The Manalapan
Hockey Club
team jerseys
display the Law
Enforcement
Memorial Crest
to honor fallen
officers.
Manalapan youth hockey program sports special tribute to real heroes
n BY DAVID ROYSE
n PHOTOS BY JIM CONNOLLY
A lot of kids in youth sports want to pick their jersey numbers, often
choosing to wear the same one as their hero in the sport. But there's a
hockey club in Manalapan where the numbers on the kids' backs
honor real heroes.
The Manalapan Hockey Club, home of the Manalapan Cannons,
started out as a group of law enforcement officers and firefighters playing pickup games. But since 2013, it has offered area kids a chance to
play a little extra hockey in the summer, develop positive relationships
with local law enforcement and get an appreciation for the sacrifices
made by fallen officers.
Rather than having players choose their jersey numbers, the club
hands out jerseys carrying numbers representing officers who died in
the line of duty, usually with parts of their badge numbers. Some jersey
numbers also represent firefighters, paramedics and military
personnel killed in the line of duty.
And where the player's name would be across the back of most jerseys, the Manalapan Cannons jerseys simply display the Law Enforcement Memorial crest of a blue badge crossed by a red rose.
“Most of the kids want to know what the number means, right off
the bat," said Manalapan Local 229 Treasurer Dan Carey, one of the
club's coaches.
So the club assigns the kids the task of looking up information about
the officer represented by the badge number.
“Each player looks forward to finding out who they will represent in
the season," said another founder of the club, Manalapan's police chief
Mike Fountain.
54
NEW JERSEY COPS
n
SEPTEMBER 2016
Among the fallen officers honored by the jerseys are Chris Matlosz
Lakewood Local 71 (EOW: Jan. 14, 2011) and New Jersey State Trooper
Marc Castellano (EOW: June 6, 2010). The team's No. 17 represents
Matlosz' Badge 317, while jersey No. 97 signifies Castellano's Badge
6397.
Some jersey numbers aren't badge numbers, but still represent
fallen first responders. Jersey No. 43, for example, represents the 343
New York City firefighters and paramedics killed responding to the
Sept. 11 attack.
When Manalapan's teams go to tournaments, the opposing players
and parents sometimes ask about the unusual jerseys, especially the
badge and rose fallen officer crest, said Chris Rudo, who coaches one
of the teams at the club.
“People are stopping us and asking about it, and saying, 'Where's
Manalapan?' because of those jerseys with the shield,” Rudo shared.
And the appreciative reactions from opponents have been even more
noticeable this summer, in light of tensions around the country, he
added.
“The kids absorb it, especially the older boys,” Rudo said. "This is a
serious time to be representing law enforcement.’”
The summer hockey program also provides a chance for officers
and the kids in the community to interact in a positive way, giving kids
who may not otherwise know any police officers a chance to see them
out of uniform and get to know them.
That's particularly important in a time when kids may be exposed
to negative images of law enforcement officers in the media, said
Rudo, whose son Mark plays for the Cannons.
“They're meeting these guys as real people,” he noted. “It's really a
great way for the officers to interact with the community... And to see