in Kyle Bilawsky. The coach had to get them to focus on each match and tournament all season without looking ahead to the shot at redemption, and then make sure they were ready when the time came. Along the way, she had to find the right combination of bowlers from the deepest roster in the state. The fact that the TOC trophy sits (I imagine) in a Woodbridge trophy case tells you how successful she was.
GIRLS TEAMS
Hank Kuipers, Bergen Tech
The first thing I like about Bergen Tech, is that they want to bowl. They scheduled eighteen regular season matches - along with Hackensack, that's the most in the conference. Didn't avoid the tough ones either, bowling against Holy Angels, Paramus Catholic and Wayne Valley (and winning those last two). With only one senior bowling regularly, and no real superstar (top average is 156), they were nonetheless a true force this season, finishing second in North Group IV and going way over average with 2410 at states. And they did that despite getting EIGHT different bowlers a chance to say they bowled in the state finals. I love that stuff, and expect more from them in 2019.
Dave Thompson, Brick Memorial
This may be surprising, since Brick Memorial, for once, wasn't the dominant force in girls bowling. But the Mustangs have graduated six... SIX all-state bowlers in the last two years. A temporary dip may have been inevitable. There was no superstar freshman newcomer. Lots of girls bowled well, but nobody had an earth-shattering improvement; Amanda Shelters was amazing, but we all knew that. For the first time in a while, they didn't have the talent edge in Group IV or in Shore South A. They won the division anyway, beating Brick Township and #1 Toms River North. And they were within 7 pins of TRN for the state title going into the final game. It's relatively easy to win championships with 5 girls averaging 200, but this one took some doing.
Michael Yorke, Colts Neck
This is pretty much the same comment as the Howell boys, above. The Cougars competed all season in a nip-and-tuck battle with Freehold for the Shore-Central-B title, but came up just short. I know younger kids bounce back, and this is a very young team, but the fury with which they attacked the postseason was really wonderful. A team that averages 157 should not generally be able to shoot 2758-2685-2748 in the postseason. Part of that is bowling in more favorable conditions, but another big part is getting to the point where you start to believe that you're really that good. They're really that good.
Eric Datis, Eastern
I shouldn't be, it's a prejudice, but I'm always a little surprised when teams outside Shore and GMC manage to stay near the top. In 2017, Eastern finished the season ranked #15, averaged 161 and shot 2330 at Sectionals to finish 3rd. They graduated two outstanding seniors in Anna Hileman and Kristina Scimone. Somehow in 2018 they were pretty much just as good? I mean, the average was a bit lower and they're at #19, but they did better at sectionals and had a fantastic signature moment , finishing seventh at CJWC, ahead of five different teams that ended up ranked higher. How on earth did that happen? I mean, the Vikings are good at seemingly every sport, so I shouldn't be surprised. Two new bowlers started to figure things out, two returning bowlers got better, one, Cloe Lowell, got a whole lot better, and Eastern is still right there.
Dave Angebranndt, Ewing
I really like the Ewing program and I rarely write much about them. Since I've been covering the sport, they don't throw a lot of 600s or place high in major tournaments, or place bowlers on all-state lists. They're not in the GMC or Big North or Shore. They just win. A lot. I think I just have an affinity for these off-the-beaten-path programs that absolutely decimate their competition.. Ewing always seems to be good; somewhere between 'pretty good' and 'really, really good'. It's a challenge to maintain that kind of continual excellence on an island. 2017 was a bit of a down year for them, "only" going 15-2 in matches. In 2018 they added a new freshman anchor, Jazmyn Willis and they're right back where they're supposed to be, going 16-0-1, taking 3rd at sectionals and averaging over 150 as a team without a single bowler over 160.
Jack Mahar, Lacey
Lacey has grown from a club team to a contender to a state power to the state championship over the last decade. 2018 has looked like the year to make a lot of noise for a while, with an outstanding senior class. Managing the loss of a key player right before the season, her gradual reintegration late in the season, and making sure that the team always believed they could beat a loaded Group II field at both sectionals and states had to have been a challenge. The trophy shows how well it was met.
