VOLUME XIV – The Other Side of Club Sports

Dear South Jersey,

Back when I first got this thing started, I made specific reference to the great volunteerism that is parental volunteerism in youth sports. You can read all about the great things that were happening in both Bucks County and Cinnaminson here.

However, more recently, I found that not everything is crystal clear and picture perfect for youth sports. I’ve been in contact with one club in particular concerning their parental volunteerism, and while the involved parents are an amazing help, the quantity of help is simply not enough.

Lenape Junior Wrestling has existed since 1996 in the Grapevine Wrestling League, which now hones over 48 teams in the area. In their glory days, they carried about 80-100 kids on the team. Now, the team is struggling to survive and the status of the club is in flux going in to the 2011-2012 school year.

I recently spoke with head coach and commissioner Anthony Iuliano and one of his assistant coaches Andy Samson for an article that will be appearing in The Central Record about their plight as a club, and they made me aware of how dire their situation truly is.

“I’m not from New Jersey,” Samson said. “I grew up in New York. I don’t know if things have changed, but when I was growing up, there were barely any programs for wrestling. You have the infrastructure here. You have 45 townships that have anywhere from 50-100 kids. You have a great support structure and a great system in place.”

Samson and Iuliano are currently working hand-and-hand with the Mount Laurel Board of Education to try to get the word out better. Since the board’s policy on disseminating information via paper to children in school is quite restrictive, the club is trying to either overturn that policy or find other ways of getting the word out.

“We just have to get the word out,” said Samson. “I don’t think the issue is convincing people that wrestling is a great sport. I think it’s more an issue of ‘I didn’t know you guys existed. I didn’t know you guys were here.’ Sometimes when we put signs up on public property, they’re removed. Not by anyone we know, but they are. Those are the obstacles we’re having. We just can’t get parent volunteers that are really cyclical.”

Iuliano has been heading up the club and volunteering a huge chunk of his time for the past six years. He will be stepping down next year, but has no problem doing behind the scenes work for the club. Samson, along with four other parents, is very dedicated and will do everything short of running the club. The club just needs that one person to take over.

It will sort of be a trickle-down effect for the club if they are able to get the word out and increase membership. They’ve seen in the past that the more members there are, the more parents want to become involved and the more the club flourishes.

The most unique thing about the club itself is the fact that it is not restrictive in who it takes in. Beginners from any age can come in and learn the basics. It’s a very rewarding process.

“The greatest accomplishment that I’ve had at doing this is seeing a kid with zero experience and by the end of the year, the kid’s a wrestler,” said Iuliano. “There are growing pains. Deer in headlights, but by year end the kids are going at it. That’s fantastic to see, because the kids have matured as young adults. They start becoming confident in themselves, even if a kid loses every match, because they go the distance for themselves.”

So, South Jersey, and Mount Laurel residents in particular… I encourage you to check out Lenape Junior Wrestling’s website at: http://www.lenapejrwrestling.com. I also encourage you, if you are interested, to support the club in any way that you can.

Our children need parental volunteers more than ever. I firmly believe that sports are the best personal development tool a young individual can have in their lives. I would hate to see one avenue of achieving that personal development be taken away because of poor awareness.

Take care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME XIII – A Nostalgic Crew

Dear South Jersey,

After just experiencing the death of one of America’s most hated enemies in recent weeks, it is only appropriate that my next blog comes to you in praise of our military.

And as we continue our journey through the many avenues of volunteerism in the area, nothing is more historic and glorified than our very own Battleship New Jersey, which is now stationed in Camden as a museum for all to enjoy.

I recently spoke with a volunteer from the New Jersey for an article that will run in The Central Record; however, I also wanted to share with you some of the opportunities and good stories that docent and Military Liaison Officer of the Battleship New Jersey Walt Urban passed along to me.

Most volunteerism for the New Jersey occurs on the weekends, unless of course there is a big event being planned that needs special attention during the week. There are literally dozens of interested and dedicated people who serve as docents for the ship. A docent is essentially a knowledgeable tour guide who leads hour and 45 minute tours for groups of 12-15 people around the ship.

Along with the docents, there are also volunteers that clean the brass all around the ship and volunteers that do radio work, as well. To Urban’s knowledge, there are something close to 800,000 hours of volunteerism that have gone into the ship since it opened up as a museum in October 2001.

“There’s just an incredible amount of people who are excited to come on down to the ship. It’s not all Navy types,” Urban said. “We’ve got a variety of Army, Air Force, civilians who have never served in the military who are very anxious to come in and gain the experience of what it’s like to be a volunteer on the Battleship.”

Most anyone can serve as a volunteer for the New Jersey. The staff just asks that interested parties go through a training program, which runs about six nights. Once that is taken, potential volunteers must take an exam, and when that’s passed, people can volunteer whenever they please.

