About Mike Morreale

Mike Morreale first got into writing his freshman year at Rider University, where he majored in Journalism.

There, he began putting together his portfolio as a sports writer for the `Rider News,' a newspaper publication which was designed and edited on campus but printed in nearby Princeton. Mike was asked to cover many sporting events throughout the course of the school season, in addition to putting together monthly columns prevalent to college life.

During his four-year tenure at the Lawrenceville school, Mike was also Sports Director of the college radio station, 88.5-FM, WRRC. Each Tuesday, Mike had a sports talk radio show that included interviews and weekly updates of the Rider sports scene, as well as some favorite musical choices.

``There was no way I was going to work at a college radio station and not gain the experience of spinning records,'' he noted.

Mike was bestowed the `Williard E. Lally' award in 1990 as the most dedicated staff writer. He was also presented the `WRRC Behind The Scenes' award as one of the more dedicated radio personalities on campus. Mike was also part of Rider's first club ice hockey team, which, at the time, played a select few games at Lavino Rink in Lawrenceville. The highlight of his ice hockey career came his senior year when the club team was invited to play at Continental Airlines Arena, home of the NJ Devils. There, Mike assisted on Rider's only goal of the game in a 9-1 loss to Wagner! OUCH!

While Mike enjoys football, baseball and tennis, the sport of hockey has always been his passion. ``The athletes have always been so honest and down to earth. There's just something pure about the sport of ice hockey that I enjoy,'' he said.

Mike began his sports writing career at The Star-Ledger in the Summer of 1990. One year later, he was offered the opportunity to cover all 52 schools - public, parochial and private - that made up the NJIHL, MCHL and Mercer Hockey League. That included putting together a weekly Top 15 and a notebook.

During his tenure covering the sport, Mike has had the opportunity to `break' many exclusive stories for `The Star-Ledger'. He has also seen how much the sport has grown in popularity, as there are now well over 110 schools offering high school ice hockey. In 1997, Mike created New Jersey Scholastic Ice Hockey Online, a web site offering current information about the scholastic hockey scene in the Garden State.

``The greatest joy for me is covering a high school hockey game and conducting the interviews afterward,'' Mike said. ``The kids are so humble and genuine and I'm intrigued to learn the mental framework of a player from each side (winner and loser) and how that player reacts to given situations.

``I have met so many different people, good people, throughout my travels to rinks around the state. Coaches that have met me know how passionate I am about the sport. How I really want to help put the sport and its athletes on a higher level with basketball and wrestling each winter.''