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Pride: It’s more than a name for New Jersey-based team

01/08/2013, 2:45pm MST
By Mike Scandura

Maybe you won’t find it in a sports dictionary, but captain/coach Greg Petro has his own definition for why the team he plays on is named “Pride.”

“What’s great about that team is it embodies what we’re about,” Petro said of the New Jersey-based team. “We’re not the best-skilled guys out there overall. It’s a matter of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.”

Coincidentally, however, Pride is also pretty good. Since the team began playing in USA Hockey’s Adult Classics in 2008, it has skated off with three championship banners. Or at the risk of using a baseball metaphor, the Pride is batting .600.

“The group of guys we have is unique,” Petro said. “The one thing we’ve strived for since the beginning is to be decent hockey players and also to be of good character. We’ve established something like a fraternity.

“Like a fraternity, once you become a Pride player, you’re always a Pride player.”

Pride has placed first in Adult Classics in 2008, 2009 and 2012. The 2012 Classic was held at the Regency Ice Rink in Lancaster, Pa. After winning their first two games, Pride was defeated 4-2 by Pro Reality. But Pride prevailed in the final 6-3 over Hagerstown, Md.

“We feel like we’re a destiny-driven team,” Petro said. “We may lose in the opening round because of tiebreakers or whatever. But when we get in the finals, we find a way to win.”

What’s really noteworthy about Pride is that it emerged as the champions in the first Adult Classic it entered, in 2008 in Wayne, N.J.

“Miraculously we won in the Silver Division,” Petro said. “It was a phenomenal tournament. Then we entered [in 2009] because we felt we had to defend our title and we won again. Then we went to Lancaster [in 2010] and got clobbered.

“What we do is play in Adult Classics in Lancaster, Laurel [Md.] and Lake Placid [N.Y.] plus some local tournaments. We call them the ‘Three Ls.’”

The genesis of the team occurred prior to the 2000-01 season when ProSkate (formerly the Princeton Sports Center) started a men’s league.

“They created groups of players and formed four teams,” Petro explained. “The league has grown now to 16 teams and there’s parity in the league. The core guys on our team are in their 20s. I still have guys who fly in from other parts of the country because they want to be involved with the camaraderie.

“We’ve had guys from all walks of life. We have guys who went through a seminary, who work for cable companies and work on Wall Street. But when we come together and hit the ice, it’s all business. Sure, we want to win. But the fun part is when we get off the ice, it’s a great group of guys.”

Petro finds himself in a unique position for two reasons. First, he has two titles. Second, at age 52 he’s the oldest player on the team.

“I’ve evolved into this role,” Petro said. “It’s something you earn as coach and captain. I’m not the best player on the team, but I play with a lot of heart. I know how to strategize against teams and how to play the game. You need one direction and one voice.”

As Petro noted, the majority of players on Pride are in their 20s.

“Because I’m 52, sometimes I’m kind of a father figure,” he said. “They could be my sons. But when I get on the ice, I feel like I’m their age. It’s a great feeling to help some of these younger guys with bigger things than what happens on the ice.”

Another interesting aspect of the Pride is it includes one set of brothers plus a father-son combination.

“We have a great time traveling,” Petro said. “We’re great friends on the ice and because that’s the case, it makes things flow.”

Besides Petro, the only other player who’s been with the team since Day 1 is goalie Rob Sardinas-Wyssling.

“One time we hung up an inflatable Sponge Bob Square Pants because he’s known around the league as ‘Sponge,’” Petro said. “He was 18 years old and now he’s 30. He’s been with the team since the beginning.

“We’re the two guys who’ve been with the team since 2000. In a sense, this almost has become our livelihood. We want to continue doing this in our hometown.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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