CJ Hawks U-11 girls headed for nationals

Staff Writer

By tim morris

The Central Jersey Hawks U-11 Amateur Athletic Union team has been so special that Regan Apo didn’t mind commuting home to Howell from college, Temple University, Philadelphia, three times a week to coach them.

‘My dad (Allan Apo) started the team last year and asked me if I wanted to help him out," said Apo, the former St. John Vianney all-stater. "I love it. They are a great bunch of kids.

"They make it so easy to coach," she added. "They just want to play. They don’t care about anything but winning."

Which gives them the same approach as their coach, who led the Lancers to two Tournament of Champions crowns at SJV. In her senior year, 1999, she was the TOC most valuable player. She just completed her first year playing for the Temple Owls this winter.

The Hawks recently defeated the Wildcats (a team from the Holmdel-Middletown area) to win the state AAU championship and with it a trip to the national championships that begin Saturday in Lafayette, Ind.

Apo knows what her Hawks will be up against this week. She went five times to the national championships herself. That’s why she didn’t have the Hawks go to the nationals last year when they won the U-10 state championship.

"I know the level of play there," she pointed out. "It’s tough on kids that age; it knocks you down if you’re not successful and shakes your confidence. It happened to me, and it hurt me so badly. I didn’t want the girls to go through that, so we decided to save our money and shoot for this year."

It turned out to be a good decision because they repeated as state champions, earning another trip to the nationals. Apo is confident that her Hawks are ready for what they’ll be facing in Indiana.

"The girls are a year older, their skills have improved and we’ve added a few players," she noted. "I see them doing well."

The Hawks reflect their head coach, who knows just one style of basketball: pressure defense. That was the trademark of her SJV teams.

"Last year we played St. John Vianney-style basketball; we pressed all over the court," explained Apo. "Teams don’t have good ball handlers at that age. This year teams are harder to press, so we’ve concentrated on our half-court defense.

"We play man-to-man, zone, whatever, we play it all," she added. "Our defense is what triggers our offense. We run the fastbreak. We run the same lay-up drills that we did at SJV."

With a top point guard and inside height, the Hawks have proved to be a very capable and efficient offense in the half court. In other words, the Hawks can do it all.

Catherine Cristino of Howell, at 5-8, gives the Hawks an imposing figure in the paint offensively and a stopper on defense.

Farmingdale’s Brianne Lavin is the point guard and has Apo’s complete confidence. She runs the show flawlessly.

Kaitlin Weldon of Lakewood, the team’s power forward, is the team’s wild card. Because she can handle the ball so well, she’s like an additional guard on the floor, making it difficult for teams to press the Hawks.

Alexandra Goldsmith of Howell adds outside shooting to the lineup, while Loni Kaye, from Scotch Plains, is a very aggressive player who takes the ball to the basket with reckless abandon.

Rounding out the state champions are Old Bridge’s Jessica Pruiti; Howell’s Kim Herriger; Neptune’s Tashianna Gayle, who at 5-8 gives the team a solid back-up to Cristino; and another player who is hard to match up with up front, Holmdel’s Cristina Martorelli.

"It’s really been a team effort," noted Apo. "All of the girls are versatile and can play different positions. We are a complete team."

Tom Goldsmith, Jim Weldon and Allan Apo are the Hawks’ assistant coaches.