Signature on Chaminade Jersey Worth Its Weight in Soccer Wins

In the middle of a local soccer field, 19 squealing members of the Chaminade High girls team gather in a tight circle and begin to pound each other on the back, salute each other with high-fives, psyche up, grind a few molars and generally get in the mood to destroy--if not deafen--another hapless Sunshine League opponent.

On the sideline, Coach Jim DeGroff carefully removes a worn, blue and white jersey from a large duffel bag and enters the circle.

The squeals reach a frantic pitch--a maniacal, brain-numbing noise that only 19 screaming teen-age girls can make--as DeGroff unfolds the jersey and each team member clutches a portion of this sacrosanct shirt.

“Go! Fight! Win! All right!”

The chanting, like the pregame ceremony, is well-rehearsed.

Just as predictable is the result of the match that follows. Since the team came into possession of the jersey, it hasn’t lost. School records are being shattered faster than the eardrums of opponents and spectators.

Chaminade is undefeated in 1987.

The jersey, team members insist, is a blend of Dacron and divinity. On its white collar, they explain, is the autograph of Pele.

And even though some of the players were wearing diapers when Pele was wearing the uniform of the New York Cosmos, they nonetheless reverently whisper his name.

Pele.

It’s a simple signature, but it has galvanized the team. Chaminade has won 12 straight to improve to 16-1-3. It also has broken the school record for victories in a season and goals in a season and not-so-quietly streaked into the Southern Section top 10. And it all began with an autograph by the patron saint of soccer.

“When I heard he was going to be the grand marshal of the Rose Parade, I told my daughter about it,” Coach Jim DeGroff said.

So Heather DeGroff, a senior halfback, took a team jersey to Pasadena on New Year’s Eve in the hope of getting a shot at Pele’s pen.

“She wears the same number as he did, so she took one of her old team jerseys to the Rose Parade route hoping to get it autographed,” Jim DeGroff said.

Heather DeGroff stayed up all night and got her man.

Pele signs. Streak begins.

Now the Lady Eagles gather before each match, hoping some of the player’s legendary skill will be passed on to the team.

“I don’t think any of us are especially superstitious,” Jim DeGroff said. “We’re just hoping some of the Pele magic will rub off.”

Before the Cloak of Chaminade entered the picture, the team was getting its nose rubbed in the dirt. Although the team played a tough nonleague schedule, Chaminade was showing few signs of becoming what DeGroff now considers the school’s best team ever.

In the post-autograph era, the team has moved up to No. 9 in the Southern Section 2-A Division coachs’ poll, has outscored opponents, 68-10, and has five shutouts.

“Strange things have happened since we got that jersey,” assistant coach Ralph Casazza said facetiously. “Skies part, lightning bolts. . . . magic things happen.”

While Casazza’s tongue was not far removed from his cheek, there does appear to be some credence to Chaminade’s claims. In last Thursday’s 5-0 win over Immaculate Heart, for instance, senior forward Katie Miller scored the first goal of her high school career.

On her 18th birthday.

“It’s hard to describe what it does for us,” Jim DeGroff said. “It’s something that helps keep the team excited about winning.

“But we have some talent out there, too.”

Cris Casazza, a junior All-Sunshine League, All-Southern Section halfback, agreed.

“To tell you the truth I think we would have won the games without it,” said Casazza, who has played on the varsity the past three seasons. “We’re a lot better than most of the other teams in our league.”

Carol Bentley, a junior forward who leads the team with 29 goals, said it’s a combination of skill, polyester and Pele that makes this season different from the past.

“We have more team spirit now. . . . last year there was more of a nonchalant attitude,” she said. “I think the jersey sort of gives us the incentive to work harder. It’s a boost to team morale.”

But what Chaminade would like most is a playoff boost. Last season, the team set a school record for wins with a 13-5-1 record--12-0 in league--but lost to St. Bonaventure, 2-0, in the first round of the playoffs.

With this year’s playoffs set to begin Thursday, almost everyone in the program would give the shirt off their back for a few more wins.

“If the jersey is what it takes for us to get over the playoff edge, we’ll take whatever advantage we can get,” Ralph Casazza said.

Can a lucky uniform change the psychological fabric of a team?

“Last year I don’t think we were mentally prepared. This year we’ve gotten it all together,” Bentley said optimistically.

Sartorially speaking, DeGroff and Chaminade seem to be wearing the look of a winner.