Curtis Taylor, Pemberton
As I started to get into the issue of who's helped and who's hurt by the conditions they bowl in, Pemberton was offered as an example. My knowledge of SWNJ bowling is lacking, I'll be the first to admit, so I really had no idea. I issued a challenge in the sectional preview for Pemberton to go out and prove they're better than their numbers. And, not that it has anything to do with me at all - I doubt they bowlers even knew I wrote it - but they went out and did it, shooting 2344 on a 140 average to finish 3rd in South Group II. Bowling all season and winning matches (15-0-1) and knowing you have no realistic shot at states with Manchester and Lacey sitting there, to still go out and prove something like that... that's pretty cool, is what that it. Well done.
Jennifer Feldman, Warren Hills
A tougher situation is difficult to imagine: the returning state champs lost three seniors to graduation including their all-state anchor, and their longtime, incredibly respected coach passed away in August. A former Warren Hills bowler herself, Feldman was elevated after one year as an assistant, put the pieces (two returning stars, two incoming freshmen and several improving JV bowlers) together, helped everybody heal, rebuilt the family, and then went ahead and won another state championship. You can't write a better story than that.
BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS
Three teams had great stories on both sides, and the same coach running the show.
Brian Whitford, Freehold Township
The boys team survived the gauntlet of Shore-Central-B and emerged as champions. That alone is a serious accomplishment. Then they went out and finished 4th at the Shore tournament, which is even more impressive. Finally, a 2930 at states. That's a great season.
On the girls side, things were even better, as the Patriots survived a very slow start and then proceeded to run down Colts Neck for the league title and put up ungodly postseason numbers. I've never seen a team improve so much over the course of the season; they were legitimate threats to win a state title at Bowlero. Also, they were a lot of fun to watch, with a tremendous, fun team atmosphere while still clearly wanting very badly to win. Super bright future for this program.
Jim Dalessio, Mahwah
I think I've repeated the legend of the Mahwah girls more than a few times, how they gave Warren Hills all they could handle before finishing 2nd at the FDU Challenge. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that that happened on an off-day for the Thunderbirds; they only shot 2121 and they were missing a starter, but still muscled past two opponents and took the state champs to a fifth game. Real or imagined, it seemed to springboard them to a great postseason run, finishing second at sectionals and 4th at states, breaking 2400 both times.
But Dalessio's other team had a great run, too. Undefeated in conference play, they were significant favorites to advance to North Brunswick and they did, but once they got there, they outbowled three much higher-ranked teams to finish third in a very tough Group II final. If you rank every program by the state finish of each of their teams, Mahwah, unbelievably, comes in fourth. right behind Brick Memorial and Toms River South. I know sometimes the boys and girls teams can feed off each other's success when they're doing well, and I have to believe that that happened here. And I don't think it was luck.
Robert Carnovsky & Susanne Hughes, Matawan
That program ranking I just mentioned? The program at the top is Matawan. Not only are they top-ranked in total, they are the ONLY program to have a State Championship team whose other team even made it to states.
The Shore-North divisions are the forgotten children of the Shore Conference. I am as much to blame for this as anyone, I expect. I am, obviously, a numbers guy. And despite both the Matawan boys and girls completely throttling SNA, I didn't really see much there in the numbers. The girls had three players in the 150s, which, for a Group I school, is actually really good. And I had a team ranked at top top of Group I that ended up in Group II. Still; they only averaged 141 as a team and that didn't get my attention. Even when they won at Bayshore and shot 2400 at Brick. The Matawan girls didn't appear in the top 30, not once, all season.
The Matawan boys dominated the division even more completely, going 45-0. But... I mean, only two bowlers above 182, and they're in the low/mid 190s. I had them ranked around 5th in Group I, with their 181 average, and I didn't pay much attention. Even when they shot 3200 at Brick. The Matawan boys didn't appear in the top 30, not once, all season.
You all know how this ends. The bowlers, the coaches, the parents... everybody, I guess, just decided to believe. The girls earned the upset victory at Sectionals. And then they did it at states. And then they came about a centimeter from upsetting the state's #2 team in the semifinals. The Lady Huskies were 15 pins over average, per girl per game, over the postseason.
