Mendham Boosters Best Kept Secret

Any fan who has attended a game at has seen the banners touting the sporting achievements of previous years.

Parents who have gone to graduation have seen the padded chairs with the schools name scrawled across them. Community residents who exercise at the school’s track have access to the automated external defibrillator for emergencies.

What many don’t realize is that for the nearly four decades the school has existed, the Minutemen Sports Club has been footing the bill for these and other items not in the budget.

“We try to support in any way that we can,” said current president Judy Matthijssen. “We try to provide the special items that aren’t in the athletic budget and that the individual boosters can’t find a way to pay for themselves.”

Over the years, the club has helped acquire specialty items like fencing floor mats, tabletop score clock for the girls basketball team, a rebounder net for the girls soccer team, cheerleading mats, a pole vault for the track team and a safety net for baseball.

The club also assures that seniors are recognized at senior night and that every sport has awards like trophies or plaques at the end of the season.

As a graduate of Mendham High School with children of her own involved in sports, getting involved was a natural fit for Matthijssen.

“I remember my parents being involved,” the current club president said. “For as long as the club has been in existence there have been many good natured volunteers involved.”

The club prides itself on fairness, trying to ensure represenatives from each individual booster club is on hand to make their needs known, and constant contact with the athletic department to see where they can be of use is standard operating procedure.

The Minutemen Club does not limit itself to teams, they also provide plaques for contests in the weight room and other athletic groups like the Triboro Bears.

Perhaps what they are most known for, however, are the yearly scholarships they provide.

“We award 12 scholarships which are not based on athletic ability and therefore not given only to star athletes,” Matthijssen said. “For every varsity of junior varsity sport played a student gets their name put in a hat for a random drawing. From this the $500 scholarships are chosen for six boys and six girls.”

While they rely on many private donations, the Club also runs snack booths at the games. So anyone interested in supporting them can drop them a line through their mailbox at the high school or by simply buying a drink at a game.

“Our most expensive item is $2 I think,” Matthijssen said. “And we often have teams work the booth with us and they can keep 15 percent of the money for their needs.”