Their football coach called them “the heartbeat of the team.”
They are the Bridgewater-Raritan High School students who may not suit up in helmets and pads but run all around Basilone Memorial Field daily and work alongside their schoolmates who make up the 2024 football team.
These students–seniors Emma Fitzpatrick, Nick Garcia, and Kushal Patel; juniors Alyssa Stacknick, Sarang Nair and Madison Lockwood; sophomores Bellina Locrotondo and Brady Baxter and post-graduate Michael Carrete–comprise this valuable group who serve as the managers for the Bridgewater-Raritan High School football team.
"We can’t do this without them,” said football coach DJ Catalano, who is in his second year as Bridgewater-Raritan’s head skipper. “They are a lot of moving parts. They do the filming; they handle the social media; they bring and collect the equipment; they help coaches with the drills, and so much more.”
Brady Baxter spoke for his fellow managers when he took time out from helping with drills on a warm summer day at a recent practice.
“Honestly, this is so much fun,” Brady revealed.” I am here on the field with my friends on the football team, and my fellow managers and I have formed our team that gets the job done.”
These current managers followed two 2024 Bridgewater-Raritan High School graduates and Rutgers University freshmen, Vraj Shah and Jayen Patel, who thrived in their manager roles last fall. Catalano, who once worked on the football staff at Rutgers, recommended the two students to the college, and they now work as managers for the 2024 Rutgers football team.
Summer workouts are confined to players wearing helmets, tee shirts and shorts before official practice kicks off on Monday, August 12. But Catalano is confident his crew will be ready when the season starts against Notre Dame High School on Friday, August 30, in Lawrenceville.
He is also optimistic that his managers will shine as well.
“They are the heartbeat of the team.”