On Wednesday, Dec. 3 during the Pascack Period, Pascack Valley hosted a sports seminar in the auditorium. The event was put together by Mr. Jeff Jasper and Mr. Al Coleman and featured some of Pascack Valley’s own faculty members as speakers

The seminar was meant to educate students about physical fitness, recruiting, and college athletics and had a great turnout, with about 350 students (and a reporter from the Bergen Record) taking the opportunity to learn from people with knowledge about college athletics.

“The Guidance Advisory Committee consists of guidance counselors, teachers, students, parents, and two board members. The committee’s role is to assists students. One area that came up was athletics,” said Pascack Valley High School District Superintendent Erik Gunderson. “Jasper and Coleman took charge, as they are educated about this area as they are coaches themselves.”

“I was overwhelmed with the attendance and attention of the students,” said Jasper.

The Smoke Signal’s own Mr. Bill Rawson started off the seminar by speaking about the link between social media and high school athletes. Rawson primarily emphasized how your digital footprint can affect your chances of playing college sports or getting a scholarship.

“Digital citizenship is very important,” Rawson stated. “It’s not good when degrading things about women, bullying, race, religion, or sexual orientation are present on your Facebook or Twitter.”

Personal trainer Sean Kelly visited Pascack Valley to speak as well. Kelly attended Fairfield University, where he played Division I football and lacrosse player. Kelly now owns the Sean Kelly Performance Center, which is located Wyckoff.

“At my gym, we focus on the mental part of sports,” explained Kelly. “Academics come first and foremost.”

Kelly also focused on fitness and nutrition. He stated that the only way to get better at your respective sport or become a healthier person is commitment.

“Colleges invest in Lamborghinis and want to put the right fuel in them,” Kelly said. “Don’t eat anything with more than four or five ingredients or any ingredients you can’t pronounce.”

Mr. Sean Struncis, the district supervisor of guidance, talked about the NCAA Clearinghouse. This is the NCAA website that states the academic requirements of Division I and II athletes. Struncis showed students how to navigate the website and described the academic requirements needed to participate at each level of college athletics.

“Your academic ability must be equivalent to your athletic ability,” said Struncis.

Two Pascack Valley teachers spoke about recruiting and college athletics. Mr. Len Cusumano and Ms. Leah Jerome, who were both college athletes spoke about their experiences with the recruiting process and their respective college athletic careers. Both were academic all-Americans and spoke of the importance of education, drive to play, and character as essential pieces of playing college sports.

Jerome, a history teacher at PV, was a Division I soccer player at Fordham University who also had lots of high school success playing multiple sports. Jerome spoke about her commitment to playing college sports and told students that if they plan on participating in college athletics, they must have a great drive to do so.

“If the money or the scholarship is what is driving you, then it’s not that important to you,” said Jerome, who just ended her first season as head soccer coach at Cresskill High School.

Cusumano, a physical education teacher and assistant football coach at PV, played football at Syracuse University, a Division I program. He spoke about how he was able to surround himself with people who had similar goals to himself in high school, which ultimately led to his success. Cusumano was the first person in his family to attend college.

“If you hang out with people who strive for success, you will be the same as them,” Cusumano said.