Dillon Salva family has deep roots in sports. Almost everyone in his family for generations has been involved in sports. Different members of his family have played in just about every sport the average person can think of. Salva has gone from starting power forward on the Brookdale men’s basketball team this past winter to starting on the Merrimack College football team this fall. He is even more excited since most of his young life he played football. When Salva transferred to Brookdale that changed as he joined the basketball team full time.
Since he was a child, Dillon Salva has been playing all types of sports. He credits his father for building his confidence and inspiring him to do better. Salva’s favorite sport to play has always been football. It was the sport that he strived and excelled at playing. While in high school he played at Bishop AHR High school in North Brunswick. When Salva graduated in 2011, he went on to play at Kean University. Most recently he transferred over to Brookdale to play basketball.
“At my first Brookdale workout, I was not in basketball shape. However my coaches worked with me and got me ready to play,” he said, he had to work out hard and eat healthy to achieve his goal. In a short period of time, he was able to get in shape and try out for the team.
What drives Dillon Salva passion is his family. They are his inspiration and the biggest supporters he has. The Salva family has the sports background that knows what it is like to be dedicated to playing a sport. They all know what it is like to go through all the hard work of playing with passion. Mostly everyone in his family has been in his shoes. Salva uncle David is all-time leading scorer at North Brunswick football. His father excelled and was an all-state champion in football. His mother played soccer and was a cheerleader. Members of family have taken their experience and helped inspired him to be better
“My whole family has a sports background that inspires me to work hard at school and with my teammates” Salva confidence got him to work harder and recently won junior college league player of the week.
What makes Slava an inspiration to others who are playing on his team or trying to get on teams that play in junior colleges or four-year colleges is his dedication
“Being able to communicate in a positive way and in verbal and nonverbal contact is the best way to work with your teammates and play the game.” Being the positive teammate is what Salva believes is important now and in the future. No matter where he plays he will continue to work unselfishly and be dedicated to the game. Without teamwork, Slava talks about how hard it would have been to make the plays needed to win games. Most teams fail when they do not have players who work together and cannot communicate within the game.
For Dillon Slava one of the main reasons for his transfer to Brookdale was that Salva wanted to play more than one sport. “I left Kean because I was playing football and basketball there but the basketball coach wanted me to quit football. so I gave all my time to basketball but I didn't want to do that so I ended up not playing basketball” Salva never wanted to limit himself to basketball. When he was told he should only play one sport he looked for alternatives. That’s when he got a call from his former childhood coach. The assistant coach of men’s basketball team Richard Brunson is someone who Salva was coached as a child. Coach Brunson really helped him make a decision on coming to Brookdale.
From the moment he talked to coach Brunson, Salva was ready to change his life “Coach told me I could come play for him, and since my first day at Brookdale, I have been starting forward” Salva feels he made the right choice and enjoyed the time he got to play at Brookdale. Everyone from teammates to the coaching staff believed in him and helped him be a better basketball player. Now Salva has moved on to Merrimack college. Where he is playing on the football team and this winter will play basketball.
"Well, I was playing basketball only at Brookdale obviously but I missed football so I was looking to try and play both at my next school. So I was sending out my high school and Kean football highlights to schools as well as my Bball highlights to show my athleticism since I had taken over a year off from football." Salva also sought help from few high school football coaches that I had become close with over the years. His Coach Carty, the Hillsborough's head coach reached out to Merrimack for him, because he had coached the Tight Ends coach (coach Romanella) in high school. So then he reached out to him and, told me him he would have the opportunity to play both football and Basketball at Merrimack College. Where he was offered a scholarship. It was an opportunity he couldn't turn down.
