On Wednesday evening, September 2nd at the Brandywine Field Hockey parent meting, parents and coaches learned that the Mottola family will be donating a brand new scoreboard to the field hockey team by an emotional and heartfelt announcement by Tony Mottola, brother of Jeanine Mottola. It will be in honor of Jeanine Mottola, a past field hockey and softball player at Brandywine High School class of 1984, who passed away from a year long battle with cancer.
Head Coach Willy Miranda stated, “It’s very gracious of them (the Mottola family), it’s very tough and a very tough loss for the Mottola family. She played goalie for me. Since I’ve been coaching here we’ve lost four of our players, two to cancer, and two to tragic accidents.”
Jeanine passed away last spring. The family allowed people to give monetary donations in her name and they received much more than ever expected. Some gave five dollars and others gave thousands. Both of Jeanine’s parents worked within the Brandywine School District. Her three brothers also attended Brandywine High School as well. With the money they received, they wanted to somehow make a difference at Brandywine as well as leave a legacy for Jeanine. “It came together effortlessly for us. We thought it would be a cool idea to donate a small token to the school,” Tony said.
Athletic Director David Berlin is very excited about the scoreboard. “I’ve been involved with the field hockey team with Willy since 1982. One of the biggest concerns we’ve ever had from the parents of both the home and visiting teams was that they never knew the score of the game or how much time was left. We’ve never had a scoreboard.”
The scoreboard is located near right field of the baseball outfield. This allows the Brandywine Baseball team to also use the scoreboard during their season as well. The scoreboard is also environmentally friendly. It’s battery powered and rechargeable with solar panels.
The scoreboard was installed at the end of September, but not in use until Brandywine Field Hockey’s home rivalry game against Concord on October 7th. “It was an emotional day,” Berlin said. “We had a dedication ceremony before the game and refreshments after the game.”
“Anyone who knew Jeanine knew she had a huge heart, as love for people, and a passion to compete. Brandywine made many lasting memories for our family,” Tony said.
Post written by Alexa Borrelli
Photo courtesy of Vincent Borrelli
man my heart goes out to the family
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