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Sometimes reminiscences are so clear what occurred may have occurred 5 minutes in the past.
Like a line drive to left-centerfield — a low-flying rocket — that saved going till it splashed down within the Hudson River.
An early model of a McCovey Cove shot, besides it was in Haverstraw, not San Francisco, and to left-center, not proper.
And reminiscences like being 14 and placing out future Major Leaguer Walt Weiss in entrance of a sea of faculty and professional scouts there virtually completely for Weiss, who didn’t get successful however did steal two bases, rating and subject like a vacuum.
Or the satisfaction of seeing youngsters pull collectively to lastly win a state cross-country title after 25 years of teaching and a 12 months after they’d needed to accept second place within the state.
Or the mental-patchwork pictures of continuous softball being performed behind a bar each weeknight and all day on Sunday. And fast-forwarding many years later to profitable a last softball championship at age 60 — catching in a 35-plus fast-pitch softball league.
These issues and so very way more will likely be talked about and laughed about, hashed and rehashed this weekend when sports activities in Rockland County are celebrated over a two-day span with 4 massive occasions on the Crowne Plaza on the Suffern/Mahwah, N.J. line.
The brainchild of former Spring Valley High and Rockland Community College baseball star Andre Chiavelli, the weekend will unofficially kick off Friday at 7 p.m. with an all-comers-welcome informal gathering on the Crowne Plaza’s bar.
Already, 150 folks from numerous areas and eras of Rockland sports activities have mentioned they’ll attend that.
The 4 official occasions are slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoon and night.
And whereas tickets will likely be obtainable on the door, almost 1,000 total have already been bought.
The celebration will embrace a relaunch of the dormant Spring Valley High School Sports Hall of Fame with a number of inductions from a number of sports activities. That occasion will run 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday
That night, 8 p.m.-midnight, a celebration of all who’ve ever coached in Rockland County will likely be held with 50 coaches singled out for particular recognition.
As a part of the coach celebration, a school scholarship will likely be awarded to Dimitri Pierre, a 2023 Ramapo High School graduate, who overcame stage 4 most cancers to wrestle final winter as a senior on the East Ramapo workforce.
The following day, the Ramapo High School Sports Hall of Fame will have fun the induction of latest members. That will run 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Then, 6 p.m.-10 p.m., the Rockland Softball Hall of Fame will induct everybody from coaches to highschool and faculty stars to those that excelled on a leisure stage.
The latter consists of folks like 65-year-old Ed Herdemian, who managed and performed for a number of high-level recreation groups in a profession that began as a participant in 1979, included that last championship 5 years in the past as each a supervisor and catcher and certain concluded (no less than as a participant and supervisor —- he’s now league commissioner) in 2022 — that’s barring any Roger Clemens-, Michael Jordan- and Tom Brady-like return.
Herdemian is formally being inducted for his managerial success.
As of Wednesday night time, 325 folks had purchased tickets to the $20-a-head (pizza and beer served and a money bar open) to the coaches salute, which is able to function addresses from two former native highschool star athletes, who went on to have skilled sports activities careers.
One will likely be Suffern High graduate and former Houston Astros supervisor and Oakland A’s and NY Mets coach Tony DeFrancesco.
The different is Tappan Zee High and Syracuse University graduate Blaise Winter, who performed for a number of NFL groups over 11 years, most notably with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him in 1984, and with the Green Bay Packers.
The different occasions, whereas not fairly as massive, are additionally drawing large numbers regardless of $110 tickets that embrace full meals. (There will likely be a money bar at each.)
Both the Softball and the Ramapo Hall occasions have been as much as 180 registrants and Spring Valley was at 160, Chiavelli reported Wednesday night time, noting he anticipated numbers to develop for all 4 occasions.
The jam-packed weekend is an outgrowth of the response Chiavelli acquired to creating a few Facebook pages a number of years in the past as websites to reminisce about Rockland sports activities with reminiscence blurbs, movies and pictures.
