Belleville’s Gencarelli named Observer Male Athlete of the Year

Soccer, volleyball standout becomes first Buccaneer recipient

The first sport that entered P.J. Gencarelli’s life was soccer.

“I started when I was about seven or eight,” said the recent Belleville High School graduate. “When I was little, my Dad (Pat) always pushed me to play soccer. After a while, I just got better. I started to like it a lot. I knew I was getting pretty good at it.”

By the time Gencarelli entered Belleville High School almost four years ago, he knew that he had a permanent place in the Buccaneers’ regular rotation as a defender.

“I knew I had a chance to be a pretty big part of the team right away and that motivated me,” Gencarelli said. “It pushed me to become a better player. I really wanted to be good.”

As a freshman, Gencarelli also decided to join the Belleville volleyball team, although he had never played the sport before.

“I was sitting in freshman biology class,” Gencarelli said. “I just finished running indoor track, but I didn’t know what I was going to do in the spring. Paul Aiello (the assistant volleyball coach) recruited me to play volleyball, but I had no idea what the sport was all about. I saw it played on the beach a couple of times, but I never saw it played indoors on a court. But I watched our team with a good senior class and I said to myself that it was definitely something to look forward to.”

At the time, Gencarelli was a slight 5-foot-10, 150-pound freshman.

“It was definitely frustrating playing against the bigger guys,” Gencarelli said. “I was obviously smaller than them. But John Spina was the JV (junior varsity) coach and he kept us all together and wouldn’t let us quit.”

A year later, Gencarelli started to bloom, both physically and athletically, growing to 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds.

“I started to take volleyball a lot more seriously as a sophomore,” Gencarelli said. “We all developed well together as a team and that helped me tremendously. I saw a huge improvement in my game. When I started playing volleyball, I did it for fun. I never thought I would take it as seriously as I did.”

The result turned out to be one of the best all-around athletic careers in the history of Belleville High School.

Gencarelli earned All-Essex County honors in both soccer and volleyball. He earned All-State honors in volleyball. He led the Buccaneers’ soccer team to a brilliant 13-5-2 record his senior year and guided the Bucs to a 27-3 record in volleyball and a berth in an NJSIAA state sectional title match, a feat never before accomplished by a Belleville volleyball team.

Gencarelli was a standout defender in soccer, a shutdown relentless defensive expert who also scored five goals and had three assists.

“I had a good run in soccer and it ended pretty well,” Gencarelli said. “I enjoyed working with Marlon (Rodriguez) going up and down the field. Being able to score as a defender was really motivating for me. When the ball was in the air, I was going to go get it to try to put my head on the ball. I think that made us stronger as a team.”

In volleyball, Gencarelli was the do-all and end-all on a state-ranked power.

“I didn’t want to let my teammates down,” Gencarelli said. “I knew it was my sport. I had a passion for it. I started doing it for fun, but then the attention and accolades came. I’m proud of myself for it all.”

Last season, Gencarelli collected 450 kills, giving him a total of 1,045 for his career. He had 143 service points, 128 digs and 41 blocks.

For his efforts, Gencarelli has been selected as The Observer Male Athlete of the Year for the 2014-2015 scholastic sports year.

It marked the 13th year that The Observer has presented a Male Athlete of the Year award and the first time that the recipient came from Belleville High School.

The award goes to the best athlete who represents himself in more than one varsity sport.

Gencarelli received his award recently from Observer general manager Robert Pezzolla.

His coaches applauded Gencarelli’s dedication and devotion to both sports.

“He was able to play different positions from a freshman,” said Belleville head soccer coach Carlos Goncalves. “He grew a lot as a kid, but he grew a lot as a player. By the time he was a junior, he exceeded all expectations. He was athletic, tall and could score goals off headers because of his height. He was very good in the air. I remember he scored two goals against East Orange Campus and both came off headers. It was a very important game and set the tone for the rest of the season. The goals he scored were always important goals.”

Added Goncalves, “He was very critical to our team’s success. Not only playing, but communicating with the others. He was encouraging the younger kids all the time. He really took to the leadership role. He was really great to coach.”

Belleville head volleyball coach John Spina also sang Gencarelli’s praises.

“He had tremendous work ethic,” Spina said. “He worked harder than anyone. He didn’t mind being coached. When I told him something, he listened and put it to practice repeatedly. He would practice it until he felt he was doing it right. He never had an ego, never thought he was too good.”

Spina had fond memories of watching Gencarelli develop as an all-state volleyball player.

“He created a solid hitting style,” Spina said. “Some wind up and hit the ball into the stands or trying to go through the wall. P.J. would hit a perfect shot and then ask, ‘Is this right?’ He worked so hard and just wanted to get better. I knew right off the bat he was going to be a good player because of his intelligence. He was like a coach on the floor as a freshman and knew all the rotations. He just had that mental edge over everyone else. He learned a very complex game very quickly, yet was still willing to work at things.”

Spina said that Gencarelli’s growth spurt helped him tremendously.

“It was huge,” Spina said. “It helped him get over the top of the blocks and hit down with authority. He physically got so strong and that helped him. If someone put up a block, he was able to power through that block. The growth allowed him to jump higher and hit the ball harder. He was able to stay away from injury as well.”

Gencarelli became such a powerful volleyball player that he has earned a place at NCAA Division III national champion Stevens Tech, where he will play volleyball next year.

“It’s tremendous,” Spina said. “I couldn’t ask this for a better kid. He deserves everything that comes to him. He went from never touching a volleyball to a First Team All-State player. It’s very inspiring. He’s going to a great school. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

“I never dreamed I’d be going to college for volleyball,” Gencarelli said. “I’m really excited to be going to Stevens Tech. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to get on campus and be with the rest of the guys.”

Ironically, Gencarelli was once a soccer teammate of Danny Cordeiro of North Arlington, last year’s recipient of The Observer Male Athlete of the Year. They were on a Kearny Thistle youth soccer team together. Cordeiro is currently a standout soccer player at NJIT.

“I think it’s tremendous that he got this award and now I did,” Gencarelli said. “It feels really good to be the first one from Belleville. I’m not going to lie, but it’s a big thrill being the first one.”

And the one that all Belleville athletes will have to try to emulate from now on.