RHS Athletic Hall of Fame
Members of the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame are those that have made a lasting impact on the school’s sports program as either student players, coaches, or supporters. Often the student players have continued to influence their chosen sports after high school by ongoing participation in athletics.
Jeff Yearing, 2018 Inductee
Jeff Yearing completed his final year of coaching high school soccer at the conclusion of the 2022 fall season. As a student at Ridgewood High School and a 1966 graduate, Jeff went on to excel in soccer with league, county and state recognition as a varsity goalkeeper. He was selected as a Co-Captain of the team for the fall of 1965. Coached by Richard Flechtner at RHS; Jeff was selected for the teams “Outstanding Soccer Player Award” his senior campaign. Jeff also was a Co-Captain of the baseball team at RHS spring of his senior year (1966) and was recognized with All League and All Suburban team selections.
Graduating from Springfield College in 1970 with a BS in Health and Physical Education “Cum Laude” and Ohio State University in 1972 with an MA in Physical Education and Athletic Administration, Jeff took a teaching position in the Millburn N.J. Public Schools.
After two years in Millburn (1972-74) where he also served as a volunteer freshman boy’s soccer coach, freshman basketball coach and JV baseball coach, Jeff was hired by the Ridgewood Public Schools to teach physical education at the George Washington Jr. High School beginning in the fall of 1974. At GW Jeff started the first freshman baseball program in Ridgewood and in 1975 became the Asst. boys varsity soccer coach at Ridgewood High School. Working with Bergen County Head Coach of the century, Dick Bennett, for ten seasons, Jeff was in charge of training the team’s goalkeepers and working with the defense and backs. In ten seasons with the boy’s varsity, the team enjoyed a 124-34-15 record with four league titles, two Bergen County Tournament Championships and one New Jersey State sectional championship.
Jeff was reassigned to Benjamin Franklin Jr. High School in Ridgewood in 1981 and then on to Ridgewood High School in 1986 until the end of his teaching career in 2011.
In 1985, Jeff accepted the position of Asst. Varsity girls soccer coach at RHS and remained the varsity asst. for two seasons (1985-86). In those two years, the team won its first two NNJIL league titles, had a record of 29-10-2 and made appearances in both the Bergen County and state tournaments for the first time in consecutive seasons.
Coach Yearing was hired as the varsity girls soccer team head coach in 1987 and remained the head women’s coach from that season to 2017. He finishes the 2017 season as head coach of the program with anoverall varsity team record of 485 wins, 154 losses and 38 ties. The team has won 15 league titles, two Bergen County Championships and has appeared in five Bergen County Tournament finals, the latest being in 2016.The program has four New Jersey State Sectional championships while appearing in eight state sectional finals. Ridgewood has appeared in every Bergen county Tournament since 1987 and rarely receives anything but a top 10 seeding. The team has also qualified every season for the New Jersey State Tournament. From Oct 27th 1987 to Sept 27th, 1995 the team held a 111 game league (NNJIL) consecutive undefeated streak. It is a record which still stands today for accumulated league play in Bergen County.
The team has received many National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national rankings and has received the NSCAA National Team Academic Award nineteen times under Coach Yearing. The program has produced 138 first team all league selections since 1987, 37 All Bergen County first team recognitions,104 New Jersey Girls Soccer Coaches Assoc. (NJGSCA) All State North 1 player selections, 19 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All East Regional All American Player Selections , 7 NSCAA National All American player recognitions, 1 NSCAA Scholar All American and 3 Parade Magazine All American recognitions and 1 NSCAA New Jersey State player of the year.
In 1999, 8 RHS women soccer players were recognized as members of the Bergen “Record’s” All Century Team and 6 RHS Women’s Soccer players have been recognized and inducted into “The Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame.”
At the completion of the 2017 season, Coach Yearing has been on the men’s and women’s varsity soccer field at Ridgewood High School for a total of 43 seasons (31 years as head girls varsity coach at RHS).In total he has coached in 891 varsity soccer matches as an asst. varsity and head varsity soccer coach at RHS with an overall record of 638 wins, 198 losses and 55 ties. He has been a part of 21 league championships, 4 Bergen county Championships, 8 Bergen County Tournament finals , 5 New Jersey State Sectional Championships and 9 New Jersey State Sectional Finals.
In other coaching positions, Coach Yearing has served Ridgewood High School as a freshman and JV wrestling coach (7 years). He has coached high school baseball for 37 seasons. RHS & GW freshman (9 years), RHS JV (3 years) and RHS asst. varsity baseball coach (11 Years) for 23 total years in Ridgewood. He also served 13 seasons as the head baseball coach (5 years), asst. varsity baseball coach (7 years) and JV baseball coach (1 year) at Midland Park High School in Midland Park, N.J. Jeff also was the JV baseball coach at Millburn High School for 1 year
Lynne Collazo, Chuck Johnson, Patricia Putnoky Piotrowski, Tyler Roten, Kelci Smesko, Brett Sowers,
2022
Patti Auger, Eric Benedict, Eunae Jo, Peter McGinley, Karla Mixon, Clair Nowakowski, 1983 Softball Team, Joe Pedone, Julia Rappa
2020
Carlos Peay, Louis Edward “Eddie” Peay, Kelly Conheeney, Samantha Cermack, Chris Rae, Chelsea Steinberg, Mark Strittmatter, Andrew Clarke, Jim Dee, Phil Ross Sr.
2018
2016
Maureen Greico, Larry Coyle, Jacob Brown, Richard Bennett, Toshiko D’Elia
2014
John Marshall, Jim Bruni, Mark Romeo, Jean Hughes, Chris Van Note, Nancy Hogan, RHS Football Team 1913, Don Taylor, Rachel Grygiel, John Cerf, Paul Tornatore, Michele Marangi, RHS Boys Lacrosse 1990-92
2012
Craig Halyard, Tom Flatt, Tricia Pappalardo, Mike Henderson, Kandie Latham, Leigh Jester, Tom Dusel, Roger Sweeney, Linda Zabielski, Patty Capasso, Dennis Sullivan, Nick & Dottie Capasso, Track and Field (Bain-Daley-Oliver Era)
2010
Primo “Duke” DeRochi, Debbie Paul, George Monro, Bill Dunne, Amy Lyons, James Sullivan, Michael Culver, Keith O’Connor, Josh Kauke, Patti Mileski, Mary Ellen Mileski
2008
Kitty Batterson, Henry Blauvelt, Frank L. Bradley, Jr., Lucia Cancelmo, Chris DuFlocq, Renee DuFlon, RHS Girls’ Basketball 1922-1923, Harry Grundy, Jim Jones, Joe LeMay, Jen McDermott, Shannon McGarrigle, Tony Napier, Margaret Niemann, Vince Robertiello (Jamie Roberts), Damian Ross, Mike Springer
2006
Mario Ferraro, Paul Ferraro, Don Haldane, Wendy Hartwig, Tom Hopper, Bob Keino, Frank Mozeleski, Tim Mullen, Jenna Rogers, Donna O’Connell, Carin Cone, Charles Yennie
2004
Paul Arrigoni, Pete Campbell, Doug Cook, Becky Deetz, Otis Grendler, Jodi Hartwig, Gene Links, Debbie O’Connell, Aimee McGuire, Walt Perdue, Tom Simos, Kazbek Tambi, Jack Van Yperen, Bob Whitaker, Margaret Scutro
