The Jersey Shore Athletic Group:
Past, Present and Future
by DV del Valle
A vision shared by a
group of friends who had one thing in common – the love and passion for
the sport of basketball. And so it was, sometime in the early
1990’s that a basketball team, called the Monmouth Warriors, a.k.a. JDT
Construction, a.k.a. HCPR, got together and played in countless
tournaments run by various Fil-Am groups. It was more than just a
team, but rather a brotherly friendship shared between the foursome of
Ian Reyes, Alex Cayetano, DV del Valle and Raul Cordero and that which
has lasted the test of time (and of squabbles!).
Warriors: circa 1995, Staten Island League
So intense was their passion for the sport that they soon found themselves playing in several Inter City tournaments over the years, the first being the PABA Tournament in 1995 and the succeeding ones at the various NABA Tournaments. However, theirs was a franchise they could never call their own as they could only enter as proxies for the Jersey City Franchise, owned and operated by Mr. Cesar Negado (of Jersey City). Also, participation was always limited at most to only two age divisions (out of a possible maximum of eight) – the Open Division and the Seniors Division teams. There was no way to go if we were to move up to the likes of more established organizations, like SIPAG of Staten Island and Kalahi of Central Jersey – or so it seemed.
But friendship knows no bounds. In due time, the group grew in size as certain cliques from neighboring towns in the Jersey Shore area joined and pitched in their talents and manpower. In the summer of 2004, we were now able (AND FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!) to field in five age division teams at NABA Intercity Tournament held in Montreal, Canada. It was a first of firsts for this group and one that would lead us to greater heights; there was no looking back from this point on (as you will now see).
Critical to the
explosive growth of this group was the joining in of the folks from the
Toms River area, ably headed by Ceasar Morte, Bong Dizon, Ric Velasco,
Manny Sitson, Dennis Zulueta, Ricky Gomez, et. al. Now, we were assured
of a constant supply of talent for the younger teams, like our Tykes
and PeeWee Divisions, as well as for the Womens Team. Also, the
leadership and vision these folks brought into the group greatly
enriched our dynamics. Then, a group of basketeers from Neptune,
who call themselves the “Monday Night Group”, soon join the fray and
manpower for our Seniors Division team gelled.
Jersey Shore Open Division Team: NABA 2004
But the greatest blessing that sealed the bond of togetherness for our organization was when BLD Trenton, a Catholic charismatic group based in the Jersey Shore area, came into the picture and became the single most unifying factor for our growing group. Now, we were enveloped by a true spirit of togetherness and of oneness in purpose that only true “givers from the heart” can bring and that which made our organization flourish to greater heights. After all, most of the main movers of our organization were active members and leaders of the BLD! More so, many of our younger team members were children of the BLD community. Coincidence or Divine Providence – you be the judge!
BLD: Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community
BLD Trenton: Family Encounter Week End 2004
We had our first
informal organizational meeting in February of 2005 and selected our
“officers”. I was assigned as “Grand Facilitator”, Ian Reyes as
the “NABA Liaison Manager”, Ceasar Morte as the “Fundraiser Activities
Chair”, Dennis Zulueta as our “Funds Custodian” and Bong Ulep as the
“Keeper of the Records”. At about this time, we also decided to
incorporate our group as a non-profit organization, which we loosely
called “Fil-Am Athletic Group of Central Jersey” (for lack of a more
appropriate name). We went ahead to plan and eventually staged
our first major activity.
But, we did not yet have an official name that was most appropriate for our young and growing organization.
On May of 2005, during our first dinner-dance fundraiser, we were very fortunate to have as one of our honored guests, Dr. Sonny Albano, who is the Deputy Commissioner of the NABA for Eastern United States. Dr. Sonny approached me after dinner and announced that our group was now being given an official entry for the NABA Tournament and that we would call ourselves the JERSEY SHORE FRANCHISE. That was the best piece of news that we ever had for that year!!! In essence, we were now being given the appropriate recognition as a NABA franchise with its own organizational structure and geographic identity. From this point onwards, we associated ourselves as the JERSEY SHORE ATHLETIC GROUP (JSAG).
At our Dinner-Dance Party: Dr. Sonny Albano presenting the
MVP award to Henry Ong
The summer of 2005 was hectic indeed as the organization prepared seven age division teams to participate at the NABA Inter City Tournament held in Staten Island. Along with the many new players who joined our teams that year came their parents whose involvement and avid participation became critical to the success of our growing basketball program. The summer of 2005 turned out to be a huge success in terms of membership growth and our presence as the youngest NABA franchise could not be easily ignored as groups of players and supporters wearing the familiar JSAG blue and red logo T-shirt were seen swarming all over the campus grounds!
Womens team 2005: practice at Main Court, Toms River
PeeWee Team NABA 2005
Coach Alex C. and our Junior Team NABA 2005
Seniors Team NABA 2005
The fans
The year 2006 solidified JSAG’s organizational structure and dynamics. On Feb 4, 2006 we had our first organizational meeting and ratified our Constitution and By-Laws. Then, on March 3, 2006 we had our first JSAG Board Members meeting and elected our official set of officers for the term 2006-08. Induction of officers was witnessed during our dinner fundraiser on March 11, 2006.
JSAG
Board Meeting: March 3, 2006
The future?! Well, it certainly looks very bright and promising. On April of 2006, we conducted our first Kid’s Basketball Clinic. The success of our various sports programs will be carried on for the years to come as we find our organization growing by leaps and bounds. On May of 2006, we launched this web site as our first ever vehicle for media exposure. The various age division teams will be given the opportunity to participate in local tournaments year-round so as to keep their skills and team cohesion attuned. Along with all the expenses required to support our teams comes the need to concoct more ideas for fundraiser activities. Eventually, in the not too distant future, we will be asked by the NABA organizers to host the annual Inter City Tournament.
But most of all, what we will have gained from all this is a sense of accomplishment that what we are doing now may somehow make a lasting positive impression in the lives of our youth through the sport of basketball. If you ask me what this is all about – that is the ultimate answer! We do it for the kids!
DV del Valle
JSAG President 2006-08