With Thanksgiving approaching, Msgr. Ronald J. Bacovin wanted to deliver a message about giving thanks to those who are sometimes taken for granted.

He did so at the Mercer County CYO Basketball & Cheerleading Opening Day Mass, which took place Nov. 2 at the Mercer County CYO in Yardville. The Mass, celebrated by Msgr. Bacovin, a retired priest of the Diocese, included music by Rosemary Lamachia and keyboardist Joann Sciarrotta, and an awards presentation to the CYO’s 2018-19 award winners.

Photo Gallery: CYO Opening Day Mass

Speaking to a large gathering of basketball players and cheerleaders in the Monsignor Toomey Annex., Msgr. Bacovin’s message was to be thankful, because “sometimes you need to do more than say thank you.” He was referring to the adults who make huge impacts in the youth’s lives.

The lesson came from a story about a 13-year-old boy who, many years ago, was into building his own radios. On Saturdays, he and his father would drive to the junkyard to look for spare parts.  On the way home, the dad would always treat for ice cream, until one day, he said, “How about if you treat this time?”

The son thought about how he was always taught to save money and said that he could not; so the father said OK and continued to drive. At that point, the boy felt guilty while thinking of all his dad did for him. So he said, ‘No, stop and I’ll treat.” The father said, not unpleasantly, “No, that’s OK,” and kept driving.

The following trip, the father mentioned stopping for ice cream again, and his son didn’t hesitate, saying, “This time it’s my treat.”

In summarizing his tale, Msgr. Bacovin said, “Every once in a while, it’s nice to treat someone else. You have many people who have supported you, such as your parents, your teachers, your coaches. It’s always good to give recognition to them, but once in a while, it’s nice to do something more than just say ‘thank you.’ I’m not going to tell you what to do. God gave us all great minds to think with. I’ll let you figure out, ‘When do I need to give thanks with a little bit more than just words.’

“Remember that on Thanksgiving Day,” he continued. “If you come to Mass, a liturgy at the church. You’re more than saying ‘thank you.’ You’re putting yourself in the presence of your God. You’re saying, ‘Thank you and I love you.” That’s one of the greatest gifts that you can give to God – your very presence. Never underestimate how important that is.”

Toward the end of Mass, CYO athletic director Quincy Walzer informed the crowd he was happy Msgr. Bacovin had returned to celebrate Mass, considering he was stung by a bee during his last visit several years ago.

“I forgot about that,” Msgr. Bacovin said with a smile. “Quincy had to remind me.”

It would take more than a bee to scare the monsignor away, considering what the CYO means to him.

“As a kid, I played CYO basketball in grammar school and high school,” he said. “When I became a priest, I was working with kids at CYOs. My nephews have been involved in it. They played basketball, they coached basketball and still do it today. My nephews and nieces are all athletically inclined people, and it taught them some very good values and good skills, too.”

After Mass, scholar-athlete awards were given out to Trenton Catholic’s Audrey Bing and Miles Humphrey; Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony’s Grace Gill and Gabriel Gomez, St. Paul’s Luke Foley and Isabella Sagarese; St. Gregory the Great’s Caitlin McCarthy and Michael Smith, and St. Raphael-Holy Angels’ Mac Meara and Natalie Sidone.

The Female Athlete of the Year Award went to St. Gregory’s Kara Keating, a basketball player who was the Most Valuable Player in  the Large School Division and led her team to a second-place playoff finish.

“I’m really honored and want to thank my coaches and teammates and parents for everything they did,” said Keating, a Robbinsville High freshman who will play basketball for the Ravens this year. “I couldn’t have done it without them. When I got the award, I was very surprised and very happy.”

She feels the CYO “has become part of my family” and “is a great program to be in.” She also took the monsignor’s words to heart.

“You should be able to thank everybody for what you have,” she said. “You can’t get anywhere without people’s help. I thought that was very nice what he said.”

The Male Athlete of the Year was TCA’s Devyn Wright-Miles, who was the Small School Division MVP in basketball and led his team to the playoff title. His coach, Bob Fusik, felt it was a deserving award.

“Devyn is a great kid who works very hard and has grown tremendously in the years I coached him in both CYO and AAU,” Fusik said. “He was a force to be reckoned with both offensively and defensively and played with heart every time he stepped on the floor. Devyn is a funny, smart kid who always was willing to help others better their game as well. It was a pleasure to have coached him.”

History was made with the Volunteer Coach of the Year, as Ellie Calcagno became the first two-time winner of the award. Calcagno won it several years ago and, immediately after she stopped coaching track & field, she became the coordinator of officials for the sport. It’s a tireless job in which she attends coaches meetings, makes suggestions on meet formats and checks in runners during actual meets.

“I’m very pleased to represent all the officials and all the parents who have done so much,” she said.