By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
Like many parents, Dave Light will be the first to tell you that he always wants to see his children succeed more than he ever did.
In 17 years at the helm of Gloucester’s softball program, Light never had a losing season. He won 346 games, nine South Jersey Group I titles and four state championships during his tenure from 1998 to 2014.
So when his daughter, Megan (now Mason), took over the program from her father in 2015, she had high expectations to live up to — maintaining years of championship-winning success.
“I wanted to give her the opportunity to take over and succeed,” Light said. “At that time, we had a really good squad. All parents want their kids to succeed. Any business you own, you want the business to keep flourishing. I look at it that way, as if it’s a business. The players rise to the occasion, and she gives them that opportunity.”
A decade has passed since she took command, and Mason has built her own impressive legacy in what is passionately known as “Title Town” among Lions faithful.
On Friday, she led Gloucester to its second consecutive NJSIAA Group 2 state title with a 3-2 victory over Hanover Park at Ivy Hill Park on the campus of Seton Hall University in Newark. It’s the first time the Lions have won consecutive state titles since winning back-to-back crowns in 2000 and 2001 under Light.
“I’m very proud. She’s a very good coach. Not only in softball, but in basketball and field hockey,” Light said. “She’s very talented. She started out very successful and carried it on. We bring in these players when they’re young and we develop the mindset in them to be successful. It’s not always that easy, but she does a very good job at it.”
Mason, a 1998 Gloucester graduate who lettered in field hockey, basketball and softball, played for her father her senior year and reached the sectional final. She started as an assistant coach with him in 2005, learning the ropes for a decade before taking over.
Now the roles are reversed, and things have come full circle with her father serving as a volunteer assistant.
“It’s amazing. It means everything to me in this entire world,” Mason said of being able to still coach with her dad. “I looked up to him from the time I was born. Learning from my dad, I get my sports IQ from my mom and my dad. They were both great athletes at Gloucester High. We’ve been through a lot together. He’s an amazing role model for me and my family. I wouldn’t be where I am right now without his help and guidance.”
Mason is the ultimate player-first coach. She always does what’s in the best interest of her players and doesn’t take much credit for the program’s success.
However, the championship mentality she instills in each player’s mindset is key to the Lions’ stunning postseason runs.
“‘It’s not about the coaching, it’s always about the girl,’ she preaches,” Light said. “She gives them the opportunity to be great. Her taking over for me at the time was a great experience for me.”
“We’re there every day to do our job, and we say ‘it’s not going to be easy,’” Mason said. “It’s not always pretty, but the girls buy into it. The girls put the work in, they really do. Every swing is a good swing. Every play is a good play. You’re giving it your all every single time. It was such a great group of girls these last two years. It’s going to be sad the next time we go to practice and the seniors are not there with us.”
Learning behind her father set Mason up for success, she said.
Now, she’s built her own legacy. This time at the helm of the top Group 2 program in the Garden State.
“That’s what it’s all about. Everyone is from here, born and raised,” she said. “Sticks through and looks out for each other. When something like this happens, it’s amazing for the town. The whole community rallies around anything that’s positive. Everyone has each other’s backs at all times.
“We’re back-to-back champs, and I still can’t believe it. But the community, the town, the fans — they never had a doubt. I’m glad we could make them proud and make this whole city proud.”
It’s safe to say that there’s something special about the Light family’s softball acumen — and it may not be over yet.
Mason, who is a history teacher at the high school and also coaches middle school girls basketball, has three children. Murphy, a preschooler, Ty, a fifth-grader, and her eldest Jordan, a seventh-grader grader who in two years will be taking the field to play for her mom.
Who knows, maybe in 20 years history will repeat itself and she’ll take over for her mom.
Let’s not jump too far ahead, though. Work begins now on a three-peat for the Lions.
