My glory days: Fran Raph, Mainland Regional High School, 1988

By GIUSEPPE UNGARO Managing Editor Fran Raph never stopped playing, never stopped competing and never stopped winning. The current Cedar Creek High School girls basketball coach starred on the basketball and tennis courts at Mainland, and also shined while competing on the softball diamond and on the track wearing the green and white of the Mustangs. Her success continued at the college level, where she played basketball at Monmouth College. After her academic life, Raph stayed active in adult athletic leagues, playing 30-plus years of basketball in the Ocean City Summer League, including last summer, and the past four years lighting up the scoreboard as the quarterback touchdown leader in the Jersey Shore Powder Puff League, a local flag-football league. “I never thought of not playing,” said the 45-year-old coach. “I still actually played Ocean City Summer League last year. Of course, I’m not moving as fast as I used to, but I still enjoy going out there, breaking a sweat. I never thought of it not being in my life.” Fran Raph, currently the head girls basketball coach at Cedar Creek High School, was a star basketball and softball player during her days at Mainland Regional in the mid-1980s. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) She added: “Physically, I feel fine. I have no complaints. As long as I’m healthy and continue to do what I can do, I hope to be involved for a long time. I love football now. It’s a change from everything I have ever done. I’m thankful to be part of the on-field stuff, too, to go along with the coaching. I think playing and being part of it helps a lot with coaching because sometimes you forget. It gives you a chance to reflect, oh, yeah, that isn’t as easy as it looks or it should have been.” Raph has made it look easy throughout her playing and coaching career. The Mainland Hall of Fame member was among the best talents in the area as a player, and is now racking up wins as a coach. She credits her success as a young athlete to playing in her Northfield backyard with older brothers Glen, Dean and Scott, as well as her neighbors, the Foremans, who have also made an impact of their own in local sports. The neighbors and friends waged battled in all sports, including baseball, basketball and football. Raph was the only girl in the Northfield All-Sports Association basketball league until a girls division started her fifth-grade year. “I would say Dr. (Dennis) Foreman took me under his wing,” Raph explained. “My Dad had a lot of influence on my career. He didn’t push me, but he opened up opportunities for me. He never treated me any differently than my brothers.” In high school, Raph was part of one of the best tennis doubles teams in CAL history along with Pam Miller. The duo helped lead the Mustangs to a sectional title. Mainland won another title in softball with Raph playing shortstop. As a freshman, Raph started as the shooting guard on the varsity basketball team and was part of some of the best teams in school history. Raph, who graduated in 1988, ended her career with more than 1,100 points, and that was playing three years without a 3-point line. “It was a shock to me because I never thought I would make varsity as a freshman, let alone start,” Raph said. “I realize now, looking back on it, how much of an accomplishment that was.” Raph has guided Cedar Creek to three straight Cape-Atlantic League United Conference championships. “She came in as a freshman my second year as head coach and we had a couple real good young kids at the time,” former Mainland coach Karl Geisinger said. “You could tell Fran was a player right away. She has some older brothers, so you can tell she was tough-minded. “As a freshman she started right away. We had a lot of good players like Angela Evans at that time. Fran fit right in and found a role as a shooting guard. She was a phenomenal shooter. She had more than 1,000 points, but she could have had far more. There wasn’t a 3-point line until her senior year. Most of her shots were from 3-point range. She would have had many more, but she still scored more than 1,000.” Scoring is still a skill Raph has, but now it’s on the football field. Raph quarterbacked her Charlie’s team to a league championship. Raph, a two-time league MVP, also led the league in touchdown passes the last three seasons. “It’s my glory days now. It’s the only thing I can play and still win,” Raph said with a laugh. It’s not just her arm that helps Raph, but also her coaching experience. “I think it’s everything,” said Charlie’s coach Matt Tedesco. “It’s like having a coach on the field. The leadership qualities and the intangibles that go along with it are priceless and it makes everything easy for me. At this point, I don’t have to do anything, it’s almost a partnership at this point. She knows what she is doing.” The same can be said for Raph’s time on the sidelines. Raph, who also won 100 games as a softball coach, picked up her 100th win as coach of the Cedar Creek girls basketball team this year. She reached the milestone in less than five seasons. “It’s the kids. The attention goes to them. It’s an accomplishment for the school for it to happen in such a short amount of time,” Raph said. “It shows the strength of the program. It has to do more about the program than it does me. The kids worked their tails off to get that in four and half years. It’s really an honor to them and their dedication and to their commitment to be successful, and their willingness to want to stay competitive and stay at a level we want to achieve at Cedar Creek.” With Raph at the helm, the Pirates have built something special, capturing the hearts of the school and the community. In just their second season, the Pirates won the 2012 state Group I championship. Cedar Creek has continued its winning tradition, and recently captured its third consecutive conference crown. The Pirates are again in the playoffs, and in the hunt for postseason titles. “That first year we were 15-13 when they were freshman and sophomores. After that first year and being Group I and realizing who we were playing in Group I, I knew that following year we were going to do well with everybody that was coming back,” Raph said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think we were going to win a state title. But as time went on and we saw the competition, we knew we were just as good as the other teams that year. To win South jersey is such a big deal and to get beyond that and to the finals. “Our administration has been awesome. They do a great job of motivating kids, getting them out there and psyched up and being a part of the community. All those were pieces and it fell all together. I’m glad it happened when it happened. It set a standard for us.” Raph is accustomed to setting standards, as an athlete and as a coach. Contact Giuseppe Ungaro: gungaro@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDgisepu [adsense]