June 27, 2001
The Challenge Ahead for Ocean City High School Sports
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
The last eight years of sports at Ocean City High School have been the greatest in the
school's history.
Consider this.
During that period, Raider teams won:
three South Jersey football championships
three state field hockey titles
three state titles in boys soccer
a state title in girls track
two South Jersey championships in girls tennis
one SJ title each in girls soccer and boys basketball
and five Ed Byrnes Awards for overall CAL excellence.
And that doesn't count the dozens of division, conference and overall CAL
championships during those eight seasons. The interesting thing is, there were only
five total state titles won by OCHS teams during the school's first 70 years. Yet Raider
teams have won seven during the last eight years.
Then there are the athletes.
Chad Severs. Jeff Michner. Lauren McHale. Abbey Hartman.
All four were selected as Athletes of the Century in their respective sports. Three of
them were All-Americans. And all four competed within the last eight years. There is
Kevin Sinclair, who will be a contender for a similar honor in football, which is among
the six sports whose century reviews have not yet been published. And Abbey Woolley
in field hockey. Not to mention Cory Picketts, the two-sport star who was named the
Female Athlete of the Century.
There is no doubt about it. In the bleakest period in the long history of the high school in
this resort, as far as facilities are concerned, the sports teams and athletes have
performed more effectively than ever before.
Maybe the poor facilities have been an inspiration. When a new high school replaces
the current one across the street on Atlantic Avenue (or, in Upper Township, as a last
resort) maybe the athletes will be so pleased with the facilities that their performances
will drop off.
Probably not. Besides, lets not give those who oppose a new school in Ocean City any
more silly arguments for their side.
There is, however, one new challenge that will be faced by the athletes and teams at
OCHS - coaching changes.
Over the last four years Ocean City has lost five coaches who directed Raider teams for
more than 120 combined seasons. Two of them - Mike Naples and Phil Birnbaum -
coached two sports each. The single-sport veterans who retired are Chris Lentz, John
Bruno and Lloyd Hayes.
That doesn't even consider the decision of Skip Angelo, Mark Impagliazzo, Mike
Williscroft and Kevin Smith to step down as members of Gary Degenhardt's football
staff. The five had been together through all the recent championship years. Degenhardt
seems to have come up with a solid replacement staff - including coaxing John Oberg,
the winningest coach in South Jersey history, out of retirement. But a new staff, no
matter how talented, is always a challenge.
Wayne Colman can only be expected to coach boys track for a few more years. He
actually stepped down two seasons ago but was talked out of retirement.
Wendy Nickles, a highly-successful girls tennis coach herself, has agreed to replace
Birnbaum, who had succeeded her when she retired. But you wonder if it's long-term.
The same situation probably exists in girls soccer with Tom Miller, who came out of
retirement to coach the OCHS girls.
And getting an experienced coach like Leo Chase (though with no cross country
experience) to replace Naples was a plus. But he may not be there for the long haul,
either.
There are also Trish LeFever, Bill Nickles, Craig Mensinger, Pat Dougherty, Bill
Moreland and Degenhardt, himself. All are among the coaches in their sports with the
most coaching experience. And, it is safe to assume that each of them will start looking
at retirement sometime during this decade.
Mike Pellegrino, Kelly Malloy and George McNally are younger coaches with experience
who are welcome additions to the athletic department. Paul Baruffi and Kim Schaffrick
are two others.
Ocean City needs new facilities for its high school students, for many reasons other
than sports. But, even with a brand new school, can OCHS count on athletes during this
next decade of the quality of Severs, Sinclair, Michner, McHale, Picketts and Woolley?
And, most of all, will the school find new coaches who can teach and inspire at the level
of Naples, Birnbaum and the other veterans who have taken the OCHS athletic program
to new heights?
That is the real challenge ahead.
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