Coach Lou Spadaccini speaks the language of the diamond to the Neumann-Goretti baseball team.
A lesson in Lou-mility
Although his last name sounds as if it could be a pasta, Lou Spadaccini is not as pliable as the doughy dish. Following a horrendous 3-18 2007 campaign as Neumann-Goretti’s baseball coach, he could have succumbed to the naysayers who saw his squad as a perpetual also-ran.
Instead, the humble Spadaccini has molded a Catholic League and City championship team, leading him to the top spot for favorite high school coach.
The 1992 St. John Neumann High grad has — without excessive fanfare — constructed a squad many consider a serious threat to sweep the Catholic League, City and State titles this spring. Enviably humble, he credits his players for his success.
“The kids make it easy,” he said. “I love being around them because they love to compete.”
Spadaccini has been around returning All-Catholic and All-City seniors Mark Donato, Al Baur, and Mike Riverso since they were 9.
“Last year was amazing. The guys worked really hard. I often watch the DVD of last year’s team and I love seeing the joy on each kid’s face,” he said.
He also remembers the disappointment on those faces after the team fell in the state semifinals to Abington Heights, the eventual champions.
“We’re up for the journey of trying to get back,” he said.
Neumann-Goretti boys’ basketball coach Carl Arrigale posted up in second-place and Bok football coach Tom DeFelice tackled third.
Divine decimation
The Neumann-Goretti boys’ basketball team celebrates its recent Catholic League championship over Archbishop Carroll. (File Photo)
No stranger to athletic excellence, Neumann-Goretti High School recently received national kudos. In July 2009, Sports Illustrated chose the school, 1736 S. 10th St., as having Pennsylvania’s top athletic program. The magazine realized what South Philadelphians have long known — the kids have game as this year’s best high school sports program.
The school fields teams in football, volleyball, lacrosse, golf, softball, baseball, soccer, bowling and basketball — the latter three having a boys’ and a girls’ team.
Talent, grit, and determination form the trinity of the teams’ keys to success. The boys’ basketball and baseball teams are the studs among a reliable herd. Earlier this month, the former captured its second straight Catholic League and City crowns and the latter will begin defense of its Catholic League and City titles next week.
The head coach of the Ss. Neumann-Goretti baseball team was arrested for allegedly supplying a minor with alcohol Monday and put behind bars the following night for an allegation of sexual abuse.
A basket of Crabfries with cheese came to readers’ minds when thinking of best french fries and Chickie’s & Pete’s owner Pete Ciarrocchi was glad to hear his franchise came out on top. “I’m the fry king,” he said. “It’s the greatest thing.”
Give that dog a roam Four-legged friends don’t need 400-thread count sheets, fluffy pillows or a jacuzzi tub when away from home. Most dogs have one simple request — space to run free and enjoy the warm spring air. In these parts, Columbus Square, 12th and Wharton streets, is where animal-lovers consider the best dog park.
After the hectic holiday season winds down, just about everyone sets out to bronze their skin just in time for the onset of the warmer weather. Equipped with 11 tanning booths, a new state-of-the-art Sun Gate lay-down bed with the strongest lamps in the area and the recent addition of spray-tanning, Beach Tanning, 2525 S. Broad St., has become the reader favorite.
Well done There are plenty of ways to have a burger. Starting with the patty: Will it be rare, medium or well-done? After seasoned and cooked to perfection, it can be topped with anything from double cheese, double bacon to alfalfa sprouts and avocado.
Conventional wisdom states good things come to those who wait. This year’s Delaware Valley Senators proved that prosperity can likewise visit those whom fate has not given a lengthy delay. The team’s 7- and 8-year-olds began what they hope will be a prolonged relationship with success, capturing a pair of tournament crowns and fi nishing as runners-up in their 12-team league.
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