Q & A WITH FORMER FCIAC STARS
COACHES CORNER
INDEX-HOME PAGE MAX VIGLIOTTI/ WESTHILL HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 2002
FORMER WESTHILL BASEBALL STAR MAX VIGLIOTTI WAS A IMPORTANT PART OF THE VIKINGS RUN TO THE 2002 FCIAC CHAMPIONSHIP. ALTHOUGH THEY LOST THAT GAME TO EVENTUAL CHAMP NORWALK, VIGLIOTTI AND HIS MATES PROVED TO EVERYONE THAT WESTHILL'S BASEBALL PROGRAM IS ALIVE AND KICKING. MAX HAS MOVED ON TO CHESHIRE ACADEMY IN UPSTATE CONNECTICUT AND IS PUTTING UP MONSTER NUMBERS THIS SPRING. WE GOT A CHANCE TO TALK TO MAX IN BETWEEN AT-BATS AS WE PROMISED NOT TO GO DEEP IN THE COUNT WITH QUESTIONS. RJ - VIGLIOTTI - RJ - VIGLIOTTI - RJ - VIGLIOTTI - RJ - VIGLIOTTI - RJ - VIGLIOTTI - STAMFORD'S ASHE LEADS BY EXAMPLE BY RON JONES FCIAC.ORG SENIOR JARED ASHE HAS PROVIDED LEADERSHIP AT THE POINT FOR THE 18-2 BLACK KNIGHTS. (PHOTO BY STAMFORD ADVOCATE) WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE TALENTED STAMFORD HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM, EVERYONE MENTIONS THE OFFENSIVE SKILLS OF 20 POINT SCORER JOB CASIMIR OR THE POTENTIAL OF SOPHOMORE A.J. STEPHENS BUT ALMOST LOST IN SHUFFLE IS THEIR SAVVY LEADER, SENIOR POINT GUARD JARED ASHE. ASHE, WHO AVERAGES 12 POINTS PER GAME, HAS BEEN JUST AS IMPORTANT TO THE BLACK KNIGHTS AS ANY OF THEIR YOUNG STARS. WE SAT DOWN RECENTLY WITH JARED TO TALK ABOUT HIS TEAM, STAMFORD COACH JIM MORIARTY AND HIS COLLEGE PLANS. RJ: WHAT IS THE MINDSET OF YOUR BALLCLUB ESPECIALLY AFTER THE DISAPPOINTING LOSS IN THE CLASS LL SEMIFINALS ? J.ASHE: RJ; J.ASHE: RJ: J.ASHE: RJ: J.ASHE: RJ: J.ASHE: TRINITY'S PAPE NOT TAKING SUCCESS FOR GRANTED BY RON JONES FCIAC.ORGAMANDA PAPE'S GOAL OF WINNING BACK TO BACK FCIAC TITLES COULD COME DOWN TO A RE-MATCH BETWEEN UNDEFEATED McMAHON AND THE ONCE BEATEN CRUSADERS. (PHOTO BY STAMFORD ADVOCATE)
Instead of interviewing a former athlete of the FCIAC, we felt with the league playoffs starting tomorrow, it would be better to talk to some of the playoff participants. Amanda Pape of Trinity Catholic is nearing the end of a spectacular career and she's looking to add some additional hardware in the 2003 post-season. Although she only needs 55 points to become the all time scoring leader in the city of Stamford, her focus is still locked on team oriented goals such as back to back FCIAC and State titles. Although Pape will graduate in the spring, her fans will still be able to watch her perform her magic on the court as she signed with Sacred Heart University recently. We sat down with Amanda and talked about the playoffs and the end of an era at Trinity.
rj: as the second seed in the tournament and defending champion, how does your team guard against a letdown against 7th ranked fairfield? pape: well, we are an experienced team with five seniors and we understand that anything can happen on a given day. we're determined not to accept anything less than repeating as champions. we'd like to go out with a big bang. rj: what can you tell us about saturday's 1st round opponent fairfield (11-6 fciac, 11-9)? pape: they're a team that works hard. in the first game (trinity won 75-56 ), they kept it close in the first half, but we were able to open it up later. but in the playoffs, everyone starts out 0-0 and i'm sure coach (dave) danko will have them ready to play so we have to be ready. rj: at the end of this season, it will mark the end of a era here at trinity. how do you and the other four seniors deal with your last games in a Crusader uniform? pape: we use it as motivatiion and try to take it one game at a time. it's sad to think that my career at Trinity is going to end soon, i really enjoy being around my coaches and teammates but it'll motivate us to go out and not settle for anything less than a championship. rj: you signed to attend sacred heart university, what impressed you about their program? pape: two things really stood out about sacred heart. first of all, the coaches and players really made me feel comfortable and i felt that i fit right in and that was very important to me. secondly, the school is close to home so my family can watch me play. the bottom line is that i felt sacred heart was the best place for me.
