BT Looks to Continue Spring Momentum

Beth Tfiloh girls' soccer  (Jonathon Clements/PressBox)

Jeff Clarke, the athletic director at Beth Tfiloh Community High School knew that his school had a reputation for only excelling in basketball, so he was pleasantly surprised by the results of BT's spring 2007 sports.

"Spring was more successful than fall," he said. "And that's never happened before."

The BT girls lacrosse team went 12-5, the boys varsity baseball narrowly missed the playoffs and varsity tennis, competing in the vaunted MIAA A Conference, defeated Mount Saint Joseph and Loyola Blakefield. The simultaneous successes of BT's spring teams resulted in the most successful season in school history.

For many years, varsity basketball had dominated at Beth Tfiloh, both in terms of success and popularity. Interest had grown so much in recent years, the school added a freshman/sophomore team to accommodate the increasing number of underclassmen who wanted to play. With such an interest in basketball and a tradition of success, many students never explored spring sports as options. Seniors often missed most of the spring season due to a class trip to Poland and Israel that traditionally took place in April.

But spring sports and the BT athletic department are changing. Clarke credited the success from this past spring to the hiring of new coaches, like varsity baseball coach Jeff Green. He said the coaches have brought a high level of professionalism to their respective sports and BT's athletic program. But according to Clarke, improving the coaching staffs at BT is just one step in carrying over last spring's success.

Clarke has tried to encourage participation in fall sports this coming school year, and said that part of his duties as athletic director is making sure that "the athletes in the school are playing as many sports as possible." BT also moved the senior class trip up in the 2007 calendar allowing seniors to return to their teams with two-thirds of the season remaining.

BT's biggest challenge this fall will be replacing standout seniors Paul Auster and Alex Greenberg on the boys varsity soccer team, and Samantha Richmond and Jenna Weinberg who were multiple-sport stars for the Warriors.

Clarke said rising seniors Jeremy Hurewitz and Ariel Vogelstein, both three-sport standouts for the Warriors, could have breakout seasons in 2007. Alongside Hurewitz, rising juniors Abdo Roffe and Adam Titleman lead the boys varsity soccer team. Clarke said they are some of the best soccer players to ever pass through BT.

With improvements in their coaching staffs, efforts to increase participation and talent rising through the ranks, it's clear Beth Tfiloh is ready to carry over its spring success and prove they can play more than just basketball.