When Mary DeGour needs some field hockey advice, she calls her sister. When Juliana Racobaldo needs some encouragement after a tough game, she walks over to the football field to find her dad.
Both Bishop Eustace Preparatory School juniors know how to reach their family role models when they need help.
“My sister is one of my favorite people ever,” DeGour said of her sister, Josette, a 2024 graduate. The two also played field hockey together. “She really prepared me for high school. She told me I needed to work hard and earn it. She always had my back. If I had a bad day, she was there for me.”
DeGour’s sister is now playing field hockey at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Although they are 300 miles apart, she dials up her only sibling quite often. “At first it was a really hard adjustment, but now it’s not so bad,” Mary DeGour said. “We FaceTime like every other day.”
Racobaldo and her father, Sal, are much closer geographically. For the last two years, Sal Racobaldo has been the girls basketball coach at Bishop Eustace, and he started coaching football there this fall. He’s also in Bishop Eustace’s Hall of Fame as a multi-sport athlete. So, when Racobaldo transferred from Clearview High School, Mullica Hill, after freshman year, her dad was a friendly face around the gymnasium.
“And Danielle Senior was the coach here two years ago, and I really loved her, too,” Racobaldo added. “I knew a lot of the basketball girls already, and it made the transition a lot easier.”
Racobaldo also has four sisters to confide in, including Alexa, who is a freshman at the school.
There’s enough daughters in the Racobaldo family to field a full basketball team, although Racobaldo prefers other sports.
“I’m the only sibling who doesn’t play basketball,” she said with a laugh. “I played it before but it just wasn’t for me.”
Field hockey suits her just fine. Racobaldo and DeGour make up the heart of the Crusaders’ defense and a large portion of the leadership despite being only juniors. It’s something instilled in the program since Trina Lisko took over coaching duties last season. Once players reach upperclassmen status, more responsibility comes their way.
“I think as you get to be an upperclassman, especially on our team, you start to pull a lot of responsibility,” Lisko said. “We have a lot of underclassmen, and we put a lot on the older kids to be leaders and lead by example. We really try to create a little bit more of a family environment for everyone to go to. They are both great girls.”
The core of the team is still fairly young, and the Crusaders managed a winning record in the regular season (9-8), securing a home game in the first round of the South Jersey Non-Public playoffs.
“It’s been really fun,” DeGour said. “I think everyone really connected this year.”
The hard work takes place on and off the field. DeGour is involved with Student Council, Culture of Life, Chess Club, Ethics Club and runs track in the spring. Racobaldo plays lacrosse in the spring.
“We are heavily involved with field hockey clinics and we do JV tournaments,” Racobaldo said. “During field hockey season, it’s really fun because we’ll have practice and then we’ll go teach the game to the youth. I love doing that.”
Both girls take part in Bishop Eustace’s Pallottine Ministry, which helps organize service projects. By following the tradition of the Catholic Church and charism of Saint Vincent Pallotti, Bishop Eustace students develop spiritual strength, social commitment and leadership qualities.
“We also get to set up service projects for other groups,” DeGour said. “If another club wants to do a service project, we will help them organize and set it up and write a proposal to say this is who we want to benefit and this is what we want to collect. It’s nice. I just really enjoy helping people.”
Now, DeGour and Racobaldo are the ones others are looking up to for help.
“As an upperclassman, you really get to help everyone now,” DeGour said. “I’m even more excited to be a senior next year.”
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