Danny Breslauer

Highland Park High School posted that remarkable season this fall, and both coaches emphasized how the grassroots movement for soccer in the borough has strengthened.

Nicole Chis learned how to play tennis when she was two years old during practice sessions with her father Marius. That training started at the borough’s Donaldson Park and eventually made its way to the courts on North Eighth Avenue.

“My dad’s been my coach my whole life,” Chis said of her father, who was born in Romania. “He would help me stand up, hold a racquet and ball and hit it. I ended up practicing every day, and having him there each time made it easy to develop.”

At the high school ranks, it is rare to find a team that plays soccer the way the sport is meant to be played at its highest level.

Free-flowing possession is what separates the elite teams from the good ones. This year’s Highland Park High School girls soccer squad has that rare element in its style.

To the casual observer, it’s just the prize for a high school football rivalry. Some might see simply a half-shaven structure with a wood base and gold-plated siding. It’s even possible to feel that it isn’t aesthetically pleasing.

But to anyone from Highland Park or Metuchen who has been involved with the 75-year football rivalry between the two towns, the annual Goal Post Trophy is a work of art.

To the Central Jersey high school football historian, 'Highland Park' is synonymous with state championships. The past decade has been filled with high-quality play on the HPHS gridiron, but various roadblocks have prevented the Owls from bringing home the section’s top prize.

Coming off a 4-6 campaign in 2010, which featured a seventh consecutive state playoff berth and a tournament loss to eventual champion Shore Regional, sixth-year head coach Rich McGlynn has high hopes for his squad.

Being aware of your health and fitness is a complex topic, and often one that encompasses many New Year’s resolutions. You might not expect to see it displayed by a group of 70 third through seventh graders, but that has been accomplished the efforts of Highland Park's Office of Recreation.

Tyler Rios had just moved to Highland Park from Newark in 2005. He was walking the halls of Bartle Elementary School when he came across flyers promoting recreation wrestling.

He thought it’d be a cool idea to get involved, but had no idea that the decision would lead to something much bigger than a hobby.

“It’s exciting . . [In recent years] we’ve had a lot of great track athletes and teams but nobody knows about them because they didn't see them,” says HPHS girls track head coach Keith Roig about the renovations to formerly dilapidated Jay Dakelman Field.

Coming off a 15-7 record and back-to-back appearances in the Central Jersey Group 1 tournament, the Owls return all but three players to create an upperclassmen-dominated lineup.