 |
| The newly-minted Vincent Ascolese Field scoreboard in North Bergen, NJ. |
No one person is more responsible in getting Evan "ERod" Rodriguez to the doorstep of his professional football dream than his legendary high school football coach, Vinny Ascolese. "The Pride of North Bergen" helped shepherd a young and, at times, distracted, ERod through an illustrious high school career by starting him from game one of his high school career, something he hadn't done for any player in more than three decades prior.
His faith of ERod's abilities were rewarded when the young Rodriguez was named to multiple all-conference, all-county, and all-state teams as both a Safety and Quarterback. And, more importantly, Coach A was always quick to respond when he felt ERod needed the guidance of a mentor through the process of becoming a man and an emerging football star in the highly-competitive New York City area.
On Saturday night, November 5, 2011, Vinny Ascolese was feted for his 50 years of remarkable coaching success (12 Hudson County titles and 6 State Championships) on the gridiron and in the community. Despite his team's 24-21 loss to the Peddie School, the community was able to attend and thank Legendary Coach A, the bedrock coach who ushered ERod onto the next level at West Virginia, and then, Temple.
Vinny Ascolese is far more than a collection of records and awards, he's an amazingly loyal former coach and lifetime friend of ERod and his family, and, for this, we're blessed.
Congratulations Coach A and thanks for always believing in 88!
