New Milford High School Winter Sports Kicks Off Season

Athletic Director, Joe Ricciardelli, says that most of the winter sports programs consist of young, up-and-coming teams. 

Here's an overview of NMHS's winter teams:

Basketball

Boys varsity coach, Mike Mayer, and J.V. coach Mark Mongiardo, return for the season with a very young team eager to hit the courts. 

Girls varsity coach, Rebecca Millan, and assistant varsity and J.V. coach, Samantha Orsi, are both first year coaches with young teams. 

New Milford will be hosting a basketball tournament on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28. There will be four boys and four girls games each day. The boys will face off against Emerson, Hasbrouck Heights and Rutherford. The girls will face off against Lakeland, Demarest and Westwood. 

Swimming

The much anticipated first season of the NMHS Swim team has begun. Because there were so many student athletes interested in swimming in both New Milford and Dumont, a coop with Dumont was formed under the New Milford name.

NMHS alumni, Hayley Barton and Kristen Magalla, are coach and assistant coach of the swim team. Although the team is a young team, Ricciardelli said that many of them are club swimmers. The team practices three-times a week at Lodi's pool. 

Indoor Track

New to NMHS is boys coach Greg Kelly, but he brings 18 years of coaching experience with him. Both he and girls coach, Bill Hartney, have strong teams with a mix of experience. 

Wrestling

No longer a boys only sport, girls now participate in the wrestling program. Second year coach, Joe Ickles, and assistant coach, NMHS alumni Ray Cottiers, are getting the team ready for the many meets they are competing in this season.

The team will be participating in the Bergen County Coaches Association's holiday tournament at Rockland Community College on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.

Bowling

After four straight State Sectional titles from 2006-2009, and taking First Place in the BCSL Olympic Division in the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009, coach April Millian is building a strong team of young bowlers.

Hockey

New Milford and Dumont have teamed together to form a hockey program. Representing New Milford is sophomore Andrew Lignos, "an extremely dedicated player." And in the sport of hockey, where ice time can be any time of the day or night, dedication is key. Ricciardelli told Patch, "Lignos is a very good athlete." 

Regarding the winter sports program, Ricciardelli said, " We're trying to build programs that will not only teach our student athletes the sport, but will prepare them for the real world." Ricciardelli emphasizes that good sportsmanship and respect for the players on the other teams, as well as team members, is an important component of the sports program. 

"The coaches not only teach the game, but instill integrity into the athletes and, in turn, into the programs."

Additionally, Ricciardelli said, "We have great dedicated coaches focused on building programs not just for this year, but for many years to come."