From Our June 19th Issue

Spring soccer teams keep the ball rolling around the calendar

For a varsity soccer player, the season never officially stops. Double sessions kick off in August and the high school state tournament runs through the end of November. The intense cardio workouts . . . .

Athletes in Shorts
Boys Tennis
Boys Baseball
Girls Softball

From Our June 5th Issue

If you build it, they will come
HPHS fields upgrade scheduled for June & July

It was the summer of 1961 and Joe Policastro, Jr. decided there were too many rocks on the field behind Highland Park High School. So, he took his sons and some of their friends to the area between North 5th Avenue and Wayne Street to clean up a bit...

Are you being served?
New Providence takes title by a single point

The sign of a good program is one that can turn high school kids into responsible young men. For the Highland Park High School boys tennis team and head coach...

Star point guard visits HPHS for a special clinic

Athletes in Shorts
Spring Soccer Clinic for Girls
Exercise Class for Arthritis and Pain

Restructuring the diamond

When Rich McGlynn took over the HPHS baseball program in the spring of 2005, he inherited a talented sophomore class with high aspirations. Last season brought a finish to the Highland Park careers of that crew of players. Now the fourth-year head coach faces...

From Our March 18th Issue

Owls edged in CJ Group I finals
New Providence takes title by a single point

PLAINSBORO -- A defending champion will always have a target on its back when going for the title repeat. New Providence took 31 minutes and 50 seconds to hit Highland Park's bulls-eye.

The second-seeded Highland Park High School girls basketball team (16-9) came one basket short of earning consecutive titles last Monday, surrendering the NJSIAA/ShopRite Central Jersey Group I final 41-40 to top-seeded New Providence...

From Our March 2nd Issue

A Running Start

There is never an off-season in Highland Park sports. All athletes need to stay in shape when their season comes to a close, often turning to intense weight training and conditioning.

HPHS spring track coach Keith Roig knows all about making sure his athletes are fit. Roig, who also coaches the HPHS boys soccer team, is known for his rigorous conditioning workouts...

From Our February 20th Issue

Rockman's 'Rovers' harness the unifying power of sport

Spencer Rockman has come a long way from being known as the "Ice Cream Man" in his hometown of Metuchen in the early 1970s, to becoming a well-known soccer coach, camp director and founder/owner of the Rovers International Soccer Organization.

Being part of a soccer organization was not something that dreamed of when he was young. In the 60's soccer really wasn't part of the sports landscape. More focus was put on the traditional American sports -- baseball, basketball and football. "When I was 13 and played my first game, I didn't even like it, I walked off the field," Rockman said. But it became his life's calling soon enough.

Rockman, 56, of Edison sold ice cream from his Good Humor truck for three years, but he wanted to spread his love for soccer throughout Metuchen and soon the adjacent community of Edison. He carried a soccer ball on the truck with him and held his first street corner clinic in August 1972 with 13 kids. As word spread more and more children turned out...

From Our February 12th Issue

Athletes in Shorts
staff & wire reports
Swimming
Girls Basketball

Grappling for recognition

The majority of a Highland Park sports fan's attention during the winter season is focused on the hardwood, but the spotlight may soon shift focus with the emergence of a rapidly-developing wrestling program.

The sport of wrestling is arguably the most physically and mentally demanding challenge for a middle or high school student taking it on. The HPMS and HPHS squads have responded to the difficulties of making weight and competing at a high level...