The boys? Well, all they did is go out and shoot 2995 at sectionals and 3048(!) at states to finish second, both times, to the #6 team in the state. The Huskies shot TWENTY pins over average, per game per bowler, over the postseason.
One of the two teams going on a run like that is amazing. Both at the same time is unparalleled. I have three possible explanations for this: 1. Luck/coincidence. 2. Brunswick Zone Hazlet is a legendary killer of averages that I must learn to account for. 3. The Matawan coaching staff, Robert Carnovsky and Susanne Hughes, did a phenomenal job.
The boys team survived the gauntlet of Shore-Central-B and emerged as champions. That alone is a serious accomplishment. Then they went out and finished 4th at the Shore tournament, which is even more impressive. Finally, a 2930 at states. That's a great season.
On the girls side, things were even better, as the Patriots survived a very slow start and then proceeded to run down Colts Neck for the league title and put up ungodly postseason numbers. I've never seen a team improve so much over the course of the season; they were legitimate threats to win a state title at Bowlero. Also, they were a lot of fun to watch, with a tremendous, fun team atmosphere while still clearly wanting very badly to win. Super bright future for this program.
Jim Dalessio, Mahwah
I think I've repeated the legend of the Mahwah girls more than a few times, how they gave Warren Hills all they could handle before finishing 2nd at the FDU Challenge. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that that happened on an off-day for the Thunderbirds; they only shot 2121 and they were missing a starter, but still muscled past two opponents and took the state champs to a fifth game. Real or imagined, it seemed to springboard them to a great postseason run, finishing second at sectionals and 4th at states, breaking 2400 both times.
But Dalessio's other team had a great run, too. Undefeated in conference play, they were significant favorites to advance to North Brunswick and they did, but once they got there, they outbowled three much higher-ranked teams to finish third in a very tough Group II final. If you rank every program by the state finish of each of their teams, Mahwah, unbelievably, comes in fourth. right behind Brick Memorial and Toms River South. I know sometimes the boys and girls teams can feed off each other's success when they're doing well, and I have to believe that that happened here. And I don't think it was luck.
Robert Carnovsky & Susanne Hughes, Matawan
That program ranking I just mentioned? The program at the top is Matawan. Not only are they top-ranked in total, they are the ONLY program to have a State Championship team whose other team even made it to states.
The Shore-North divisions are the forgotten children of the Shore Conference. I am as much to blame for this as anyone, I expect. I am, obviously, a numbers guy. And despite both the Matawan boys and girls completely throttling SNA, I didn't really see much there in the numbers. The girls had three players in the 150s, which, for a Group I school, is actually really good. And I had a team ranked at top top of Group I that ended up in Group II. Still; they only averaged 141 as a team and that didn't get my attention. Even when they won at Bayshore and shot 2400 at Brick. The Matawan girls didn't appear in the top 30, not once, all season.
The Matawan boys dominated the division even more completely, going 45-0. But... I mean, only two bowlers above 182, and they're in the low/mid 190s. I had them ranked around 5th in Group I, with their 181 average, and I didn't pay much attention. Even when they shot 3200 at Brick. The Matawan boys didn't appear in the top 30, not once, all season.
You all know how this ends. The bowlers, the coaches, the parents... everybody, I guess, just decided to believe. The girls earned the upset victory at Sectionals. And then they did it at states. And then they came about a centimeter from upsetting the state's #2 team in the semifinals. The Lady Huskies were 15 pins over average, per girl per game, over the postseason.
The boys? Well, all they did is go out and shoot 2995 at sectionals and 3048(!) at states to finish second, both times, to the #6 team in the state. The Huskies shot TWENTY pins over average, per game per bowler, over the postseason.
One of the two teams going on a run like that is amazing. Both at the same time is unparalleled. I have three possible explanations for this: 1. Luck/coincidence. 2. Brunswick Zone Hazlet is a legendary killer of averages that I must learn to account for. 3. The Matawan coaching staff, Robert Carnovsky and Susanne Hughes, did a phenomenal job.
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