This week on The Montclair Pod, Farnoosh Torabi and Mike Schreiber ask what it takes to keep youth sports affordable in Montclair. Their reported package features Peter Daddabbo, who has spent 18 years helping run Montclair United Soccer Club; Michael-John Van Rhyn, who started Montclair Ultimate when his son couldn’t find a middle school team; and the volunteers and donors who kept Clary Anderson Arena open. It’s set against a national backdrop of rising costs and private equity money moving into clubs, facilities and game streaming.
Next, it’s closing weekend of the Montclair Film Festival. Farnoosh and Mike recap opening weekend at the Clairidge and the Bellevue, hear from festival photographer Kareem Wilder and Bellevue venue manager Will Kuhn, and preview what’s still to come, including Ava DuVernay, Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” and closing-night film “Behemoth!” They also run through this weekend’s games, from the Essex County cross country championships to Montclair State’s Senior Day doubleheader.
Also this week: a new “What the Hell” on the drop-off pileup around the new Pre-K on Chestnut Street, Kelly Clarkson’s feud with a Brooklyn toy store and how the Pod decides when a bad customer experience is news, Mike’s transformation into a zombie, Sam’s Table chef Sam Stymest up for New Jersey Chef of the Year, and free water meter replacements for some Montclair households.
In this episode
- What does it take to keep youth sports affordable in Montclair? Montclair United, Clary Anderson Arena and Montclair Ultimate
- Kelly Clarkson, the $15,000 mechanical bird and when a bad customer experience is actually news
- Mike’s zombie transformation at East Side Mags
- What the Hell: the Pre-K drop-off pileup on Chestnut Street
- News: this weekend’s games, Sam Stymest’s Chef of the Year nomination and free water meter replacements
- Montclair Film Festival: opening weekend recap and closing weekend preview
This weekend’s games (Oct. 23–25)
- Essex County Cross Country Championships (Super Essex Conference)
- MaxPreps: Montclair High School boys football
- MaxPreps: Montclair High School boys soccer
- MaxPreps: MKA boys football
- MaxPreps: MKA boys soccer
- Montclair State women’s volleyball schedule
- Montclair State men’s soccer schedule
- Essex News Daily: Essex County girls soccer tournament
- Essex News Daily: Essex County boys soccer tournament
- Montclair Local: MHS field hockey and the county tournament
News
- NJRHA Awards: Vote for the 2026 Chef of the Year (Sam Stymest, Sam’s Table)
- Sam’s Table
- Township of Montclair: Water Meter Replacement Notice
- Schedule your free meter replacement with MeterTek Utility Services: 833-505-5412 (Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.) or schedule online
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