“It is more than just about basketball.”

This is what PV girls basketball coach Jeff Jasper says about the Joe Poli Memorial Holiday Tournament, or as it is more commonly known around the New Jersey basketball circuit, “The Poli.”

The tournament was started in memory of the late Joe Poli, the principal of Pascack Valley from 1978 until his passing in 1989. But to Jasper and his team, the tournament’s value is in more than just its name, it is about a legacy of an amazing person.

This year, as in the years past, “The Poli” has attracted the top teams from all over Northern New Jersey. It is played over a span of three days at Pascack Valley and is, as Jasper called it, “a great display of basketball played by girls.”

The tournament begins this Friday at 1 p.m. with Northern Highlands, the defending county champion, taking on Pascack Hills. This game is followed by Old Tappan, who beat Pascack Valley 40-30 on Friday, against Holy Angels at 2:30 p.m. The marquee game begins at 4:15 p.m. when Pascack Valley will look for another win, playing Ridgefield Park. The final game of the night begins at 5:45 p.m. when Secaucus takes on Paramus Catholic.

Games in “The Poli” continue on Dec. 28 and 30 when the semifinals and finals take place.

Joe Poli wore a smile pin every single day when he was the principal at Pascack Valley. Every game Jeff Jasper coaches he wears a smile pin on his vest. After the tournament, as a way of passing on Poli’s legacy, each of Jasper’s players receives her own smile pin. At that time, he explains to his athletes who Poli is and what he still means to the program.

“Through this pin, his mission was to have a positive influence on people, one person at a time,” Jasper said.

Poli was one of Jasper’s closest friends and biggest supporters. Poli’s death in 1989, a devastating loss for the entire Pascack Valley community, struck Jasper hard. Jasper believed that he needed to pass on to others who Poli was and what his legacy meant to him personally and to many other people.

“He was so compassionate, so caring, so smart. A great leader, he was a leader who was defined as a leader who influenced people one person at a time,” said Jasper. “Truly one of the most remarkable people I have ever, ever met.”

The tournament is not just an opportunity to celebrate the life of Joe Poli though, it is an opportunity to share what his legacy means to the Pascack Valley girls basketball team today.