CALVIN JORDAN/ BRIEN McMAHON CLASS OF 1976
EACH WEEK, WEB EDITOR RON JONES OF FCIAC.ORG WILL SIT DOWN WITH A FORMER STAR OF THE LEAGUE AND GET THEIR THOUGHTS AND INSIGHT ON THEIR HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE IN SPORTS. THIS WEEK'S GUEST CALVIN JORDAN WAS A ALL- FCIAC PICK IN FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL FOR BRIEN McMAHON IN 1975-1976. JORDAN WENT ON TO GAIN 1,000 YARDS AS A RUNNING BACK AND SCORED 1,000 POINTS IN BASKETBALL FOR NORWALK COMMUNITY COLLEGE. DUE TO HIS SUCCESS AND HIS THREE BROTHERS CARNELL, KERN AND STEVE, THE JORDAN NAME HAS COME SYNONIMOUS WITH ATHLETICS IN NORWALK.
BEING VERY LOYAL TO HIS HOME TOWN AND WANTING TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTED HIM THRU THICK AND THIN, JORDAN STARTED THE "EL SHADDAI" TRACK CLUB TWO YEARS AGO. LOCATED IN THE HEART OF SOUTH NORWALK ON 43 DAY STREET, " EL SHADDAI" SENT 10 YEAR OLD SILAS REDD, WHO'S RANKED 11 TH IN THE NATION IN THE HIGH JUMP, TO THE JUNIOR OLYMPIC FINALS IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA LAST SUMMER. REDD ALMOST DIDN'T ATTEND THE COMPETITION DUE TO A LACK OF FUNDS BUT AREA BUSINESSES IN NORWALK RALLIED TOGETHER AND RAISED THE MONEY NEEDED. REDD LOST IN THE FINALS BUT HIS SUCCESS HAS PAVED THE WAY FOR OTHERS TO COMPETE NATIONALLY. JORDAN STILL NEEDS HELP FROM THE COMMUNITY TO KEEP HIS DREAM ALIVE BUT HIS FAITH ASSURES HIM THAT THE PROGRAM WILL BE SUCCESSFUL REGARDLESS OF THE OBSTACLES ALONG THE WAY. WE SAT DOWN RECENTLY WITH CALVIN AND TALKED ABOUT HIS HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE AND WHY HE'S SO PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS HOMETOWN.
RJ: WHY DID YOU NAME THE TRACK CLUB "EL SHADDAI"?
JORDAN: IT'S NAMED AFTER MY CHURCH WHICH hAS SUPPORTED THE CLUB SPIRITUALY AND FINANCIALLY SINCE THE BEGINNING. WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF MY CHURCH AND OF COURSE THE LORD, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE.
RJ: YOU PLAYED AT mcMAHON AND NORWALK, WHO DO YOU CHEER FOR WHEN THEY GO UP AGAINST EACH OTHER?
JORDAN: THAT'S A TOUGH CALL CONSIDERING I ATTENDED BOTH SCHOOLS. LET'S jUST SAY THAT I ROOT FOR BOTH SCHOOLS BUT I'M REALLY ROOTING FOR THE KIDS SO THAT WAY I'LL NEVER CHOOSE ONE OVER THE OTHER.
RJ: WHAT'S MAKES YOU SO PASSIONATE ABOUT NORWALK AND IT'S SPORTS PROGRAMS?
JORDAN: ALTHOUGH I'M INVOLVED IN SPORTS, IT'S REALLY ABOUT HELPING THE COMMUNITY. AFTER BECOMING A COACH, I REALIZE HOW MUCH OF AN INFLUENCE i CAN HAVE ON A KIDS LIFE. ALSO, I'M JUST A BIG FAN OF FCIAC SPORTS, I STILL GET A KICK OUT OF ATTENDING MCMAHON BASKETBALL OR FOOTBALL GAMES. IT'S HAS A GREAT FAMILY ATMOSPHERE.
RJ: WHICH OF YOUR FORMER COACHES HAD tHE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOU DURING YOUR PLAYING DAYS?
SAM TESTA AND JACK CASAGRANDE ARE TWO OF MY FORMER COACHES THAT COME TO MIND. tHEY MEANT A LOT TO NORWALK HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AND REALLY CARED ABOUT US. I GREW UP IN ROODNER COURT AND COACH TESTA WOULD GO OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP US. THEY WERE MORE THAN JUST COACHES BECAUSE THEY CARED ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY. I'VE TRIED TO FOLLOW THEIR LEAD NOW THAT THE TORCH HAS BEEN PASSED ON TO MY GENERATION.
RJ: FINALLY, WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN THE APPROCH TO COACHING SINCE YOUR PLAYING DAYS?
