Members of the Bethlehem Rotary Club and their guests learned much about teamwork from former Phillipsburg HS, University of Notre Dame and Seattle Seahawk linebacker Ned Bolcar at their meeting Nov. 8. Bolcar starred at P-burg, captained Notre Dame’s last national championship football team in 1988, and played for four years with the NFL’s Seattle franchise before injuries cut his career short. He related a number of his experiences in sports and in business as he stressed the importance of leadership and teamwork.

Now in business with his wife as owners of Orangetheory Fitness Studios in New Jersey, Bolcar explained how the qualities of leadership and teamwork move beyond the athletic field to private life. “We learned through sports and school that you can’t have success unless you work together as a team,” said Bolcar, who also noted that the coaching change at Notre Dame, from Gerry Faust to Lou Holtz, “orchestrated the best leadership” for the team that won a national championship in 1988 at 12 and 0 and finished 12 and 1 in 1989 as number two in the country. Bolcar was named to a number of All-American teams while at Notre Dame.

Today Bolcar resides in Warren, NJ with his wife and two children. “My heart is here in the Lehigh Valley,” he said.