By Rich Chrampanis | rchrampanis@tworivertimes.com
RUMSON – Matt Newman is not a household name at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, but everyone on campus knows who “Matty Cools” is. The RFH sophomore has become much more than the student manager for the boys varsity basketball program.
Matt was in the stands with his father as an eighth-grader when the Bulldogs won the Central Jersey Group 2 title for a second straight year. In the midst of all the celebration, head coach Chris Champeau made a connection with the soon to be freshman.
“Shemp (Champeau) came to me and Matt after the game. We’re walking across the court, he grabs Matt, he barely knows him, and brings him in the locker room,” said Ed Newman, Matt’s father. “Matt comes out and says ‘Hey Dad, I’m the basketball manager at RFH for the next four years.’ ”
Matt, who is autistic, looks like any other student manager on gameday as he works the end of the bench and brings water to players as they come off the court. But Matty Cools has become the center of a program that thrives on a positive attitude and a family setting that makes the wins and losses secondary to a special culture.
“To me, he has a gift that no one else has,” Champeau said. “He’s so pure and innocent. When he comes in and asks how you’re doing and gives you a hug, it’s really what that’s all about.”
Recognizing this gift, Champeau has turned over the beginning of every single RFH practice to Matty Cools. With the Bulldogs shooting on every end of the gym, Matt comes and checks in with every single player on the roster, offering words of encouragement or a hug.
“During the summer Shempy brought him in one day,” senior Jack Carroll said. “It took him some time to integrate him in but now the comfort level is amazing and now Matty is one of us.”
Before practice officially commences, Matt is surrounded in a circle by the RFH players and coaches. The Bulldogs manager picks different players to simulate the starting lineup normally reserved for the night of the game. Complete with the Chicago Bulls introduction music, the starting lineups are announced and the practice is ready to begin with an energized team that enjoys the ritual. Champeau marvels at the effect Matt has had on his basketball team.
“That’s every single practice,” Champeau said. “It gets everybody fired up, they’re holding hands and jumping up and down. It’s pure love and energy. He loves it so much and it’s contagious. It takes 20 minutes! But it’s the best 20 minutes of my day.”
“Matty Cools.” Photo by Rich Chrampanis.
What started as a gesture by the RFH basketball team to a special needs student has become something much bigger. Matt has thrived in and out of the classroom and the countless hours he has spent with the basketball team have helped him improve in social interaction. Inclusion is a hot button topic in the autism community and the entire Rumson-Fair Haven high school community has taken it to new heights.
“He’s learned so much from the guys,” Mary Newman, Matt’s mother, said. “I was a little worried with him hanging out with older boys but they’ve been so wonderful and such good role models for him and he’s definitely picking up on it all.”
Matt was on the sidelines during Rumson-Fair Haven’s football season in addition to his basketball duties. While his parents feared a negative experience in high school, the exact opposite has happened.
“Guys like Drew Frankel calling up Matt one day and saying ‘Hey, you want to go to Shake Shack with me?’ and pick him up in the car. He’s the most popular kid in school,” Ed Newman said. “When I was in high school and saw a kid like Matt, I wouldn’t understand him, I would just turn and walk away but these kids know how to deal with a kid with special needs.”
He used to wear a shirt and tie on game day but now Matty Cools has a uniform just like everyone else. After all, he’s earned that jersey and is very much a part of a program that has a culture that any team in any sport needs to succeed. Now, RFH basketball has another beacon of energy that makes the experience of high school sports so much more than the wins and losses.
“It’s a quality that I really never see in people and he just innocently does it,” Champeau said. It’s brought tears to my eyes at times. We took him in to help him out and the reverse happened.”
Champeau was anxious to tell the story of the legend of Matty Cools. He’s even more excited and grateful to know that he’s still got two more years to have him by his side and the legend will only grow.
The article originally appeared in the February 27- March 4, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