He was anticipating a constructive response to the pages however not the hundreds of postings that adopted, most approaching the Facebook web page Rockland’s Greatest Group.
That enthusiasm fueled the pondering that led to this weekend.
“We took a long shot with so many events,” mentioned Chiavelli, who runs a consulting and sports activities memorabilia enterprise.
“It just exploded into this big thing. It’s just massive,” he mentioned of the weekend. “It’s all about reuniting — bringing people back together again.”
Included among the many coaches being acknowledged is Joe Biddy, who concluded 56 years as a monitor and subject and cross-country coach final spring.
Biddy,81, started his teaching profession with a 12 months at New Rochelle High and moved on to Suffern High for 50 years earlier than spending the final 5 at Rockland’s St. Thomas Aquinas College.
Biddy, who famous he had a “special affinity for cross-country” and considers it the “purest sport with the hardets workers,” is the winningest boys highschool cross-country coach in New York with 762 victories, together with a few state championships.
Reflecting on teaching, he mentioned, “It was just fun. I just loved doing it.”
“Kids, they’re like so easy to work with. If they believe in you, they’ll run through walls,” he mentioned.
And most frequently on profitable groups, youngsters additionally consider in one another.
David Noriega, who’ll be inducted into Spring Valley’s Sports Hall of Fame alongside together with his teammates from the Tigers’ 1983 squad, which received each the then-Public School Athletic League title, which encompassed all Rockland excessive colleges, and the Section 9 championship, may even give the introductory speech as a kind of teammates can also be inducted individually.
That will likely be Pete Capello, the creator of that indelible-memory drive into the Hudson, a 3-run shot that secured the Rockland title 10-8 over North Rockland.
Without it, Noriega, who was on second on the time, famous, there would have been no part title and no workforce induction this weekend.
Noriega, who pitched and performed first for Spring Valley’s varsity, beginning as a freshman, was a junior in that title 12 months, which was Capello’s final on the college.
Noriega was an excellent participant, who began and received each championship video games that 12 months. He went on to play faculty ball for Rockland Community College, Wagner College and Dominican College, incomes All-American honors one 12 months as a primary baseman.
But he wasn’t in the identical stratosphere as Capello, who, he maintains, had very a lot the identical cannon arm and near-flawless glove of Weiss and a much bigger bat, however simply not Weiss’s pace.
Capello went on to play on scholarship for Pace University from which he was drafted within the 14th spherical in 1986 by the Kansas City Royals; he performed 4 years of minor league ball, reaching Double A, earlier than accidents ended his profession.
“He was one of the best shortstops I’d seen — probably the best Spring Valley ever had and probably one of the best in Rockland County history,” mentioned Noriega, who acquired that close-up have a look at Weiss, who in all probability holds that No. 1 spot.
Noriega, after all, was the 14-year-old freshman Noriega, who recorded no less than an ethical victory of kinds, not permitting Weiss successful and placing him out as soon as, though Suffern received that recreation.
Capello, Noriega recalled, had two hits in that recreation.
While Noriega mentioned in a 14-year-old’s thoughts, that gave Capello the victory over the longer term Major League all-star shortstop and future MLB supervisor, he now provides Weiss his due.
“Walt Weiss was smooth. He was awesome. He was lightening fast,” he famous.
Herdemian additionally performed baseball, graduating from Spring Valley in 1976, earlier than transferring on to play softball in 1979.
But it’s his expertise managing expertise that is the explanation he’ll be honored this weekend.
While some could dismiss leisure softball as beer league enjoyable, performed by as many non-athletes as true athletes, the type of softball Hermedian performed and managed for many years was far completely different.
But, then, softball in Rockland for a few years was completely different.
It was king of the summer time.
The Journal News, each he and Chiavelli (himself a Spring Valley baseball participant — Class of 1978) recalled, routinely gave extra ink to softball than to the New York Yankees.
This not solely was the pre-Jeter days of the Yankees but additionally a time when a subject now sadly misplaced to condominiums hosted a whole bunch of video games and hundreds of gamers every summer time.
