Scoops on Sports: Behind the Scenes at the 2013 Athlete of the Week Dinner

For the Local Sports staff of The Record (a.k.a. The Varsity Aces) the Athlete of the Week dinner is always the end. It is pretty much the end of the scholastic sports season in New Jersey.
And that is what makes the event always a touch bittersweet. We also really strive to make it unlike any other athletic dinner in North Jersey. This year, we had music, we had videos, we had speeches, we had prizes. We had a room full of superstars. I was just looking at the Bergen.Com photo gallery and I saw Mike Gibney from Wood-Ridge, and I was like, Gibney is the 8th leading scorer in Bergen County history?! History?! And we kinda look at him and take him for granted that he is there. That’s what happens when you are in a room full of super talents.
So what happened behind the scenes? And who was the best dressed AOW?

I can’t ever remember being at one of these dinners where everything pretty much came down to the, oh, final hour, but us reporters seem to work well on deadline. For me, getting the videos from Sy Schwartz and the northjersey.com video on Charlie McGill is always fun (read: headache). They just don’t play well on my laptop. But our photographer Tyson Trish to the rescue. He had his laptop which is more video compatible and they all played smooth.
This was the first time we ever had the AOW dinner at the Stony Hill Inn. It is a nice place. We were worried about the logistics though of all the kids (I’m sorry for the table to the far left of me that I know couldnt see the viewscreen, they wouldn’t let us move the table) and how did we present the plaques and the awards and all that stuff.
This was also the first time we had a sound man on the scene. His name was Dave. He did a good job and really added something to the night I thought.
But the biggest thing we talked about in the last hour was, ok, where do all of the kids go once we call their names? We had a bunch of different options.
A) Kids come up, pause for picture by viewscreen (which is showing their accomplishments). Kids sit down.
B) Kids come up. Kids go sit/stand in 2nd area for group photo.
C) Kids come up, pause for picture by viewscreen, then go sit back down.
D) Kids come up, pause for picture by viewscreen, then go to 2nd spot for group picture.

See the kind of important stuff you have to think about when you are having over 200 people over for dinner?
I really liked what happened at the BCCA boys dinner where all the kids were up on the dais and then called down, they got their award and a hug/handshake from their coach. I wanted the AOWs to do that by the viewscreen and do the group shot, and what the heck, we tried it. I’m not sure it was really ideal, but we wanted parents to have a chance to take a picture of their kid individually and in a group.

This was also the first time that I talked some about the history of the Athlete of the Week and the records. I had some help getting the records together. Wayne Valley has the most overall with 102, Bosco has the most in Bergen County, with 68, but it’s really, really close. We also played our Sy Schwartz video, Sy was the first Athlete of the Week, and he recorded a greeting for us a few years ago that we couldn’t have scripted any better. Next year, for the 60th anniversary of the Athlete of the Week award, maybe we can get him to come to the dinner.

Paul Schwartz got to go out in the crowd and talk to some folks. We had dinner. Northern Highlands soccer stud Brooke Holle was next to me, she guarded my salad so I could eat it (thank you Brooke). I was at a great table actually, the Otts and the Grady’s and the Holle family, I was sorry I couldn’t sit more with them and chat.

We had a special guest, former NY Giants RB Charles Way. He talked after dinner about leadership and told the kids how they were known now, that The Record had a great reach (we didn’t pay him to say that) and by being featured in the paper, they had become known, meaning people were watching them now. He challenged them to be leaders in their school and keep improving, and to know that people were watching.

Then it was on to fall, I got to present the fall athletes and I went quickly, because it was starting to get a little late, but it was fun. Reading over some of the stats and accomplishments, it’s just ridiculous. Brian Giuffra did the winter and then I took over and we had a special presentation – a surprise special presentation.

No, Jeff and Lois Jasper had no idea why they were invited, and I didn’t tell anyone. In fact, I don’t know how many of the Aces knew why. But 3 years ago, it was Mr. McGill’s idea to do an “honorary” athlete of the week for someone who has made an incredible impact in North Jersey athletics. Vito Trause was our surprise honoree in 2011, and last year it was Mickey Corcoran. This year it was Jasper. We supplied Charlie with lots of Jasper pictures and he drew a cartoon (I still love how Charlie calls them “cartoons”) of Jasper. So before we did the spring awards, I said how I felt like we had forgotten an athlete of the week from the winter, how Jeff Jasper had become just the 2nd coach in New Jersey to hit 900 wins – incredibly though, don’t forget about Bergen Catholic golf coach Jim Jacobsen, who also hit 900 wins in the spring – and how he should be an “honorary” athlete of the week. We made a show of asking Charlie if it was Ok (of course it was) and Jasper was presented with his very own McGill cartoon.

Then it was on to spring, we picked out the last few prize winners. And then we talked about Charlie McGill some more.
59 years is a long time to do anything and Charlie is so modest and kind and genuine you would barely know that he is a legend. The kids all adore him and I love seeing them flock to him after the night is done to get their “cartoons” signed. The video we made about Charlie and the process is also just right on point, down to the soft guitar music in the background. After we play the video, I call on Charlie to stand and he always gets a standing O.

Finally, it was time for the McGill scholarship winners. Howie Conklin of Bergenfield did an awesome job of introducing Paulo Hipolito and talking about how Paulo overcame his disability (a club foot) to become a key contributor to the Bears basketball team. Paulo spoke briefly, and was light-hearted, and clearly proud to be honored.
Then Sue Benjamin of Fair Lawn introduced softball player Ashley Sudol…and Ashley then brought. the. house. down.
I’m getting misty just thinking about it. Ashley had some medical complications as a baby, she had Bells Palsy for a while in high school, and then her mother passed away in March after a short fight with lung cancer. Ashley talked about all the people coming to her house to support her after her mom died, and the Cutters playing a game that helped raise almost 2000$ for lung cancer research. Ashley made it through the speech without crying, which was pretty amazing seeing how a lot of people in the room were.
“I don’t know how she wrote it,” Jasper told me afterwards, “and then, I don’t know how she stood up here and I don’t know how she read it.”

I didn’t really know what to say after she finished, other than I knew the night was getting late and we were honored to have so many people come and spend some time with us. We hoped it was a good time and we can’t wait to do it all over again next year.
Now if you have read this far down…My vote for best dressed AOW? Hands down, Corey Carlson, the Fair Lawn Lacrosse player. Not even a question.
We had our publisher, Stephen Borg at the dinner for a little while. Stephen, who was an Athlete of the Week himself many years ago asked me how many kids did we have there (72) how many schools (41) and did we have every sport (um).
I told him I thought we had all but one, golf, which was actually not true, but I wasn’t ready for the question and I didn’t know. Of the 26 sports (counting boys and girls separately) we officially had 20. No one from tennis – boys or girls – ice hockey, gymnastics, boys bowling or boys volleyball.
There were a few other cool moments. Jabrill Peppers got to talk with Charles Way for a while, which I thought was neat that they kind of gravitated to each other. We know Rob Kaminsky was thinking of us, but we also know he has big things going on in his life right now. Paul Schwartz in the crowd talking to Ben Malone was a treat (I hope you saw the pix on Instagram), I think Jasper was genuinely surprised and touched when he was given his award, and again, Ashley Sudol’s speech just was the capper.