BARNEGAT – At Barnegat High School, Girls Basketball Coach Tammy Nicolini’s impact goes far beyond the numbers on the scoreboard. Recently named Coach of the Year B South All-Division, Tammy knows what it means to have someone believe in her, and she teaches her student athletes to do their best. Her unwavering belief in her players’ potential stems from her own extraordinary journey to living the American dream.
Tammy’s story began on January 3, 1968, when she was born amidst the chaos of the Vietnam War in the Quang-Nam Province. Her father, Charles “Chuck” Hoff, a US Marine Staff Sergeant, served three tours in Vietnam.
“My birth mother died during the Vietnam War,” Tammy explained, her voice tinged with emotion. “There was a grenade that went off, and she died protecting me.”
With no immediate way to care for his daughter, Chuck had some painful decisions to make. He first needed to tell his wife back home of Tammy’s birth. His only alternative was to write her a letter with the news.
A staggering estimate from the United States Institute of Peace suggests up to 500,000 children were born to foreign soldiers and Vietnamese women during the war. A 2023 report, “Transforming the Legacy of Children Born of War in Vietnam,” estimates that many fathers, burdened by war trauma, abandoned their children.
Charles Francis Hoff, a decorated Marine who earned three Purple Hearts, was not one of them. With no immediate way to take Tammy out of the country, he placed his daughter in the Sacred Heart orphanage in Da Nang, a sanctuary for many Amerasian children.
The stark reality of war couldn’t keep Chuck from his daughter. He regularly visited Tammy at the orphanage, a memory etched in the mind of a Sacred Heart nun who witnessed his dedication on her first birthday. During his third tour, Chuck finally gained clearance to return home with Tammy, who was 13 months old. His wife, Priscilla, back in the States with their older child, eagerly anticipated their reunion.
“Bring her back here,” Priscilla had responded after learning of Tammy’s birth. “Because if you don’t, she won’t survive.”
Priscilla and her new daughter met for the first time at Philadelphia International Airport in February of 1969. From that moment until her passing 24 years ago, Priscilla never treated Tammy any differently than her three biological children.
Growing up in the 1970s, a time when interracial families were far less common, Tammy experienced firsthand her mother’s unwavering love and fierce protection.
“People would ask, ‘Wait, you’ve got all these white kids and this little Asian girl?’” recounted Tammy. “And my mother would simply respond that I was her daughter – that I was hers.” This resolute stance ensured Tammy never felt anything other than a fully accepted and cherished member of the Hoff family.
Tammy proudly recalls her father’s military service in a war that left lasting scars. During one harrowing moment, Chuck’s unit was ambushed by Viet Cong while attempting to evacuate via helicopter. Many of his fellow Marines were killed in the attack. Hoff, who suffered injuries from the fall, survived only by playing dead as enemy soldiers checked the bodies. It was just one of three incidents that earned him a Purple Heart.
“He would always say to me all the time, and I can remember this from being a little girl: the best thing that ever happened in that war was you,” Tammy said.
Tammy has never been to Vietnam since the day Chuck brought her home to be with the rest of their family. “I wanted to go back with my dad, but my father would never go back there. The memories were just too horrible for him.”
Charles Francis Hoff passed away four years ago, leaving behind a heroic legacy.
Joining The Barnegat Community
While her parents ultimately divorced, Tammy learned the power of acceptance and love. She shares a close connection with her two sisters, a bond that extends to her memories of her late brother.
Notably, Tammy’s life has been shaped by three significant women: her birth mother, who initially saved her life; Priscilla, who raised her as her own; and Linda, her stepmother, who later became a vital part of Tammy’s family when Chuck remarried.
Tammy’s first home in the United States was in Keansburg before the family settled in Barnegat. Tammy graduated from Southern Regional High School in 1986, before the opening of Barnegat High School, and later earned her degree from Rowan University in 1994. During her time at Southern Regional, Tammy was an active athlete, participating in various sports, including three years on the basketball team. There, she met her high school sweetheart, Jim Nicolini, whom she ultimately married. Together, they raised three daughters: Bianca, Michaela, and Priscilla.
Her time on the court and her passion for sports extended beyond her own playing days. “I coached in the community when my kids were little,” Tammy shared. “I have a love for sports. When my parents divorced, it was my saving grace. You can only control certain things in your life, and it’s really important to be part of something bigger than you, knowing that you can’t control everything.”
Building More Than Basketball Players
At Barnegat High School, Coach Nicolini’s girls’ basketball team isn’t just winning games but also learning important life lessons. “I always tell the kids the goal is to not let them settle for what they think they’re able to do,” she explained.
“I tell them I’m going to push them to the point where I know I’m going to take them out of their box and comfort zone,” Tammy continued. “I let them know I am going to push them to things they didn’t think they were capable of doing. I let them know they are capable of being the best.”
Her dedication has yielded impressive results. This year’s team has shattered records, claiming the B South title. “We went 20 and nine in the season, the first time in Barnegat’s girls’ basketball history to do that,” she added. “We won the big game in the quarter finals against a team who went eight straight years in the semifinals. It was just big all the way around.”
Tammy wasn’t the only one to receive state recognition for Barnegat’s Girls’ Basketball team. Emma Thorton was named B-South All-Division Player of the Year and broke a record in girls and boys basketball with 1,585 points and 1,400 rebounds. Zemirah Enalls and Riley Fitzpatrick were First Team All-Division selections, while Madysen Plescho made Third Team All-Division, and Sydney Collins received Honorable Mention.
Honoring Vietnam Veterans
As the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon approaches, Tammy has agreed to share her remarkable journey at Barnegat’s 2025 Vietnam War Veterans Day event on March 28, 2025, at 3 p.m. The event will be somewhat of a home game for her. However, instead of coaching from the sidelines of the Barnegat High School gym, Tammy will be center court.
Thy Cavagnaro, a Vietnamese refugee and the driving force behind the event has dedicated years to honoring the sacrifices of those who served and those displaced by the conflict. Her mission stems from a desire to express gratitude for her family’s support in achieving the American dream and to rectify the lack of appreciation many veterans experienced upon their return. Each year, Cavagnaro curates a program that illuminates the multifaceted experiences of the Vietnam War.
This year’s keynote speaker, Commander Hugh Doyle, brings a remarkable story of heroism and humanitarianism. Featured in documentaries like “The Lucky Few,” Doyle served as Chief Engineer on the USS Kirk, a ship that played a critical role in the evacuation of Vietnamese refugees during the fall of Saigon. The USS Kirk’s extraordinary efforts, including accommodating sixteen helicopters on a deck designed for one and its subsequent escort of South Vietnamese Navy ships to safety, have been recognized as the US Navy’s greatest humanitarian mission. Notably, one of the escorted ships, the Chi Lang II, carried Cavagnaro’s family to freedom.
LBI resident Khai Le, a former 1st Lieutenant in the Infantry Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) will share his harrowing experiences. A graduate of the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, Le was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Communist re-education camps for five years following the fall of Saigon.
Alongside these compelling narratives, the event will include honor guards and participation from local students, ensuring that the lessons of the Vietnam War are passed on to future generations. Historically, Barnegat’s Vietnam War Veterans Day celebrations have been one of the most well-attended veteran events in the community since they began in 2018.
