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DOCUMENTARY ABOUT LEGENDARY TOMS RIVER FOOTBALL COACH FEATURES
RARE FOOTAGE OF INFAMOUS 1969 “GREATEST GAME”
Our latest film, now streaming online, premiered in January 2023 at Ocean County College (view photos), and was screened at Rutgers’ NJ Film Festival, Toms River High School South, and The Ocean County Library.
The one-hour film is airing on two television stations in Ocean County in September and October 2023.
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CONTACT – Sandra Levine, sandy@sandralevine.com
TOMS RIVER, NJ – (January 23, 2023) Rare film footage of “The Greatest Game Ever played at the Jersey Shore” more than 50 years ago is featured in South Football’s Impossible Dream, a one-hour film that explores techniques used by legendary Toms River Coach Ron Signorino, Sr., to turn a losing high school football program in the mid-1960s, into a powerhouse, ranked No. 1 in the state. Presented by Sandra Levine Productions, the film premiered in January at the Grunin Center at Ocean County College. Additional screenings are happening now, and the film will be broadcast on two television stations in Ocean County this fall.
In 1968, Coach Signorino challenged his players to believe in “The Impossible Dream” and they responded by delivering an undefeated season, 9-0. Toms River South had racked up a 19-game winning streak by the time the Hitting Indians faced the Middletown Lions, ranked No. 2, in a 1969 mythical state championship. A crowd, estimated at 10,000, gathered in South’s stadium on a bitterly cold November day to watch the two teams battle. Footage unearthed from the vaults of “The Greatest Game” and other matchups in the 1960s is shown for the first time in more than five decades.
Sandra Levine, a veteran television producer and graduate of Toms River South, was inspired to create the documentary after hearing stories about the impact Coach Signorino had on players’ lives–on and off the field–during his career of more than 50 years.
“I was fascinated by the fact that so many of the players I interviewed kept their helmets, scrapbooks, and other memorabilia from their days playing football in high school because the experience meant that much to them,” Levine said. “The lessons Coach Signorino taught them about mental toughness, hard work, and responsibility stayed with them–helping them succeed when they played football in college and in the pros, and even in their work and personal lives.”
In the film, Signorino’s son, Ron Signorino, Jr., who also was head coach at Toms River South for more than a decade, talks about his father’s strengths as a coach, including his knack for analyzing game films. Matt Martin, Coach Signorino, Sr.’s, grandson, took the helm in 2022, the third-generation of the family to lead the team at South.
South Football’s Impossible Dream is a sponsored project of the New Jersey Media Arts Center, Inc., with funding provided by The Applegate Family Foundation.
ABOUT SANDRA LEVINE PRODUCTIONS, LLC
Sandra Levine Productions, an independent video production and filmmaking company, was founded by Sandra Levine in 1996. Levine has been a television producer and filmmaker for more than 35 years. She was a producer for 23 years at New Jersey’s PBS station, where her work was nominated 10 times for regional Emmy Awards.
Heartbreak & Healing After Sandy, a poignant documentary about Ocean County’s recovery from Superstorm Sandy, and South Baseball – The Spirit of Winning, about New Jersey’s winningest baseball coach, are among her company’s films.
Media members, please contact sandy@sandralevine.com for an interview, images, and more information about the film.
