Stop into Hamilton’s Trenton Catholic Academy on any given school day and you’ll find the normal sports activities going on in the gym and on the playing fields after school. 

Walk down the second floor corridor to room 206 and you’ll find another type of training going on ... that of the cerebral variety.  No bouncing balls or barking coaches. As you step into the room, you’d think you entered a study hall.  No noise, no commotion, just intense silence.

 Welcome to the TCA chess team.

 This newly-formed TCA team has quietly established itself as a respectable force in the world of high school chess in just one year of existence.  In a school known for its athletic prowess, it wouldn’t be a surprise for a chess team to slip through the cracks or have trouble establishing itself.  Not this one.

 Credit first year teacher Mike Radaszkiewicz with getting the program off and running.  When interviewing him for his teaching position, TCA principal, Michelle Neves’ noticed his chess background and inquired about starting a chess team.  “No problem” said the man looking for his first teaching job.

 Starting in December, the young team gathered in  Coach “Rad”’s room weekly to learn the game of chess.  Radaszkiewicz,  an ‘06 Cherokee grad and former chess player himself, started the group as a club but saw such a great interest, ability and desire that he contacted the South Jersey Chess League about becoming  a member team. They said yes.  With five freshmen and five sophomores, one might expect them to go through growing pains and take their lumps right away.  Not so.

 Playing in their first match, the team surprised everyone with a victory over Audobon High School.  From there they continued to gain momentum.  Maybe the highlight of the season was their performance at a quad match of league teams.  Eventual league champ, Oakcrest in May’s Landing, swept them 5-0 in their first match.  With just 15 minutes to regroup, coach Rad gave some suggestions and they responded by shocking Oakcrest 3-2 in the second match.  TCA swept the remaining matches to finish the day at 5-1.  Not bad for a bunch of chess rookies.

 The TCA team finished 8-2 in their division, losing only one more time when two varsity players could not make the event.

 The varsity consists of sophomores Momolu Dorley, Quentin Freeman, Marcus Lomi and Solomon Townsend, along with freshman Cedric Lary.  The JV squad has sophomore Jordon Givens-Scott and freshmen Luke Henry, Shakeer Rashad, Azalya McClellan and Brenndan Urban as its members. 

Dorley and Lary are the team’s best players.  Radaszkiewicz credits Lary for inspiring the team with his initiative to learn strategies and pass them on to teammates.  Both Dorley and Lary have been instrumental in “creating a competitive atmosphere on the club,” said the coach.  “They both see three moves ahead.  Lomi is probably the toughest.  He was two moves from checkmate in one match, but found a way to pull it out,” Radaszkiewicz added.

Lary praised his young mentor.  “I’ve improved 10-fold because Coach “Rad” is a great coach.  We’ve had a lot of fun this year.”  Lomi echoed Lary’s sentiments.  “This has been a great experience.  I’ve learned a lot.  I definitely think out my moves a lot more.” 

Rashad added, “Chess season was pretty fun.  We did better than expected.  When you play other good people from your own team, you find better strategies.”

Radaszkiewicz summed it all up by saying, “This chess experience has done wonders academically and socially for these kids.”