Ithaca native creates doc on Newfield boys hoops’ state title season

Newfield has established a legacy with its high school varsity boys basketball team.

From the early 1980s to the most recent state championship run during the 2021-22 season, the Trojans have laid a foundation in a basketball-heavy town.

When Ithaca native Michael Bronfenbrenner got wind of the program’s history, he knew that he had to tell its story.

Bronfenbrenner has crafted a documentary called “Sea of Green,” which tells the story of Newfield’s community, basketball players and coaches and the state championship season.

“[The film] goes all the way back to 1981 and tells how the legacy got started, how the stake got put in the ground and the teams and the people contributed to making the program what it is to finally take the trophy home,” Bronfenbrenner said.

The documentary is one of five in a series made by Bronfenbrenner. Each story discusses a small high school sports program’s journey to a state title. Three stories are about teams in North Carolina, and two are in New York.

Bronfenbrenner, an Ithaca High School alum, graduated from Ithaca College’s film school. After working at Cornell University’s educational television center, Bronfenbrenner lived in California for 25 years and worked in corporate commercial production.

Despite finding success in the production business, Bronfenbrenner’s heart wasn’t in it. He created a three-part biography series, and once it was done he craved telling more stories.

It turned out that dinner with a corporate commercial client led to his creating the high school sports series.

“Just before I left California, I had dinner at a corporate client’s house one night,” Bronfenbrenner said. “His wife’s name is Ginger, so he said, ‘Did Ginger ever tell you the story of her hometown?’ She is from Farmer, North Carolina, the location of one of the series’ stories. Two weeks later, I was in North Carolina. It’s an incredible story (Just Plowboys), and it’s what got me into this series of films.”

One day, Bronfenbrenner was approached by Carolyn Clark, a lifelong friend and a substitute teacher at Newfield High School. Clark had just finished watching Bronfenbrenner’s documentary on the Farmer, North Carolina baseball team, and she wanted to give her friend an idea for a film.

Thus began Bronfenbrenner’s production of “Sea of Green.”

“When I started interviewing people [for the film], I realized right away that this is an amazing story,” he said.

When it was all said and done, Bronfenbrenner interviewed 86 people for Newfield’s documentary. From basketball players and coaches over the years, to community members and parents, Bronfenbrenner wanted to interview as many people as he could.

“I’m trying to tell the story from all the different points of view and the people involved in the story,” he added.

The title of the film came from a conversation that Bronfenbrenner had with Stephen LaBarge, a former Newfield basketball standout who last played for the Trojans in the 2016-17 season.

His interview with LaBarge was the first glimpse into the experience of Newfield’s “wild and crazy fans,” Bronfenbrenner noted.

LaBarge said to Bronfenbrenner, “It’s really incredible. You hear the roar of the crowd before you come out of the tunnel. You come out to the gym and all you see is a sea of green’ [in the stands].”

“Right then and there, I knew that was the title for the film,” Bronfenbrenner said.

Bronfenbrenner was originally going to make a film just about Newfield’s 2021-22 state championship season. In order for him to tell the story, though, he had to talk about everything that led up to it.

He talks about the deep postseason run that the Trojans had in the 2016-17 campaign, how Newfield was poised to win a state title in the 2019-20 season but was cut short by COVIDand more.

“Those seniors never got the opportunity to play for a state title, despite the fact they kept winning,” Bronfenbrenner said. “When they didn’t get to play, everyone was devastated. That was their shot.”

Bronfenbrenner told the story about how former coach Chris Bubble was at the helm of great Newfield teams, and how Bubble left the program for a job in Cazenovia.

The story then segued into Newfield bringing on first-year varsity coach Mike Nembhard, who led the Trojans to state supremacy in the 2021-22 campaign.

“They put it all together and won the state title,” Bronfenbrenner said.

Ultimately, Bronfenbrenner said, he knew that the documentary had to be more than a sports story. He had to discuss the community as a whole, including coaches like Ricky Stewart, who regularly provide inspiration.

“The Newfield community is part of the story,” Bronfenbrenner said. “It’s really amazing how involved the community is in the team and the support they’ve provided for the team. They contributed an immense amount of time and money to help these kids in their athletic pursuits. They’ve taught them things they can use later in life.”

Bronfenbrenner said that once the basketball program’s legacy began, it gathered momentum and it became “the king in Newfield for a variety of reasons.”

“Newfield is a special place,” he said. “It has a consistent message with consistent coaches that assist these amazing kids, and they’re backed up by a very supportive community.”

Bronfenbrenner’s documentary on the Trojans’ basketball program will premiere March 29 in the Newfield High School auditorium.

Newfield Notes appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.