The Haddonfield eighth-grade boys travel basketball team’s season was a rollercoaster. The boys had their share of shining moments and hard losses throughout the regular season. Then, head coach Joey Malcarney lost his stepfather the day of the semifinals. Throughout the ups and downs, the team held together and that emotional season came to an uplifting end.
The team won the championship game on Sunday, March 6 against Moorestown, 33–31. This is the first time the Haddonfield eighth-grade boys have won the South Jersey Basketball League 8th Grade A Division.
“(The Travel Program) is proud of the group. Those group of kids who rose up to the challenge and fought, they have a will to win. They’re just full of complete determination, which is fun to watch,” director of Boys Travel Gary Narducci said.
Malcarney is a Haddonfield Memorial High School graduate and a two-time state championship basketball player. Malcarney, working in Haddonfield, was asked to coach and decided to take up the job. This is Malcarney’s sixth season with the Haddonfield Youth Basketball Association and second year with these boys.
“To have a volunteer from our program come back and give back to these kids is very notable and something we all appreciate,” Narducci said.
The boys started practice in November and tried to have a few practices a week, but usually got about one a week due to space and time. Malcarney said the boys focused on offense and defense, as well as energy and execution. According to Malcarney, the team thrived on defense.
“I always told the kids shots aren’t always going to go in and you can’t truly control that, but what we can control is our energy, and it showed on the defensive end, especially in the playoffs. Kids diving for loose balls, taking charges and helping defend are some of the things that we did that you usually don’t see at this age,” Malcarney said.
For Malcarney, the regular season is a learning experience. The team was undersized in almost every game, so it focused on energy and execution. There were some bumps in the road, as some of the boys got sick or hurt during the regular season, resulting in a 10–6 record. But everything came together for the playoffs.
The Haddonfield boys team worked its way to the semifinals and was up against Cherry Hill. This was just as big of a game as the championship because the Cherry Hill team was the strongest to play all year and won the regular season title.
Unfortunately, the day of the semifinals, Malcarney found out his stepfather Thomas “Chip” Dickson III passed away. He wasn’t sure he was going to go to the game, but he knew his stepfather would want him to be there for the boys. Dickson was a big influence on Malcarney with coaching as he was his freshman soccer coach and continued to coach until he became really sick. According to Malcarney, strategy on the game play was never really a topic with him, but more of how to handle the players and how the players should handle you.
“It was not easy. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done… ‘Do it for the boys’ was something he always used to say when I was headed off to a game or practice. After spending two seasons with this group, I knew the boys needed me, but I most definitely needed them,” Malcarney said.
Malcarney ended up coming to the came and seeing the boys win against their rivals.
“It was a pretty emotional win for everyone. Joey, ending up coming and coaching that game, was really special,” Narducci said.
In the regular season, Haddonfield lost to Moorestown twice, but in the finals the Haddonfield boys came with their game faces.
“Moorestown came to play and gave a great, competitive and gutsy game,” Malcarney said.
It was a close game the entire way, with the game coming down to Moorestown taking a shot at the buzzer that missed, giving Haddonfield the win.
“Smiles were everywhere. Kids, parents, friends, family, everyone was happy. I was happy, but more proud of the boys than anything,” Malcarney said. “This was not only a great group of athletes, but a great group of kids. Everyone pulling for each other, and that’s rare in sports today, especially with youth and high school sports; it’s fun to watch and be a part of.”
Malcarney hopes the players take the energy they found this year and apply it to all of their other sports as well as outside of sports with their family, school, friends and town.