Rowan University Men's Soccer

           The Rowan University Men's Soccer team is one of seven men's sports teams at this university. As with all the teams, they play in the New Jersey Athletic Conference in Division III.  They are arguable the most successful team at Rowan.

            The soccer team has made it to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament 24 times. In 81' and 90', the team went on to win national titles. Along with those titles, the team has won multiple NJAC tournaments. There are various rivals such as Rutgers-Camden and Keane University that Rowan play every season.

            This past season was not as successful though. They went 12-8-2 and failed to make it to the National Championship Tournament. Only Conference Champions and at-large teams make it into the tournament. The current coach is Dan Gilmore, who has coached the team since 76’. His overall record as coach is 537-167-57.

            One of the current assistant coaches, Scott Baker, joined the team last season. He actually played his college soccer at Rowan and was part of the 90’ national championship team. Baker said, “The main objective each season is to win the national championship.” He wants to give 100% to the team while he is here. Last season, he thought the most valuable player was senior Shane Dooley, and he expects great things from Nick Bolton this coming season.

            As a coach, he will hold all his players to a high level on the field and in the classroom. Baker said, “I want the players to concentrate on school and soccer. They have to remember how important they’re classes are.” Next season, Baker will have another chance to help lead them to the title.        

Community Day at Cumberland County College

            On April 27, 2013, Cumberland County College held its second annual Community Day. The event was held from 10 am to 1 pm. The event was created so local residents could learn more about the college in a festive atmosphere. Community day is for perspective students and their families.
            At the event, college representatives were available to discuss pursuing a degree at the college. College employees were wearing red shirts while students wore blue shirts, so they were easy to see. Each department or org., had a table set up, so people could easily get details. Perspective students could learn about the programs and classes that were offered at the school.  The school conducted campus tours every 30 minutes so people could learn their way around. 

            Other than that, there were multiple activities that guests participated in. Some were toy rocket launchings, chair massages, robotics demonstration, and many more. Engineer professor, Majit Noori, said, "The robotics demonstration showed kids how fun science could be."
         Latin American food along with refreshments were also available to guests. There was live music from the Cumberland County College Septet.  The agriculture department hosted a plant sale, and Clay College had pottery demonstrations. Jackie Sandro, Clay College Director said, "Kids  really enjoyed making pottery, while learning a new skill." There was also a K-9 demonstration provided by the local police. 
            Earlier in the morning, there was the CCC Alumni Association 5k run. There was a small award ceremony at the Trustees Fountain after the race ended.
            Next year, the college hopes to attract even more people to this event.          

Sports Writer

           I conducted an interview with the sports writer Bill Evans  to learn more about the life of a sports writer. Evans is currently the Assistant Sports Editor at the South Jersey Times. He also writes for the paper and he covers the Phillies, college football, high wrestling and tennis.  

          A sports writer has multiple tasks on their plate each week. Writers usually meet their editor to discuss assignments, deadlines, and schedules. Evans said, “We meet as a team to discuss what needs to be covered each week.” Evans said each writer has a specific beat that they are expected to cover. At the moment, Evans is concentrating on covering the Phillies which requires articles daily.     
           A sports writer has to do research, conduct interviews and attend games to write their articles. Evans said he spends hours researching to make sure he gets the correct details. He does most of his research independently and sometime refers back to his older articles since he covers the same teams each season. With smaller sporting events that he can’t not attend, he has reliable sources that he can contact, so he can write an article. 
            The South Jersey Times is a small paper so everyone is expected to help as much as possible. Evans mentioned there is a lot of crossing over to different positions to make sure the paper is produced properly. “At a small paper everyone is expected to do just little more and sometimes take more responsibilities than their title requires,” said Evans. 
            The main roles he participates in are designing the paper, contacting sources, writing articles, and putting material online. Evans is in touch with every step of the process. At larger papers, sports writers will only be asked to write the stories instead of helping with each step. The responsibilities of sports writer varies depending on which paper they work at.

Profile: Allison Piccone

            Ever since she was a child, Allison Piccone knew what she wanted to do with her life. At the age of six, she was enrolled into her first dance classes. She started with tap and modern dance classes which gave her a first taste of what it was like.
            Piccone moved into ballet when she was approaching middle school. Her biggest decision to help push her along was joining Ballet NJ when she was 12. This program concentrated on ballet and she was there six days a week. Piccone became immersed into ballet as she would go straight to rehearsal once she got from school.
            She spends most her time reading, watching, and practicing how to become a better ballerina. She told me ballet helps her express her imagination and herself as she is out on stage. Piccone also mentioned ballet is all about movement and creating lines with your body. She said, “Ballet is an art form with your body.”

            This past spring she completed the Ballet NJ program along with high school. She had a tough decision to make on whether to go to college as a dance major or give up dance to pursue something else in college. At the last minute, she found out about a trainee program. A trainee program allows young dancers to join a ballet company at an amateur level. After hours of research and an audition, she was accepted into the American Repertory Ballet at the Princeton Ballet School.
            This is a two-year program that she attends six days a week. She trains and performs alongside professionals as she hopes to emulate them. When Piccone completes the program, she hopes to join the American Repertory Ballet as an apprentice or company member. After that she hopes to go even higher. “My dream is to join the Washington or Pennsylvania Ballet,” Piccone said. Every day she is working to achieve her dream.