Roselle Catholic WoS Campers interviewed Trenton relief pitcher James Reeves.

The goal of Write on Sports remains to “inspire students to write by writing about sports.”

Yadira Marshall, who attended the Write on Sports Camp at Roselle Catholic this summer, heard the message loud and clear on Raritan Road.

Yadira, a seventh grader at Soehl Middle School in Linden, received another dose of inspiration when she attended and participated in the annual Write on Sports Gala.

“The Write on Sports Camp at Roselle Catholic and the key speakers at the gala have helped me prove to Yadira that writing can be fun,” said Yadira’s Mom, Vezaida Marshall. “She really enjoyed the program. She’s now writing and blogging about her life experiences.”

At last month’s WoS Gala, held at The Yale Club in New York City, Yadira enjoyed an opportunity to meet the NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones, who’s also a regular fill-in host on WFAN, and former Sports Illustrated scribe Peter King, who now pens “Football Morning in America” for NBC Sports on Mondays.

King, along with Josh McCown of the New York Jets, was recognized as a Literacy Champion at the 13th Annual Write on Sports gala, which was emceed by Jones.

Yadira was one of about a dozen Write on Sports campers in attendance who were tasked with reading their feature story and sharing some of the highlights of their summer camp experiences with Write on Sports. In 2018, Write on Sports conducted tuition-free summer journalism camps in New Jersey (Roselle, West Long Branch, Newark and Montclair), Connecticut, Indiana and Rhode Island.

“I enjoyed the gala from start to finish,” 12-year-old Yadira Marshall said. “I was a nervous wreck until I began answering questions about our camp. It was easier than Imagined and I really enjoyed sharing my experiences with my table.

“I never liked to write until I went to Write on Sports camp. Writing about sports made it fun. Thinking back to my experience, Write on Sports will be a meaningful time in my life.”

“After the gala I wrote about meeting Josh McCown, Kim Jones and Peter King. My mom really enjoyed when I mentioned Josh’s cool hair and clothing style in my journal.”

The fifth edition of Write on Sports at Roselle Catholic featured baseball, basketball and bowling.

Roselle Catholic Class of ‘22 members Victoria Scott and Erwing Esquea both participated in the Write on Sports Camp at RC.

Prior to the Trenton Thunder’s game against the Hartford Yard Goats on July 25th (11:00 a.m. first pitch), the 13 campers from RC’s Write on Sports Camp interviewed left-handed hurler James Reeves in the home team’s dugout.

After the 15-minute Q&A session, during which every RC camper was given a chance to pitch a question at the Thunder relief pitcher, the campers headed to their seats behind the home team’s on-deck circle to watch and chronicle the minor league game. Several of the RC campers were seen on the big video board in center field during the fifth inning.

Two days after traveling to Mercer County, our next guest made a short journey from his new residence in Roselle to Roselle Catholic to address our campers. For the second year in a row, Roselle Catholic graduate Jameel Warney – the leading scorer in RC and Stony Brook University history – thoughtfully and enthusiastically answered campers’ questions.

Warney, who’s starred for the Texas Legends in the G League the past two seasons, signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks last March. Warney’s NBA stint included playing time against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Following Warney’s visit and a short lunch / recess, the WoS Campers traveled from Roselle Catholic to Jersey Lanes in Linden to help prepare for their next guest.

Hall of Fame bowler Parker Bohn, an Ocean County resident, spoke to the Roselle Catholic campers and enthusiastically answered questions via Skype.

The RC WoS Campers made one more trip as they boarded a small, yellow bus on Aug. 1, where we joined Write on Sports campers from Newark at the Prudential Center to interview Seton Hall University basketball player Shavar Reynolds and renowned sports writer Jerry Carino of Gannett New Jersey.

Marist College senior Ashley Skrec, a Roselle Catholic (’15) graduate, was the assistant director for the second straight year at Roselle Catholic’s Write on Sports Camp. Ashley was joined by Syracuse University-bound Haley Tomasso, a first-year intern after serving as editor at the Westfield High School newspaper.

“I really enjoyed all the camp teachers and trips,” Yadira Marshall said. “The activities were super fun because we were meeting famous athletes.”

Ashley and Haley garnered rave reviews from Roselle Catholic Write on Sports campers Aiden Scaff, Calude Dallemand, Dominic Tomasso, Dwayne Magno, Erwing Esquera, Evan Scaff, Ian Acevedo, Jasmin McKay, Javon McKay, Tamir Basden, Valerie Ranalletta and Victoria Scott.

Jasmin McKay and Javon McKay are younger siblings of Jalisa McKay, who’s a sophomore at RC. Tami Basden’s brother, Devin Basden, is a Roselle Catholic senior.