JORDAN: IN THE OLD DAYS, PEOPLE WENT AWAY TO COLLEGE AND EVENTUALLY CAME BACK TO THEIR ROOTS AFTER THEY GOT THEIR DEGREE. I GUESS DUE TO THE ECONOMY, THESE COACHES AREN'T COMING BACK ANYMORE SO THE PASSION ISN'T AS STRONG. THAT'S NOT TO BAD MOUTH OUR CURRENT COACHES BECAUSE ANYONE THAT'S WILLING TO GIVE UP THEIR TIME TO hELP OUR YOUTH SHOULD BE COMMENDED, BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENT FEELING WHEN YOU'RE COACHING IN YOUR HOMETOWN AND NOW WE'RE MISSING THAT ELEMENT BUT I HOPE TO RE-ESTABLISH IT HERE IN NORWALK.
EACH WEEK, WEB EDITOR RON JONES OF FCIAC.ORG WILL SIT DOWN WITH A FORMER STAR OF THE LEAGUE AND GET THEIR THOUGHTS AND INSIGHT ON THEIR HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE IN SPORTS. THIS WEEK'S GUEST ASSISTANT HOCKEY COACH JAMIE TROPSA OF NEW CANAAN HIGH SCHOOL HAS EXPIRIENCED SUCCESS ON THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, WINNING A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1978/1979 AT STAMFORD HIGH AND DURING HIS COACHING CAREER WITH FCIAC POWERHOUSES DARIEN AND NOW NEW CANAAN. HE'S ALSO CO-OWNER OF BLUE LINE SPORTS SPORTING GOODS. BLUE LINE, WHICH IS LOCATED IN THE DARIEN ICE RINK, SUPPLIES HOCKEY EQUIPMENT TO MANY OF THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY HOCKEY TEAMS. TAKING TIME OUT FROM HIS BUSY SCHEDULE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING CROWNED A STATE CHAMPION AND THE RAMS PROSPECTS FOR 2002/2003.
Rj: WHEN PEOPLE MENTION THE STAMFORD HIGH SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP HOCKEY TEAM OF 1978/1979, WHAT COMES TO MIND?
TROPSA: THAT TEAM HAD A BUNCH OF GREAT gUYS ON IT. I TELL MR. GURNEY ( SHS HOCKEY COACH THAT YEAR AND NOW STAMFORD'S ATHLETIC DIRECTOR) ALL THE TIME THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY TEAM THAT HAD THE CHEMISTRY THAT WE HAD. I'VE BEEN COACHING HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY FOR NINE YEARS NOW AND I'VE BEEN IN MANY STATE FINAL GAMES wITH NEW CANAAN (5), AND NONE OF THOSE TEAMS COMES CLOSE IN THAT ASPECT. WE WERE BASICALLY a BUNCH OF MISFITS BUT WHEN THE GAME WAS ON THE LINE, THERE WERE NO INDIVIDUALS, NO HIDDEN AGENDAS, OUR ONLY GOAL WAS TO WIN THE GAME. THAT WAS JUST ASPECIAL BUNCH OF KIDS.
RJ: WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO GET INTO COACHING?
TROPSA: AFTER COLLEGE, I WANTED TO STAY INVOLVED WITH THE GAME IN SOME CAPACITY. I TRIED BEING A REFEREE BUT THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT, SO i GOT INTO COACHING. IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST mOVES I EVER MADE. COACHING HELPS ME STAY YOUNG AND THE X'S AND O'S OF tHE GAME HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME.
RJ: HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO COACH AGAINST yOUR ALMA MATER STAMFORD HIGH, CONSIDERING aLL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES ?
TROPSA: TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT'S PROBABLY MORE DIFFICULT COACHING AGAINST DARIEN. ALL OF MY EXPERIENCES WITH STAMFORD HIGH WERE AS A PLAYER AND THAT'S NOW A CLOSED CHAPTER. MY TIME COACHING WITH DARIEN IS STILL PRETTY FRESH AND I KNOW A LOT OF THOSE KIDS. SO THAT'S PROBABLY TOUGHER THAN GOING UP AGAINST STAMFORD.
RJ: USUALLY GREAT PLAYERS DON'T ALWAYS MAKE GREAT COACHES. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE tO BUCK THAT TREND?
TROPSA: I'VE ALWAYS PRIDED MYSELF IN BEING A STUDENT OF THE GAME. EVEN AS A KID, I STUDIED GAMES TO SEE HOW PLAYS DEVELOP AND IT'S HELPED ME DURING MY COACHING CAREER. THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF MY GAME.
RJ: THAT'S A PERFECT SEQUE INTO MY NEXT QUESTION, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE NEW CANAAN RAMS HOCKEY TEAM THIS SEASON?
TROPSA: RIGHT NOW, WE'RE A VERY MEDIOCRE TEAM AT BEST. WE HAVEN'T JELLED AS A UNIT YET AND THAT'S OUR #1 PRIORITY AT THIS POINT. ONCE WE DO THAT, EVERYTHING ELSE WILL FALL INTO PLACE. SKILL WISE, WE'RE RIGHT THERE WITH tHE BEST IN THE STATE. sO ONCE WE PUT IT TOGETHER, WE SHOULD BE IN THE THICK OF THINGS.