Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 64F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..
Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 47F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: May 3, 2024 @ 12:02 am
My mom who never played soccer one day in her life is going to get a soccer field in Ewing named after her. Sorry Georgie, but all of our hard work, sweat and tears didn’t cut it. Even Mr. Ilene (that’s what my dad called himself). Sorry dad. I know you coached my Incarnation team for 2 years and could put together a starting lineup like no other. Nope, you don’t get a field either. Sorry boys. Mom wins again! As she should.
First of all, I have to thank Bruce Angebranndt. This guy is the epitome of West End Boys Soccer. From the rec soccer parades down Scotch Road, to the infamous National Invitational Tournament on Labor Day, you were the man behind everything. You even had the keys to that trailer at the “Super Fresh” fields. All of us players always wondered what was in that mysterious green trailer that we kicked countless soccer balls against.
You all remember it was angled so badly that when you kicked it to the right you had to chase it into the parking lot? Every parent would yell, “Watch out for the cars!!!” You had to jump over the grey wires that were held up by those brown tree trunk looking things. You would sprint into the parking lot dodging incoming cars and the glass that was all over the ground.
One day while I was coaching Division 7 in the cage with my best friend DJ Powlish, we got to go into that green trailer. It was a soccer player’s dream. It was full of soccer balls sizes 3-5, corner flags, orange cones we practiced countless days with, pinneys that have been handed down from generation to generation. Everyone here knows the gross smell of those pinneys. Later in my West End career, my team was like, “Forget these pinneys, shirts and skins it is.”
Thank you, Bruce! You are the godfather of west End Soccer and always will be. I know it’s Ewing Soccer now, but we all thank you for keeping West End Soccer alive as long as you did. You have done more for boys’ soccer in Ewing than anyone.
I need to talk about my mom now, don’t I? I can tell you that this woman didn’t know the difference between a corner kick and a goal kick. She thought at one time in her long soccer mom career that a corner kick happened when the ball actually hit the corner flag.
This was when my brother was 15 years old and had been playing soccer for close to 10 years. I was 11 years old and myself and my brother’s teammate/cousin Craig Farber laughed then explained that’s not how it works. I don’t think she ever understood the corner kick thing. Did it matter? Not really! Not until she got her F license to coach soccer just in case any West End coach couldn’t make it to a game.
I remember one time she actually had to coach a game of mine. My two coaches, Justin Burroughs and Mike Stanzione, were running late and couldn’t be there for warmups or the start of the game. Mom stepped in because she was the only parent with an F license and was flawless. When I mean flawless, she asked me and DJ, “What do I do? We both answered, “We got it.” Drew Pearson and I were captains of the team, and we lead our warmup drills and set the lineup as our coaches would have. I’m pretty sure we won that game. Good job Mom, you have an undefeated record!
My mom was always the ultimate team mom. Everyone who played for West End Green Lightning II at about the age of 12 remembers this story. I was only 8 so I don’t remember much besides playing with Justin Davis and Andrew Furman. The ref was blatantly cheating our team and cursing at our players during the game. My mom didn’t have it. She chased the ref down at the end of the game and proceeded to give him the old West End whooping. The dude deserved it. You don’t mess with Momma Black’s boys.
Let me talk about my mom who guided me through my soccer journey. Here is a significant Ilene Black “Mom Moment. Our dog at the time, Corky, had eaten half of my right cleat, and I had a game at Super Fresh in 2 hours. She told me to get in the car and we rushed to Ewing Sports Center to get new cleats. She forgot her purse and had no money. She begged Bill Munley to set me up with a new pair of cleats. and of course he obliged. (Full disclosure: my mom is literally best friends with Bill Munley’s wife Kim so he kind of had no choice). We all remember Ewing Sports Center. Greatest place ever.
She wasn’t just Georgie’s and my mom. She was everyone’s team mom. Her go to quotes on the sideline were, “Way To Go, “Pick It Up,” and “Keep it Going.” I recently attended one of my brother’s games where he was coaching Red Bank Catholic’s girls’ soccer team, and my mom was there sitting to my left. I heard those exact quotes. “Cmon Green! Let’s go Casey’s! Pick it up!” She never changed up, she was always the ultimate cheerleader and team mom. Nothing negative came out of her mouth during games.
I could’ve had the worst game ever and she would say. “You trapped the ball really well.” Really? I trapped the ball well? That’s my mom though. The glass was never half full. It was overflowing. Everyone knows that my mom would always be positive with all of her boys. She loved every single one of you like you were her own. You all know this already because of the open-door invitation to her house on Theresa Street. You would be greeted with that Ilene smile and a glass of that banging iced tea. If you didn’t swim in our swimming pool, you played basketball on our dirt basketball court.
Ilene didn’t care who you were, and I bet you went into the house at one point and had an Ilene session. An Ilene session is a heart to heart to see how you were doing in life. The ultimate therapist. My mom loved her boys who played for her West End teams. My brother and I both have kept in touch with most of our teammates, and in my case, one of them is still my best friend and was in my wedding party.
My mom spent more time at the soccer field than she wanted. Actually, I think she really enjoyed it. The West End Board became her family. She was the only female on the board at the time and the men always treated her with respect. I honestly think they were afraid of her because of the story about her beating up the ref. The guys on the board became her brothers and used to call her their little sister.
Shout out to Bruce again, Ted Forst, John Powlish, Wayne Hullfish, Dave Barth, Don Garay, Karl Gunkel, Joe Dyton and Jim Housman. If I missed someone, I’m sorry! Bruce then trusted her with the title of director of the NIT. I think he did that because he was tired of the phone calls at his house. Thanks Bruce because I couldn’t talk to my girlfriend or go on the internet for about 6 weeks.
We didn’t have cell phones back then, so our phone lines were always clogged up. I know my brother and dad remember that. We couldn’t go through a meal or watch TGIF without the phone ringing off the hook. We all know my mom was the greatest. I’m keeping her column in the Ewing Observer going in honor of her, but naming a field in Ewing after her is the ultimate.
We have Armstrong Fields, Fasilino, Limato, Moody Park and a quick shout out to the Bauer family and Karen Bauer. She was the glue of Ewing Little League for so many years. Mrs. Bauer was a Ewing gem and still is, and so is my mom. I know you both are talking about Ewing baseball and West End Soccer as I write this. You both are missed terribly!
Now let’s talk about the municipal soccer fields. The municipal fields were named that because the Ewing Police station and the municipal building are right next door. There are four of them. The “lit field aka the top field” just became the Ilene Black Field. Nickname it whatever you want. My mom just got a field named after her, and she never played a minute of soccer in her life.
That’s how much this woman has meant to so many people and this township. The woman that couldn’t tell the difference between a corner kick or a goal kick has a field named after her. Ironic? I don’t think so. Iconic? That’s what she is! I think it’s much deserved, because of the impact she had on West End Soccer. I will personally make sure that every kid that touches that field from here on out knows the name of the woman that this field is named after.
We all love you Momma Black!
Donnie Black was born and grew up in Ewing Township. He currently works at radio station XTU in Philadelphia as a producer, on air personality and promotions director.
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