They remember her laugh. They remember her contagious smile. And they’ll always remember her dedication to the Camden Catholic High School girls basketball program.
Ciré Forman’s life ended tragically June 4 as the passenger in a single-car accident in Gloucester County. Tears still fall when Forman’s name is mentioned, but the Camden Catholic community is doing its best to honor the student, athlete and friend who meant so much to the Cherry Hill school.
On Jan. 13, the Irish girls basketball team retired Forman’s No. 1 jersey that she wore with the varsity program for three years as a guard. Her white home jersey was given to her family during a short ceremony before the game. Her green road jersey will hang in the girls’ locker room, where she gave pep talks to the freshman team as its coach last season. The current team honored Forman by having all players wear T-shirts with her name and number during warmups prior to a game against Gloucester Catholic. There were sights and memories of Forman everywhere in the crowded gymnasium.
“She’s like a little sister to me,” said Camden Catholic girls basketball coach Christine Matera. “It’s been not only a huge loss for the school community and our program, but for me personally. We just wanted to do everything we could to honor her and to give her family an opportunity to celebrate her.”
Forman, who was 21 when she died, was named co-captain during her senior year, which was also Matera’s first year as varsity head coach. The two knew each other in the junior varsity ranks at Camden Catholic but solidified a bond during that 2018-19 season when the Irish went 15-12 and won a share of their conference championship.
“She was incredibly selfless and did whatever the team needed her to do,” Matera recalled. “She was a fantastic distributor and a fantastic defender. She was really a glue player – which everyone needs – and was incredibly versatile. She was a huge piece of what we were able to accomplish her senior year.”
Following graduation, Forman attended Rowan College at Burlington County on an athletic scholarship for basketball. She returned to Camden Catholic to coach the freshman girls’ team and guided them to a 14-0 season. In doing so, she built even more friendships with the players she coached.
“It was kind of like having a friend coach you,” said Kiyanna Blacks-Stewart, now a sophomore playing on the varsity team. “She would yell at us to get a rebound but she was so funny, too.”
Forman coached Blacks-Stewart along with Alexa von Hohenstein, Hadley Rodriguez, Leah DiCicco, Kayla Dunn, Janna Santana and Olivia Mancuso, who are seeing larger roles in the program. The girls said Forman had a way of getting her point across as a coach, while keeping things light and fun.
“If we were playing badly in a game, she would tell us to get our heads in it, but she was always chill about it too,” von Hohenstein said.
Forman was still playing basketball while joining the Philadelphia Phantomz Ladies Tackle football team as a wide receiver for the 2022 season. She remained active in the community, especially when it came to her high school alma mater.
“She was a fantastic contributor to the local community,” Matera said. “It was a nonstop contribution, particularly last year as a coach, bringing back all the elements she took in and giving it back to our girls was just a phenomenal thing to see as her former coach.”
And there will continue to be contributions in her name. Her family started the Ciré A Forman All 4 Sports Foundation, to help young girls have better opportunities to play non-traditional sports. Camden Catholic is also starting a scholarship in Forman’s honor. Admission to the Jan. 13 game was free and donations were accepted to start building scholarship money.
That night, the Irish displayed a dominant performance on the court in a 70-33 victory over Gloucester Catholic.
“I’m very proud of how we played, from our starters all the way down to the end of the bench,” Matera said. “Everyone contributed. I couldn’t have asked for more from them.”
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