James Madison was written off as a legitimate PSAL Class A softball city title contender last June – about nine months before the 2010 season even started.
That’s when longtime coach Bill Dumont resigned from his position to take the head coaching job at Brooklyn College, just weeks after Madison fell to Tottenville, 4-2, in the championship game. It’s a testament to his coaching ability and the respect he accumulated in 17 years.
Things only got worse when Anthony Pecora, who was supposed to be Dumont’s successor, abruptly resigned in the winter for personal reasons. It forced athletic director Steve Ross to call an old friend, Jeff Meltzer, for a favor. Meltzer was the softball coach before Dumont 20 years ago and he coached boys basketball at Madison for 18 seasons.
It was an outside-the-box choice – and an inspired one. Meltzer pushed all the right buttons this season. Madison played extremely hard for him with a handful of comeback victories and it all culminated in the second-seeded Knights beating No. 1 Tottenville, 5-2 in eight innings, in the PSAL city title game Sunday at St. John’s University. It is the school’s first ever softball crown.
“People said we can’t win,” said junior left fielder Becky Ganley, who ended the game with an incredible diving catch. “But we proved them wrong. It makes it that much sweeter.”
Even the Madison players had some doubt and indecision. All they had known was Dumont. Most of them went to Madison because of him and the Brooklyn school’s reputation for softball excellence.
“All of us were worried at the beginning of the year,” senior third baseman Maria Mantagas said. “We didn’t know how it would work out. Obviously, it worked out pretty well.”
Meltzer said it took some time to build the trust that Dumont accumulated with the players for years. But his one goal was putting them in a position to succeed. He was always more focused on the Knights than the other team.
“We didn’t adjust to anybody – I wasn’t bright enough to figure that out,” the self-effacing coach said.
Meltzer was not as demanding as Dumont, he didn’t push as hard in practice or workouts. Especially toward the end of the season, he shortened practices and wasn’t as intense. On Friday, he took the players to McDonald’s before practice. As a result, the Knights came in loose and confident with a refuse-to-lose attitude.
“I think he did a good job,” Becky Ganley said. “I think he was ready.”
It was a tough assignment for Meltzer. Anything but a berth in the semifinals would have brought out the nay sayers. Even if Madison made the finals and lost people would have said that Dumont could have taken the Knights to that next level.
“People have a hard time letting go of the past – especially when it was a good past,” Meltzer said. “Who’s to say Coach Dumont wouldn’t have been here today?”
That was a pretty good possibility. Madison was one of the most talented teams in the city. Dumont very well could have guided this team to a title. But 12 months ago, he did what was best for himself and his family and took a college job. Meltzer inherited greatness and got the most out of it.
“The one thing that satisfies me,” he said, “was that I was able to get the girls to go where they wanted to go.”