|
|
Vol. LXIII, No. 30
|
|
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
|
|
|
|
Vol. LXIII, No. 30
|
|
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
|
(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
STEADY HAND: Curtis Jordan presides over a practice of the Princeton University men’s heavyweight rowing program in 2008. After being a steady presence around the Princeton boathouse for the last 30 years, Jordan recently announced that he is retiring. Jordan ends his tenure as men’s heavyweight head coach with a 131-43 mark, setting a program record for wins and winning two national titles along the way. He previously guided the Tiger women’s open crew to a national championship in 1990. |
After a stellar rowing career at Trinity College and a stint coaching the school’s lightweights in the mid-1970s, Curtis Jordan headed into the world of banking.
Returning to his native Georgia, Jordan spent three years getting a taste of the business world.
“I was a boy with a biology degree,” recalled Jordan. “I got education and edification from that job.”
But perhaps the most important lesson Jordan gained from the experience was that he couldn’t resist the pull of the water and coaching.
When Brad Gemberling came to Princeton University in 2005, it wasn’t a sure thing that he would make it to graduation.
Gemberling’s ability to handle things academically at Princeton wasn’t in doubt. Entering the school as a heralded pitching prospect, though, there was a good chance that Gemberling would be taken in the Major League Baseball Draft before making it all the way through college.
Although Gemberling steadily improved over his college career, seeing the velocity on his fastball go from the mid-80s to 88-91 m.p.h., the righthander from Swarthmore, Pa. wasn’t snapped up by any big league teams before graduation.
Like many newly-minted college graduates, Dan DeGeorge struggled to find suitable employment this summer as he headed into the real world.
Looking to secure a spot in professional baseball, Princeton University All-Ivy performer DeGeorge reached out to several teams but had no bites as graduation and the Major League Draft came and went in early June.
Weeks later, as DeGeorge cooked a burger at home in Annandale, N.J. and lamented his situation, the phone rang and things started looking up.
“Mike Chernoff of the Cleveland Indians called me,” said DeGeorge. “I was really excited.”
Ben Stentz is used to giving out awards in his role as the commissioner of the Princeton Recreation Department Summer Men’s Basketball League.
Last Friday, Stentz was at it again as he introduced this year’s class of the league’s Hall of Fame between playoff semifinal games at the Community Park courts.
After making his remarks lauding Hall of fame inductees Tiger’s Tale and longtime Princeton Packet sports editor Bob Nuse, Stentz headed back to the scorer’s table to get things ready for the second semifinal game of the evening and assistant commissioner Evan Moorhead took the mike.