The first-ever North Arlington Vikings Baseball Camp was a rousing success as evidenced by the attitude and enthusiasm of the campers shown here with camp director and North Arlington head coach Paul Marcantuono (back row, c.) and some of his players.
For several years, youngsters in North Arlington never had a chance to enhance their baseball skills. So when their respective Little League seasons were over, the bats and balls went into the closet until the next spring.
However, that wasn’t the case this year, when North Arlington High School head coach Paul Marcantuono organized the first Vikings Baseball Camp, which was held last week at both the North Arlington Little League field and adjoining Rip Collins Field.
Some 30 youngsters took part in the week-long camp, where they were taught the fundamentals of the game from Marcantuono, assistant coach Kevin Blackford, assistant coach John O’Neill and some of Marcantuono’s prime players at the high school, namely Charles Kearney, Joel Silva, Angel Santos and Anthony Rotondo.
All the funds raised at the camp went right to the North Arlington Baseball Parents Organization. The teachers and counselors did not receive any pay for their services. It was strictly volunteered.
“Over the last few years, between the floods from the storms and then Collins Field being renovated, we didn’t have a chance to do anything with the kids,” Marcantuono said. “But now that the field is done and we have this beautiful facility, we had it in mind to give the kids the experience of playing on the big field. It was also a great way to tie the community in.”
So Marcantuono brought his plan for the Vikings Baseball Camp to his athletic director Dave Hutchinson. Schools Superintendent Dr. Oliver Stringham also approved of it. George Rotondo, the town’s recreation liaison, talked to the appropriate people involved with the North Arlington Little League.
The Little League’s executive board, namely president Chris Hughes, vice president Bob Kairys and Russ Borelli, Tom Halas, Pete Ziakos and Lou Velasquez, all got involved with preparing the Little League field for use, as well as promoting the camp within the ranks of their organization.
“We got word out,” Marcantuono said. “We sent fliers to the schools. We talked to the teachers. We really tried to get as many kids as we could.”
Marcantuono was hoping for 25. The camp drew 29. Not bad for a first-time venture.
“It’s great,” Marcantuono said. “We’d like to see those numbers grow for next year.” The weather also played a huge factor in the turnout. The temperatures were definitely spring-like and there was only one brief moment of rain, but that didn’t deter the campers.
“We got really lucky with the weather,” Marcantuono said. “We chose the morning slot (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) because we didn’t want the kids out on the (field) turf with it being hot. But I feel blessed with the turnout and the weather.”
Marcantuono said that there was teaching involved, but the kids also had fun in the form of contests, especially a Home Run Derby that piqued their interests.
Anthony Alban is a promising 13-year-old eighth-grader. He plays Babe Ruth baseball and plays several positions, including pitcher.
“It was a lot of fun,” Alban said of the camp. “I’m very grateful for it. Baseball is my favorite sport and I love playing baseball. I’m glad I got the chance to play some more with my friends.”
Alban said that he learned a lot about pitching over the week.
“I got a lot of the basics of pitching,” Alban said. “I learned different grips (on the ball) and the proper stance. It encourages me to play baseball even more.”
Gerald Lawless is a 10-yearold member of the North Arlington Little League.
“I learned how to grip a four-seam fastball,” Lawless said. “Maybe I might become a pitcher next year.”
Lawless played second base, shortstop and third base in Little League this season.
“This was a lot of fun,” Lawless said. “I never wanted it to end. I loved the Home Run Derby. I almost hit one. If we didn’t have this, I’d still want to play baseball, but this was great.”
Twelve-year-old Joey Witt comes from one of the most prestigious baseball families in the area, especially when it comes to Little League baseball.
His father, Joe, was one of the most successful coaches in Kearny Little League, but the family has now moved to North Arlington, so Joe coaches the Scarinci-Hollenbeck Dodgers in the North Arlington league where Joey now plays first base, shortstop and pitches. His cousin, T.J., was the starting catcher on the Kearny High varsity in 2014.
“I learned how to field properly and how to pitch properly,” said Witt, who is on the North Arlington Little League All-Star team, currently playing in the District 5 tournament. North Arlington defeated Lyndhurst, 9-7, in the tourney opener Friday night.
“It was good to be in this camp,” Witt said. “It was definitely worth it. It makes me want to play baseball more and it was a lot of fun.”
Nicholas Rotondo is a 12-year-old third baseman most of the time, but has learned to play multiple positions. His dad is George and brother is Anthony, so the camp was definitely a family affair.
“I had a lot of fun and I was glad we had this,” Rotondo said. “I learned how to run the bases properly, how to lead, how to get from second to third. I really want to play baseball in the future, so this helped.”
Eric McKenna was one of the oldest campers. At age 14, McKenna is an experienced baseball veteran and is headed to North Arlington in the fall, where he will eventually play for Marcantuono.
“I learned teamwork is more important than anything,” McKenna said. “I also learned to be a leader and teach some of the younger kids. We never had anything like this before, so I was excited to be a part of it, even if I was older than most of them. I liked playing baseball all week.”
McKenna also plays for the New Jersey Thunder, a travel team based out of Lyndhurst. His season just started, so he’ll get his fill of baseball throughout the summer.
“It was a lot of fun learning from the high school players,” McKenna said.
They’ll be his teammates come next spring.
“I learned the proper techniques and proper batting stances,” McKenna said. “It really was a great week.”
That’s music to Marcantuono’s ears.
“I’m very encouraged that we have so many kids in North Arlington who want to play baseball,” Marcantuono said. “They want to play. They want to learn. They want to get better. We have some pretty skilled kids here. They’re willing to listen and they picked up pretty quickly. I’m very happy. I’m also glad to see incoming freshmen, because they know now what to expect and I can give them tips to have them get ready for the spring. They also get a little familiarity with me and the others, so they have someone to look for in the fall if they need anything.”
Watching McKenna operate on the field, he’s not going to need much help, just perhaps some fine tuning. His future looks bright.
And so does the future of the Vikings Baseball Camp, a new venture that hit the ground running.
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”