It was positioned in West Nyack, behind the now-gone Deer Head Tavern. Not solely did high-level fast-pitch video games go on each night time of the week and all day on Sunday, however each summer time a match was held that included 80 groups.
Hermedian, who each performed and managed groups within the match, famous whereas this wasn’t windmill pitching, hurlers have been nonetheless fireballers.
While it may not have appeared on their IRS varieties, some prized pitchers who performed within the league weren’t precisely amateurs.
“The rumors were there were pitchers that got paid. I’m pretty sure the rumors were true,” he mentioned, noting a few of these pitchers ended up on groups he managed and performed for in different leagues and confirmed they’d personally been paid.
In his youthful days, Hermedian generally performed for 5 leagues directly.
Softball was oxygen to many. And there was no scarcity of expertise.
Hermedian received numerous championships however notably treasures these received in more moderen years.
His Pearl River Saloon workforce received the Rockland Senior League (35-and-up) 5 straight years, 2009-2013, earlier than two of his pitchers have been banned for being too good.
But in 2018, with “really good pitching,” however not the unbelievable hurlers it as soon as had, his workforce received once more with him behind the plate and, after all, managing.
“That most the most gratifying (of all the championships),” he mentioned.
Hermedian will little question discuss that recreation and concerning the large hits and large catches made in others, in addition to these unhittable fireballers throughout induction night time.
And, like in all probability many who’ve registered to attend a number of of the occasions, he’s most trying ahead to reconnecting.
“It’s very special to me,” he mentioned of the occasion. “I’m looking forward to seeing lots of guys. A lot I haven’t seen in years.”
Rockland Softball Hall of Fame 2023 inductees
Manager Ed Herdemian; Clarkstown North/Seton Hall University pitcher Danielle DeStaso;; North Rockland/St. Thomas Aquinas pitcher Jackie DiNuzzo; catcher Don Fortino; infielder Steve Loscher; Pearl River/SUNY-Oneonta pitcher Katie O’Flynn; the 1983-‘84 North Rockland women softball workforce; Riverside Café groups; catcher Bob Ramundo; outfielder Billy Seymour; infielder Don Toto; Pearl River High/St. Thomas Aquinas pitcher Allison Vickers and the late Bob Tortorello, whose household will obtain a Lifetime Achievement Award in his honor.
Ramapo Sports Hall of Fame 2023 inductees
The late Chuck Scarpulla (Special Dedication Award ); Eric Bergstol, basketball; coach Fred Bloom and the 1978 baseball workforce; Juliet Brown, monitor; Magic Celestin, soccer; Al Cole, professional boxing; Calvin Crosslin, monitor; Mike Lakes, soccer; 1984 boys basketball workforce; Tony Marciano, wrestling; Ray Melendez, baseball; Jeff Nichols, basketball, soccer and monitor and subject; coach Gary Shoonmaker; Dawn Sugrue, basketball and the late Bob Tortorello, baseball.
Local sports activities chief dies:Former Sleepy Hollow, Ramapo AD and Pearl River star athlete Chuck Scarpulla remembered
Spring Valley Sports Hall of Fame 2023 inductees
Jim Ashcroft, athlete and coach (Lifetime Achievement Award); 1983 baseball workforce; Ennedy Basquiat, basketball; Percy Boykin and the 1989 soccer workforce; Pete Capello, baseball; Gardy Charles, basketball; Andrew Delva Sr., (Victory Coaching Award); Chris DeMaria, sports activities medication; Skip Feinberg, soccer, basketball, baseball; Bobby Greenberg, soccer; Shilesha Johnson, Vincent Jordan, soccer; monitor; coach Mark Katz; Brian Lehrer, soccer; Rick Sarter, soccer; Timmy Thompson, soccer and Wendi Williams, basketball.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, monitor & subject, subject hockey, snowboarding, ice hockey, basketball, women lacrosse and different sporting occasions for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
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