EAST RUTHERFORD − Hank the Bike Kid has a new title: Steve DiGregorio “Young Man of the Year.”
Pequannock senior Henry Struble was one of seven finalists for the Super Football Conference’s fourth annual community service award, presented Tuesday at MetLife Stadium in conjunction with the New York Jets.
All 114 SFC schools nominated a player from the 2024 season – think of it as the varsity equivalent to the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year – and all were invited to the ceremony. The finalists got the extra perk of receiving personalized jerseys, which were presented in the Jets’ locker room.
Struble earned the grand prize, heading home with two tickets to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
The center/defensive lineman admitted, “I was hoping” tickets would be included with the Young Man of the Year Award, since they had been for previous winners.
“Obviously, the Super Bowl is like a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Struble said. “And I’m a Lions fan, so hopefully they make it that far.”
He’s already decided that his father, Gary, will be his guest for the big game, in recognition of how he helped start the homegrown charity, Bikes By Hank. (“I love my mom too, but she’s not really a big NFL fan,” Henry said.)
“The summer going into sixth grade, I was 11, and it all started because my grandpa – who’s also here – he gave me an old bike that he found,” Struble explained. “My dad, he was the one who told me that I could probably fix it up and sell my old one.”
He eventually realized that while making money for himself by refurbishing old bicycles was nice, the endeavor could serve a larger purpose.
“I decided to help my parents to start donating the money, and after I did that, the business just took off exponentially,” Struble said.
In his acceptance speech, he noted that “for the past six years, I have received well over 1,000 bike donations from people within the community. And I’ve been able to fix and sell all of those recycled bikes to raise over $25,000 for various different charities and organizations.
“It seems like everybody with a Facebook account within a 10-mile radius knows me as ‘Hank the Bike Kid’,” he said.
A ‘bespoke’ football player
The people of Pequannock can thank Hank for contributing to consecutive NJSIAA playoff berths and the 2023 National Blue Division title. The Golden Panthers finished 8-3 last fall and went 25-16 during Struble’s career.
“Henry was one of our captains. He’s a four-year starter on the offensive line,” coach Michael Moschella said. “[As a freshman], he ended up starting as an offensive tackle. Then, he started sophomore, junior, senior year as a center on the offensive line.”
Moschella also coaches Struble in track and field, and he pointed out that the two-way lineman also is a Morris County discus champion.
“He is in the admissions process for the Naval Academy, and they’re recruiting him for track,” Moschella said. “He’s interested in some other schools – I think he has applications in for Virginia Tech and the University of Michigan. So, he has his options.”
DiGregorio finalists, Coach of Year winner
Struble was the American Division finalist for the SFC Steve DiGregorio Young Man of the Year Award. DiGregorio, the award’s namesake, is the former Nutley football coach who died in 2021.
The other finalists were Passaic Tech’s Alex Arrington (Freedom Division), Wallkill Valley’s Andrew Barta (National), Indian Hills’ Luke Festa (Ivy), Lakeland’s Brody McCormack (Patriot), Pope John’s Quinn Muli (United) and Ramapo’s Conor Pane (Liberty).
Arrington got a bit of an extra treat as well, taking pictures with his family at the locker of Jets offensive tackle (and Passaic Tech alum) Carter Warren.
In addition, the SFC gave out its Drew Gibbs Coach of the Year Award, which is named after the longtime Ramapo coach who also died in 2021. Bryan Gallagher of Morris Knolls was this year’s recipient.
‘Hank’ said it
Rest assured, Struble is not a bandwagon Lions fan: “I didn’t start watching the NFL until about 2019 or 2020, so that’s right about when they were, like, the worst team, and they hired Dan Campbell. … I really like Dan Campbell and what he brought to the team, so I decided I’d have faith in him, and he’s done well.”
Struble also addressed fellow nominees in his acceptance speech: “Don’t get me wrong, the recognition is nice, but it’s unimportant. The important thing is what you do without being recognized.
“When I look at this room, I see people who are genuine and kind. I see people who are selfless – people who are excited and eager to help others and give back. … In a world that seems dark at times, I see people who are willing to be the light.
“Be proud knowing that you’ve helped others, and just know that good things have a way of coming back to you.”
