Camp Tour: River Dell Football

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ORADELL — The Camp Tour got a bright and early start today, heading over to River Dell’s 7 a.m. practice. If I were a player, I would love practicing at this time of day because they were done by 9 a.m. and the kids had the rest of the day to themselves. The Golden Hawks were doing some prep work for Friday’s quad scrimmage against Cranford, Carteret and Warren Hills, so I got a little peek at a team that coach D.J. Nimphius calls “very OK.”

Here are some thoughts and observations:

• For openers, I had to smile at the little hat Nimphius was wearing to help ward off the steady mist and drizzle. Looks like something you’d see Frank Sinatra wearing in Vegas in the 1960’s. I’m a hat guy, so I can appreciate it. He laughed and said it was the gambler look. I think Nimphius doesn’t get enough credit for what he accomplishes with this program. Even when he doesn’t have the sort of injuries that hamstrung him last season, he moves players around and gets the most out of his entire roster. He’d definitely be on my list of the Top 10 football coaches in North Jersey.
• I never heard a coach say his team was “very OK.” That’s interesting. My translation? There’s talent here, and it’s just a matter of time before it all comes together. River Dell lost some outstanding high school football players to graduation, but many of them missed time with injury last season. That means the players getting their chance now got their feet wet on a good team last season, and I think that bodes very well. There are some early season challenges on the schedule, but this is a team that could be ready to start doing it’s best work in November.
• Senior Pat McPartland takes over at QB, although he’s no stranger to the job. He did a great job as an injury replacement last season and won a playoff game, and he’s going to be an interesting player to watch. This program also has remarkable depth at QB, so Nimphius can mix and match a little if he wants to.
• The Golden Hawks have one of the best slogans on the back of their practice tee-shirts. It simply says “Ham and Eggs.” That’s from that famous quote about commitment: “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved, the pig is committed.”

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