Town says thanks to late friend, volunteer

CHRIS KELLY staff Shawn Hill and her husband, Chris, who is the son of Geoffrey Hill, listen to a speech during the ceremony for the newly named Geoff Hill Field at Albert Avenue Park, Milltown, on June 29. MILLTOWN - Despite the heat, humidity and threats of thunderstorms, the community came together on a recent Sunday to honor a man not just for what he did for the town, but for the spirit and values that defined his life.

Geoff Hill touched the lives of thousands of children through his work with the Milltown Recreation Department and as a teacher and coach. On Sunday, the ballfield at the Albert Avenue Park was named in his honor.

"We have one of the best recreation programs in the area, and he helped make it what it is. Over the past 20 years he has certified hundreds of coaches. I can't think of anyone who has done more for our youth sports," Borough Councilman Joseph Cruz said during the dedication ceremony.

Volunteer coaches are the backbone of community sports. They are needed for boys and girls sports, and at all different levels. Those coaches all need to be trained and certified. Hill, who was a member of the National Youth Sports Coaches Association, was able to provide that certification, on a volunteer basis. But he did much more.

CHRIS KELLY staff Above: A family friend takes a picture of Hill family members, including Chris (from left), Barbara, Geoff and Brett, during the dedication ceremony. Right: Friends and family enjoy a pickup softball game after the dedication. "If somebody was a brand-new coach, he would go out of his way to help them. They could call him anytime for guidance about coaching that particular sport," said Milltown Little League President Joe Pietanza, who was certified by Hill. "He was always flexible about times to schedule people, which can be hard with working parents. He would even see people at his home."

"He did it all for free," noted Julie Petry, director of Milltown Recreation. "If we had to pay for all of them, we couldn't have afforded the programs. He really cared about the kids and the coaching."

Hill, who died last year at the age of 60, came from a family with a long history in Milltown. His father, Clarence, was an architect and served on the borough's Planning Board. He designed the layout of Albert Avenue Park, and one of the streets that borders it bears his name. Clarence, who attended Rutgers University and was on the crew team, often took Geoff to games.

"My father says that while they were at the games, Geoff would be drawing diagrams of the different plays," recalled Geoff 's brother, Dr. Todd Hill, of Milford, Pa.

Geoff graduated from Springfield College and went into the Navy, serving on the USS Robert H. McCard during the Vietnam War. While stationed for a period in South Carolina, he met his wife, Barbara.

"My brother-in-law gave him my phone number, but I said I didn't want to go out with him," Barbara recalled. "He kept calling, and eventually I agreed to meet him. Once I did, that was it."

The two met in November, were engaged in February, and married in July. Hill came home from the service a week before the wedding.

CHRIS KELLY staff Chris Hill and Joe Bubnis uncover the sign for the newly named Geoff Hill Field. For many wives, the long hours and missed dinners of a husband so committed to coaching might have been a source of conflict, but not for Barbara. Instead, she partnered with Geoff, and in a sense his work became a family affair. That began early in their lives together.

"He was so dedicated. He was recruiting for Rutgers when I was very pregnant with Chris. He didn't want to leave me home alone, so I would pack things up and take our oldest son and go with him wherever he had to go," Barbara said.

Later on she would help with the paperwork for all those certifications, keep track of his statistics, learn all his plays, and bring their kids to his games.

Besides handling recruitment for Rutgers, Hill coached at Rutgers under Frank Burns during their winning streak. Hill was head football coach at Roselle Park for the 1979 state football championship. He was also assistant track coach there. He coached at Cedar Ridge High School in Old Bridge, Spotswood High School and Bishop George Ahr High School, Edison.

Hill worked at Monroe Township High School for almost 25 years. He was their head football coach and registered the most football wins in the school's history. He also was their assistant basketball coach.

He earned his doctorate in education in 1981. That was something that surprised Joe Bubnis, a Milltown resident who had known Hill since the second grade. It was his idea to approach the Borough Council about dedicating a field to Hill, and he helped organize the ceremony.

"He was so modest. I never even knew he had his doctorate. That was just the kind of man he was. He was always concerned about other people. He was a big guy, but he had an even bigger heart," Bubnis said.

Hill coached Carl Romero in Monroe from 1981 to 1985, and also taught with him for a year at Applegarth School. Today, Romero is a history teacher in West Windsor and a coach.

"To me, he represents all the things a coach should be: fairness, a positive attitude, and trying to get each kid to be his best. That's what sports are really about."

Romero recalled how much time Hill would spend, not only with the good players, but also with the ones who might be struggling with the game.

"I was a kicker, and he found a coach from up north to volunteer to work with me in the summer, and helped me get into college. He was really unselfish and generous with his time and resources," Romero said.

Geoff 's middle son, Chris, was among those present for the dedication.

"I've been hearing a lot from people not just about what a great coach he was, but how he affected their lives," he said.

"My father was my hero," he said. "I spoke to him every day, and I could always to go to him for guidance and help."

Lately, Chris Hill has made some serious decisions in his life based on his father's example. Chris played football at Purdue, tried out for the NFL and played arena football. But his real dream was to be a coach at a major football college. He was just starting to get calls of interest from some of the schools when his father was getting ill.

"Some of my best memories growing up were going with my dad to his practices. As soon as I was old enough, I was his ball boy. I just loved being with him. When you're a coach at the level I was hoping for, you're pretty much working 24/7. I thought, here I am chasing my dream, and I'm never going to get to see my kids."

Chris changed career directions and is now a high school coach and teacher, and able to spend more time with his daughter, Antoinette, 7, and son, Christopher, 4.

In talking about the dedication of the field, Cruz noted that he didn't think the townspeople ever got to show Hill how much they appreciated him.

"I guess this will be good for his family," he said of the dedication.

Geoff Hill's entire family was very much in attendance for the event, including Barbara, Geoff 's mother, Patricia, brother Todd, his three sons, Geoff Jr., Chris and Brett, and their wives, and three grandchildren, Antoinette, Christopher and Brett Jr., 4.

Chris spoke for all of them.

"I can't tell you how much this has meant to us," he said. "Normally you have to be a millionaire to have a field named after you. He meant so much to us. It's good to know he meant so much to the people who knew him and worked with him, too. We really appreciate it."