With the 2017-18 sports season over, JSZ wraps up our Game Ball tour with a stop to Morris Catholic High School.  Thanks to coach Nick DeGenarro and Grace Stairiker for making time for one more Game Ball presentation: Take Our Poll A special thanks to everyone who voted all year long around the state for our JSZ Game Balls.  We’ve enjoyed honoring athletes from baseball, softball, boys basketball, girls basketball and football!  

It’s time to honor outstanding performances from the diamond.  Thanks to our friends at Monmouth Building Center, we’ll have 10 top nominees every week from Shore Conference baseball and softball.  Cast your votes NOW through Tuesday at 3:00 pm.  We’ll pay a visit to a mid-week game or practice and make a Monmouth Building Center Game Ball presentation.  Coaches can always nominate a player – just email rich@jerseysportszone before Saturday night: Take Our Poll Take Our Poll Monmouth Building Center in Shrewsbury has been honoring Shore Conference athletes for the past four years.  Thanks to the team at Monmouth Building Center for giving us the chance to honor great Shore kids in football, basketball, baseball and softball.  

Each week JSZ will bring you ten nominations, both baseball & softball, for our weekly Mid-State Game Ball Award. These nominations are composed of athletes who had top, player of the week-worthy, performances across the Mid-State. Vote for your favorite athlete now, and this week’s winner will be awarded a JSZ Game Ball & Game Ball Ceremony. (Polls close Tuesday at 3PM) Baseball: Take Our Poll Softball: Take Our Poll Reminder! You can always nominate a deserving player for a Game Ball! Just email Courtney DuPont (courtney@jerseysportszone.com) with the following information: The player’s Name The player’s School The game/date played this week The player’s stats for that game

Over 80 players from Monmouth County high school football programs gathered for the second annual “Opponents on the gridiron, Teammates on the Bayshore” Keansburg beach cleanup.  Players and coaches from Holmdel, Middletown North, Raritan and Keansburg were among the group that accumulated over 50 full bags of trash that are no longer a part of the Keansburg beach landscape. “The turnout is amazing and they are setting an example,” event director Paul Coughlin said. “Everybody gets busy, but the kids are out there – they come down here.  Diverse communities – Holmdel, Middletown, Hazlet all coming together here for our community.”   Jersey Sports Zone’s Jay Cook tells the story of high school football players from the Jersey Shore giving back to the community: Jersey Sports Zone is proud to partner with BCB-Bayshore, Your Community Bank.  BCB-Bayshore is responsible for all the great sports highlights and features from Keyport, Keansburg, Holmdel, Raritan and Middletown North.  A special thanks to Paul Coughlin for his support and letting us tell the story of a great community event in Keansburg!

Trinity Hall still has the label as the new kid on the block in Shore Conference Sports, but the Monarchs have built a strong sports foundation thanks to a senior class that helped blaze the trail.  Catherine Loder made a significant impact in all three seasons.  JSZ profiles the all-girls school’s first ever 100 goal scorer in lacrosse as she reflected on her four years at the Tinton Falls school and looks ahead to study engineering at the University of Michigan: Senior Makes School History in Lacrosse Tinton Falls, NJ – On Wednesday, May 2, senior Catherine Loder became the first lacrosse student-athlete in Trinity Hall history to reach 100 goals in her high school career. Loder, who graduates this June, is a multi-sport, straight-A student-athlete, playing basketball and lacrosse for four years and cross-country for two. Trinity Hall is a member of the Shore Conference, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and the New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (NJISAA), and competes against public, parochial, and independent schools in Monmouth County and throughout the state. Loder’s milestone 100th goal was reached at the school’s home game at Dorbrook Park vs. Shore Regional. Although the game was a loss for Trinity Hall, the team rallied around Loder to celebrate the achievement. ”Being the first player at Trinity Hall to score 100 goals in lacrosse is an honor I will never forget,” said Loder. “It is a testament to the hard work of my teammates and coaches and also to the growth of our lacrosse program here at Trinity Hall. I’m thankful to be a part of this special community.” Loder’s achievement of 100 high school career goals in lacrosse is notable because she was able to reach that milestone in a much shorter time than most other high school student-athletes. Ken Santos, athletic director, explained, “Trinity Hall opened in Fall 2013. We were accepted into the Shore Conference in Fall 2015. Since the conference does a two-year scheduling cycle, we were not eligible to play in the division or enter the tournaments in the 2015-2016 school year, playing only a handful of varsity games against comparable teams. In the 2016-2017 school year a new two-year cycle started, with games scheduled for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, so we were then included in the division and could play in the Shore Conference Tournaments if we qualified. Catherine’s accomplishment is significant because, as new members of the Shore Conference in 2016-2017, she has only played two full seasons of a varsity schedule whereas many who also achieve this milestone have played three or four years of varsity-level play.” “I have coached Catherine for all four years she has played lacrosse for the Monarchs,” said Dana Lenneper, lacrosse head coach. “She is one of the most talented athletes I’ve ever had the privilege to coach. She has the ability to take what you say to her and apply it to every game and practice. Beyond that, Catherine has a positive energy and attitude every day. It’s contagious. She is an amazing captain who always knows how to make her teammates come together and remain that way whether we win or lose. There are a million examples I can give about what makes her so special but one thing I know for sure is that she will be missed by both her team and, definitely, by her coaches. It was a wonderful moment for Catherine and our school. We couldn’t be more proud of her.” ”It was inspiring to witness Catherine score her 100th goal, an achievement of only the best athletes in the state,” said Mary Sciarrillo, head of school. Santos added, “These are the days that make coaching and being a part of athletics so rewarding: when an athlete such as Catherine is rewarded for her hard work and gets to enjoy that with her teammates and coaches.” Trinity Hall, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), is an independent all-girls college preparatory high school, educating and empowering young women in the Catholic tradition. Trinity Hall’s core values of leadership, respect, perseverance and faith are foundational to their mission and work as educators. For more information, visit www.trinityhallnj.org. Jersey Sports Zone is excited to have Trinity Hall join our team as one of our sponsors.  JSZ will have highlights and features of the Monarchs sports programs all year long.  Visit trinityhallnj.org to learn more about Monmouth County’s independent college preparatory high school in the Catholic tradition

