Filling The Final Vacancy

The last of the vacant football coaching positions in the Shore Conference has been filled after the Toms River Regional Board of Education appointed Dave Oizerowitz as the head coach at Toms River North. 

The 39-year old has been an assistant at North for the past seven seasons and for most of that time was a highly-respected defensive coordinator under Chip LaBarca, who will not return this fall.   This will be Oizerowitz’s second stint as a head coach as before coming to North he served as Lakewood’s head coach for two years following four years as a Piners assistant.
He has also been an assistant at Lacey and his alma mater Toms River South.  LaBarca was the Mariners head coach for 7 years where his teams won a pair of divisional titles, qualified for the state playoffs four times and won the South Jersey Group 4 title in 2007 when they went 12-0.  However a recent change in district policy which prohibits school administrators from coaching has for now ended his coaching career.

LaBarca is a vice-principal at Toms River North and he would have had to give that up that position if he wanted to remain on the sidelines.

That same policy will likely make today’s Shore Conference Championship game the last for Toms River East softball coach Debbie Schwartz.  Her Raiders face top-seed St. John Vianney in the title game at Wall High School with Schwartz seeking her 501^st career victory.  She collected her milestone 500^th win last weekend when the Raiders beat Mater Dei in the tournament semifinals.

Schwartz, who has built a powerhouse program at East, has averaged 20 wins a season during her 25-year tenure but as a Supervisor in the Toms River District will also be prohibited from coaching following this season. Today’s Shore Conference Championship game features two of the premier pitchers in the state, East’s Jordan Weed and Vianney’s Kate Beriont.

Congratulations to the first class of Brick Memorial High School Hall of Famers who will be inducted tonight during a banquet at The Crystal Point in Point Pleasant.  A special shout-out to legendary coaches Tony Caravella and Woody French, 1986 state wrestling champ Bob Martin and George Rao, the schools first athletic director.

And how about best wishes to me.  At age 57 I’m going to my first Dave Matthews concert tonight at the PNC Bank Arts Center and I’ll be on the lawn with my daughter and her friends.