A reflection by Coach Arnold Ebreo | St. Veronica, Howell

Just as the leaves were starting to fall from the trees last autumn, a special group of girls walked into varsity basketball tryouts at St. Veronica’s.  It would be the start of a season that would end with the championship trophy and an undefeated 14-0 season.

From the start of the season, the girls set their sights on the championship. But for them, it wasn’t all about who scored or who started. It was about learning how to be a team, learning to trust one another, and learning to live and play by their school’s motto, “Respect, Reverence and Responsibility.”

Once practices began, there was a feeling things would be special this year as the girls bonded on and off the court. Whether it was running drills, dancing in dance-offs at practices, or celebrating a win with ice cream, they liked doing things together as a team. They also went together to watch other teams play to learn all they could.  They attended high school basketball games together and saw girls’ varsity teams like St. John Vianney, Manasquan and Red Bank Catholic. That, along with each practice and game, helped these SVS girls focus on improving and adjusting their game to be the best they could be.    

At the SVS team Christmas party, every girl was given an adjective that described them as a hashtag on a warm-up shirt along with the team motto to help keep them motivated and to help keep them working as a team.  There was #Toughness, #Intensity, #Fearless, #Trustworthy, #Confidence, #Heart, #Persistence, #Determination, #Enthusiasm, #Tenacious and #Achieve.  This was a reminder during warm-ups as they wore the shirt for each game. Put these together with the team’s motto “Believe” and they had what was needed to make a winning team. The girls came to know that in order to be a team, they had to have the right attitude, give their best effort, and trust in their strengths and those of their teammates.  Every girl on the team had a role, and played that role giving 110-percent effort to make the team a success.

The season culminated on a bright and sunny Sunday at Mt. Carmel in Asbury Park at the Monmouth Ocean County Parochial Basketball League finals against St. Joseph’s of Toms River.  The stands began to fill with nervous parents and friends, knowing that this game was going to be competitive.  By the time the opening prayer began, it was standing-room only. Even players and coaches from other schools came to support both teams and watch the final game in a true showing of sportsmanship and camaraderie. The Crusader’s biggest fan, fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Madden, was hopeful but anxious as the game began.

Maintaining a lead at times of one or two baskets throughout the game, the SVS girls fought hard to continue to stay ahead of their rival.  During a close third quarter, the SVS girls regrouped, remembered their motivation, their goals, their motto, and with the support of a loyal group of fans cheering them on, eventually finished strong with a 31-24 final score. After shaking hands with St. Joe’s, the girls ran for that championship trophy, exhausted but exhilarated, and raised it high.

This championship win will always be a part of their lives, and each girl will be linked to her teammates with this great memory and achievement forever. The girls can remember how they came together as a team, game-after-game and relied on each other's strengths to pull the team through time after time to victory. Coaches Arnold and Maureen Ebreo and Kathy Hoffman could not have been more proud of what these girls have achieved!