Rockaway Township Hockey
honors Robert Natarelli
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LAKE TELEMARK - On Saturday, June 26, 2010, the Lake Telemark outdoor rink on Green Pond Road was dedicated to the memory of Robert Natarelli, one of the original founders of the Rockaway Township youth ice hockey program who passed away in July of 2009.
The ceremony included the installation of a plaque set in stone on a monument in Lake Telemark.
The obituary that appeared in the local newspaper after Natarelli passed away mentioned that Natarelli lived in the township since 1943, when his family moved to the area from The Bronx. He was a parishioner of St. Cecilia's Church in Rockaway where he was in the Guard of Honor ... he was a member of the Rockaway Township Police for 25 years ... he was an assistant ice hockey coach at The County College of Morris for almost 35 years ... he was a registered ice hockey referee.
But what wasn't said was that Natarelli liked - no, loved - his hockey. A goaltender in his playing days, he had a wonderful respect for the game, a respect he tried to pass on to the young goaltenders he coached at CCM and to the youth hockey players and coaches on the ice with him when he officiated games.
Ed Nelson, who was the head ice hockey coach at CCM from 1974-79 and again from 1990-2000, knew him not only as a fellow coach, but a good friend.
"The kids loved him and he loved his kids," said Nelson, who was one of the speakers at the dedication ceremony. "He coached, cajoled and counseled each kid as if the kid was going to be the next star goalie in the NHL.
"Bob's goaltenders were certainly well-schooled and he produced many All-Conference and a few All-America goalies ... above everything, he helped make his goalies good people, too."
Natarelli joined the CCM team in 1975 as a volunteer coach. One year, then-athletic director Jack Martin found some money in the budget to pay Natarelli, but Natarelli would not take the money - that's not why he was coaching.
"We would throw a CCM sweatshirt or jacket at him every so often, but he would never take a dime from the school," recalls Nelson. "His concern was his kids ... and he rarely missed a practice session or a game until shortly before he died."
Nelson, who helped put together, coach, and play for the CCM ice hockey team while he was still a student at the junior college, was thankful to have Natarelli on board as a coach.
"Goalies are different from the regular hockey player - they have to be to like standing in front of a net and have pucks and bodies and sticks coming at you," Nelson says. "Bob understood all that ... he could tap into how these kids were thinking.
"We called him 'Mr. Patience' for the way he handled his goaltender."
Nelson recalls only one time - in the early 1990s - when he saw Natarelli lose his temper.
"We had a particular group that was not quite as responsive as he would have liked," Nelson begins. "After the first period at one of our games as we were following the players into the lockerroom, Bob told me to wait outside for a minute, that he had something to say to the kids.
"I was able to hear everything Bob said loud and clear through the door ... Bob was not too happy with their play and he let them know it. 'Mr. Patience' had lost his patience.
"Bob finished what he had to say and stormed out of the room. The kids were sitting there in stunned silence when I walked into the room ... I didn't have to say much. I remember we came back to win the game and one of the kids told me later that it was obvious they had crossed the line to make Bob act the way he did.
"All those years ... one well-placed and one well-timed explosion ... and it worked."