The New Jersey Devils provided a special night for the Garden State’s top hockey players.  The first JSZ All-Zone Hockey banquet was hosted at the Prudential Center prior to the Devils 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Following the presentation of our video highlights and Player of the Year profiles, the players, coaches and families watched the Devils game and our All-Zone team was honored during the second intermission on the world’s largest in-arena scoreboard.  JSZ’s Jay Cook and Courtney DuPont recap a fantastic night at the Rock: Mickey Burns wins JSZ Hockey Player of the Year   The Don Bosco Prep forward was the overwhelming choice among statewide hockey coaches and media.  Burns had 28 goals and 49 assists for the Ironmen.  JSZ’s Courtney DuPont profiles the future Vermont Catamount Name High School 1st 2nd 3rd Total Mickey BurnsDon Bosco Prep141347 Nick SiffringerDelbarton33520 Matt SchoerPope John13413 Zach TarantinoWall13110 John GelattSaint John Vianney1218 Tom PryymakSummit0306 A special thanks to our voting panel! Coaches: Paramus Catholic, High Point, Pope John, Summit, Ridgewood, Woodbridge Twp, Verona, Don Bosco Prep, Delbarton, Middletown North, Wall, RBC, Saint John Vianney, Central Regional, CBA Media: Matt Stypulkoski NJ.com, Chris Rotolo Shore Hockey Report, Alex Lorenzo JSZ, Courtney DuPont JSZ, Rich Chrampanis JSZ Watch our features on 2nd and 3rd place finishers Nick Siffringer and Matt Schoer: Meet the 2018 JSZ All-Zone Hockey Team GoaliesDefensemanForwardsAward Winners Nick Burgess, DelbartonJohn Campomenosi, Don Bosco PrepStephen Buck, Seton Hall Prep Scott Kimiecik, DelbartonJohn Hallard, Middletown NorthDean DiFazio, CBA Ciaran McNelis, Red Bank CatholicJalen Kaplan, DelbartonTJ Evan, Woodbridge TownshipMickey Burns, Don Bosco Prep - JSZ Hockey Player of the Year Hunter Macy, DelbartonDrew Galea, Woodbridge TownshipMatt Schoer, Pope John - POY Finalist Thomas Shweigardt, Don Bosco PrepJohn Gelatt, Saint John VianneyNick Siffringer, Delbarton - POY Finalist John Gutt, Saint John Vianney Kyle Knight, St. Augustine Prep Alex Konovalov, Ridge Tsubasa Konishi, Don Bosco Prep Jin Lee, Northern Highlands Kyle Mandleur, Hun School Liam Noonan, CBA Tom Pryymak, Summit Scott Schnell, Hunterdon Central Tyler Sedlak, Don Bosco Prep Zach Tarantino, Wall Aidan Trainor, Princeton Will Vitton, Summit Thomas Winter, Chatham Will Zimmer, Randolph Top 5 Goals from February and JSZ’s Save of the Year JSZ’s Nery Rodriguez talked with some of our Plays of the Month honorees and was with them as they watched their goals play on the scoreboard at the Rock: Watch our winners and thanks to everyone who voted Save of the Year: Thomas Kampf, Central Regional #5: Scott Schnell, Hunterdon Central #4: Collin Andersen, Rumson-Fair Haven #3: John Callander, Point Pleasant Boro #2: Hunter Macy, Delbarton #1: Jin Lee, Northern Highlands A special thanks to Thomas Dreisbach and the staff at the New Jersey Devils for giving New Jersey high school hockey players a special experience at the Rock all season long!