Love of soccer in the family at Dover
Angel Dominguez might be better known as a sprinter than a soccer player, back in Dover Middle School. But his uncle Jose Sanchez hopes that changes soon.
Sanchez, a Dover senior, wants to play alongside his nephew this fall. They got to practice together, and Dominguez was up with the varsity team for part of preseason.
"That's good experience as a freshman," said Sanchez, a Tigers defender. "I wish I had that. ... I'm just trying to push him. I'm cheering him on. He's going to be better than me. Maybe he is right now."
Dominguez and Sanchez laughed about that. Sanchez frequently says he's the better player, because he's older. But Dominguez, who also plays defense, is taller and faster than his uncle, and "calm on the ball," according to Sanchez.
"(Sanchez) is more of the aggressive type of defender," said Dominguez, whose mother, Guadelupe Lopez, 33, is Jose's older sister. "He's good at tackling and bodying people out."
Dominguez has been playing organized soccer since fifth grade, when David Hoyt, Dover High School head coach Jeff Hoyt's son and the starting freshman-team goalkeeper, talked him into joining a club team in town. That's also when Dominguez discovered his love of running.
Much of the current Dover freshman team played together for the Tigers club program, as well as the middle school team. Dominguez also ran the 200 and 400 meters and got under five minutes in the mile in middle school.
"I just like playing," Dominguez said. "I've got nothing to do at home, so this is where I get to enjoy the day."
Road warriors
When High Point coach Kevin Fenlon saw his schedule, he wasn't thrilled. The Wildcats opened with five games on the road. Fenlon quickly told his players they should see the trips as an opportunity.
Soccer mom Cheryl Moser took it a step farther, earning a $1,000 grant from the Center for Prevention & Counseling in Newton to help fuel the players. Moser and her son, JV defender Robby Zweesaardt, wrote a proposal to buy better nutrition — particularly for those long pre- and post-game bus rides.
Fenlon bought the full line of Gatorade products: meal bars, protein shakes and chews. That ensured the players had "a full belly" before boarding the bus.
No one will credit the nutrition directly but something certainly worked for High Point. The Wildcats went 5-0 in those road games, all shutouts for senior Garret Potter and a well-distributed offense.
Superstition also may play a role. Fenlon admitted to wearing the same coaching shirt, with "another shirt underneath it, so it's not that bad." Some of the guys wear the same socks, spraying Febreeze between matches. Senior defender Jack DeGroot changes his Twitter handle after every win.
The key for High Point is what happens next. The Wildcats have opened 5-0 for three straight years but slumped in the previous two. The "magic number" written on the board in the locker room was six.
"This was one of the gaps, when we evaluated our program last year, that we could improve on," Fenlon said. "The training goes along with it. The commitment goes along with it."
Clothes for a cause
Morris Hills gathered a huge pile of overstuffed trash bags Saturday morning: clothes, shoes and toys to donate to Flanders-based Millennium Textiles. The booster club tallied 1,389 pounds of unwanted items, raising $296.85. The donations will be distributed to those less fortunate in Morris County and the surrounding communities.
Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/