“The docent community on board is great,” said Urban. “We’re all there because we want to be there. So nobody has an attitude except positive. We all want to do a good job for the ship, showcase the ship and tell the ship’s story. So, from that standpoint, there’s a great deal of camaraderie amongst those in the community.”

Urban and his colleagues meet on the weekends to plan out their tours. People love coming out to see them.

“We have a little lounge there where we get together in the morning and have coffee and get ready for the tours,” Urban said. “We compare notes on what’s going on. It’s a good bonding thing. The ship is a great catalyst for that. Everybody is there because of the ship and everybody loves the ship for one reason or another. They have some special interests, like myself, having served on her and being just a battleship aficionado is one of the reasons why I enjoy coming down here and helping out.”

The ship just had a big event on April 30 to open up spaces on ship for a Marine detachment. On Memorial Day Weekend, they will also be holding a big ceremony to unveil the newest addition to the ship: the opening of the gun turrets, which was not accessible before. Now, tourists can go inside the gun turrets and see what it was like inside those chambers.

“If you haven’t been down to see the ship, certainly the new exhibits are something you want to see for the first time. It’s going to be a very unique experience,” Urban said.

Urban’s favorite feature of the ship would have to be the encampment programs on Friday and Saturday nights, where kids groups (sometimes in the lower range of 300) can come and spend the night on the ship. Boy scouts, girl scouts, you name it – the ship has done it.

It’s probably the best program we have to offer, honestly,” said Urban. “It’s the most enthusiastically supported by parents, who come out as chaperones and get to spend the night with their children. Everyone walks off the ship the following day with a smile.”

Overall, I was very pleased to speak with Urban and hear all of his great stories. He gave me the complete rundown of the ship, both physically and historically.

I encourage you to keep an eye out in The Central Record for more about Urban’s remarkable story and to go down to see the Battleship New Jersey yourself for an even more detailed experience. Don’t forget, anyone can volunteer, so go inquire today!

Take care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME XII – Field Work Part II

Dear South Jersey,

I’m sad to say that I’ve completed my work at YMCA Camp Ockanickon. Yet another great venture that this blogging opportunity has brought me in life.

The last we left off, I had some fun playing in the leaves, picking up sticks, cleaning up areas and making sure all of the cabins are safe and sound. In my last week of work, I was able to do some even more useful work for the camp and took on a new role as lumberjack.

My next assignment was to go out onto a far trail along the lake where kids and camp counselors meet over a bonfire at night time. The area was filled with pine needles and used firewood.

I was asked to take the old firewood and stack it between two trees and to rake the area; however, most importantly, I was asked to do a more daunting task. With an ax in hand, I prepared myself to split about 30 tree stumps into quarters and stack them on top of the old firewood so the kids would have new firewood to burn this summer.

The stumps were previously used for kids to sit on around the fire, but the camp is now installing about five handmade benches around the area.

So I went to work. Over the course of two days, I grabbed stump after stump and heaved them one by one onto a base. Then, I would raise the heavy ax over my head and take my big swing in hopes of giving the log a perfect split.

Through my journey, I had some good splits and some not so successful cuts. But I also met some new “friends in the process.”

First of all, in splitting logs that are beginning to dry rot, you get to see some bugs that you thought you’d never see. If you’re a late-80s, early-90s kid like I was (or a parent of one), I’m sure you’ll remember Creepy Crawlers – that little mock-easy bake oven where you create little gelatin insects. Well, let’s just say I found Creepy Crawler Hell in these logs.

On the first day, I also saw some friendlier creatures. I’m not sure, but I think I may have seen a baby chameleon. When I picked up one of the logs, I saw a small, brown lizard, and as he scurried away he turned a pale green color. It may have been the hot sun and the sweat in my eyes, but I saw what my mind told me I saw, I suppose.

I also ran into two little frogs. They sat patiently as I worked and watched me split the logs. Then, they disappeared as I was stacking the wood.

I had a lot of fun doing this task and it was so rewarding when it was all done and the finished product revealed itself to me.

My final task was to lug fresh 4x4s down to a manmade bridge that kids frequent and pull up any unsafe boards that could break given too much weight. I tore up about 10 boards total and put new ones down, avoiding dragonflies and seeing snakes, geese and chipmunks along the way.

As I walked back to my car with the last of the old planks tucked securely under my arm, I wiped the sweat off my brow and dropped the wood. I took a deep breath and peered out to the lake and took in my last bit of nature. I clasped my hands together and dipped them in the clear water and set off into the sunset.

Thank you again to Ocky and all of its eager members. I hope you all have a successful and safe summer and I hope that I was of help in your effort to prepare for it. If I do remain in the area in my lifetime, rest assured, I’ll be back to help some more.

Take care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam