What is the most rewarding part of being a coach?

P: Honestly, it’s the relationships I get to build with the student athletes, not just this year but in years past. Hearing from girls who have graduated years ago, having them reach out to congratulate and give well wishes to this year’s team has really been the most rewarding part of the whole process for me.

What is Mr. Patterson like as a coach?

Nicole : I think Patterson is an awesome coach. Thinking about it, when I was comparing high school coaches, I was thinking about going to a different school. I was thinking about Colts Neck and Boro when I thought about it I realized that not only were all of my friends here [at Township] but out of all the coaches Patterson was the most personal coach. I remember I met him at a basketball game and I went up and introduced myself…

P: She had a broken collarbone at the time.

N : Yeah, I had a broken collarbone at the time. I think on and off the field the girls have a really good relationship with him and we can talk to him about anything, good or bad. On the field he makes us strive to do nothing less than our best, and I think that is really important.

How long have you been a coach for, and what made you want to lead the team?

P: I’ve been the girl’s varsity coach for 6 years, but I’ve been coaching in total for ten years. I was the boys jv coach for four years before that. The reason I got into coaching was because sports really helped shape me as a person when I was growing up, and I had some great role models to learn from on and off the field. I wanted to have that same opportunity to impart what I learned to a new group of young student athletes to help them in their journey through life.

How does leadership inspire the team to do better?

P: I think just having senior leaders in general, not just Nicole, but the other senior captains that we have, plus a lot of the returning players, really stepped up as really being important leaders on a team. It’s really beneficial to have people who have been there before, who know the expectations, and when I have to give the nod to pick it up a little bit they know exactly what needs to be done and can carry it out. Most of the time, Nicole and the other players who have been there before know when to pick it up and when to start to get a little more serious without me having to intervene into the situation. So, all of that makes my job as a coach a lot easier because they’re aware of the expectations and they hold themselves to the same high standards that I hold them to without me having to look over them and reprimand them for situations because they don’t need that. They’re mature, they’re intelligent and they’re going to work hard and give their best effort regardless of me having to stand over them and watch them.

A lot of the girls are going to be playing soccer in college, do you think they’re ready for it?

P: Without a doubt. These girls play at such a high level on their club teams that they’ve played against that level of competition for the last 5 or 6 years. They’re ready for those situations. It’s going to be an adjustment, it always is: as far as the speed of play, the strength of the opposition that they’re going to be facing, and there will be some growing pains along the way. But I think that they understand that going into it. They’re going to be training to get themselves to the point where they are as strong as they can possibly be in preparation for the college season, and I think that is going to pay off for them in the long run.

What was it like to win the co-championship from a student’s point of view? Because isn’t that the farthest that any FTHS girl’s soccer team has ever gone?

N: I think going into it we were the underdogs. The team we were playing was undefeated. But based on how we were playing in the post-season I knew that we could stick with them, and not only stick with them but win. And as far as that game goes, you could just feel on the field that it was the senior’s last game and it was something that we all wanted. And even though we broke the winning record for the school we didn’t want to stop there. We wanted to keep going and we knew it was one and done, once you’d lose you’d be out. We were fighting to not let our careers end and I think we’ve been playing together for so long that winning something this big before we graduated was an awesome feeling. It was our goal this year as seniors to not only guide the underclassmen and younger kids to help us win, but to give them the motivation to continue winning after we graduate.

What do you plan on studying at Rutgers when you’re not playing on the field?

P: Obviously Statistics

N: No, definitely not statistics. Probably physical therapy.

Is it weird having kids as students as well as players?

P: It’s really not. In addition to Nicole, I have a number of the soccer team in my AP Statistics class and I think it just gives me another way to make connections with them and to help them along the process. Like I said before, I like to coach because I like to help students grow individually, that’s the reason why I’m a teacher. I’m really a teacher first and a coach second. I try to impart the same kind of life lessons into my classroom lessons as I do on the soccer field. So it’s really just an extension of myself whether I’m in the classroom or on the field. I think that I value those relationships just as much, if not more, than I do on the soccer field.

Do you have high hopes for the next group of seniors coming in? They have pretty big shoes to fill.

P: I really do. This class was a really strong class, probably the strongest I’ve had in my ten years here in the program. There is a lot of returning talent, and I know that they’re hungry to leave their mark on the program just as this year’s class left theirs. So I think that while it is going to be different, and it is going to be a challenge, they’re going to be ready for that challenge.

[To Nicole] Do you agree with that?

N: I know from my perspective that going into senior year, you realize it’s your last season. It finally hits you, that this is it. When it finally hits them, that this is their last year, they’re going to leave their mark. That’s what I did, that’s what all of the senior girls did, so I think they have high expectations for each other. I think they’ll be really good leaders and hopefully go really far.

Do you plan on coming back and helping out with the team? 

N: Definitely. As much as I can.

P: That’s on record, you know. No take-backs.

Talk about your relationship with the girls on team and how that helped you guys out on the field?

N: Looking back, when I was a freshmen I didn’t have that many friends. When I was a freshmen I didn’t feel as comfortable as I would now if I didn’t have my friends.I think that kind of affected how I played. But now that I have such good relationships, I think that’s the most important thing. I know from my perspective, when you have people who you’re playing with by your side, who you played with for many years, I know with Caleigh and Lacey I’ve been playing with them for plenty of years before this, you play better. Just having that on the field and off the field affects your play. Making these relationship with these girls has really made our team strive and I think that was the biggest difference between all the other years I’ve been on this team, and that those relationships got us really far. I know that we made the underclassmen feel really welcomed, and I’m confident that was really a big aspect of what got us so far.

Any final thoughts on the players?

N: Just to talk in general about of the seniors this year… you know from year to year, when you name captains, you always hope that the other girls have that respect and have that belief in those senior leaders and this year, more so than any that I’ve had, the girls looked up to and respected our senior leaders, our captains, in a way that when they said it was time to go, time to step up, the underclassmen went right to it. The respect was automatically given and it was done in such a way that it was just an expectation. The girls, they’re teenagers; they want to relax and have fun at times too but when it comes down to getting the job done the senior leaders automatically had that respect and everyone just fell in line and did what they were expected to do to the best of their ability. That’s why, ultimately, they ended up being state champions because each game, especially in the post-season, the younger girls stepped up to the challenge. They were respectful to the coaching staff, looked up to the senior leaders and because of that, they were ultimately led to the state championship. They’re tremendously talented, all of them are, but the fact that they understood their roles and worked so well together is why they are one of the best teams around.

Do you have any final parting words to the younger girls on the team, advice that can win them another championship?

P: Turn Up.

N: Turn Up. That was our motto this year, and we did that. It’s their time to leave their mark and I know that they’ve done so much already but you always want to accomplish more. Never settle for anything and always strive to be the best.

Final thoughts?

P: So while the team is ultimately as successful as the players are on the field, a lot of their success comes from the entire coaching staff in addition to their actual play on the field. With this program, I feel especially fortunate to have a really strong coaching staff that I can lean on heavily to get insight, to help motivate the athletes, to really help them become a true team. That comes from Mrs. Gaeta, our JV Coach, who does a tremendous job developing the younger players as well as Coach Levinson who coaches the freshman team. They both do a great job in developing the younger players and helping out with the varsity team whenever they can. But one of the really beneficial parts of the team’s success comes from Coach Whitford, who has been a four year volunteer coach in the program. He literally does it for free, that’s how much he enjoys being a part of this team. The fact that he does all of what he does, with no expectation of any kind of reward means a lot to the entire program. We wouldn’t be where we are today without people like him. We’ve also been very fortunate to have another volunteer assistant in Paige Rumsey, who is a 2011 graduate of the school and the program. Those two, combined with Coach Gaeta and Coach Levinson, really contribute a lot to the team’s success. While it’s a great honor to have my name associated with Coach of the Year, it’s really all of us who earned it. We wouldn’t be the team we are without their support and guidance throughout the entire season. We would also like to give a huge shoutout to Brian Deakyne of NJ.com Star Ledger for giving us this great honor!

N: Whitford does this for free. He’s a volunteer. That just shows you his dedication, how much he enjoys being with us and building relationships with us. When I came in it was his first year being a volunteer coach, so I’ve had him all four years I’ve been here. And to be honest, I don’t know what it would be like at practices without him. He has a blast doing this, he’s just fun to be around and to talk to and he’s just an awesome coach. I don’t know what we would do without him. We love Whitford.

P: I think Coach Whitford and I play off of each other really well. I’m a little bit more serious during practice and games, but Coach Whitford does a great job of working with the different personalities on the team. Whether it’s making them laugh in a tighter situation or getting a general sense as to the mood of the team, Whitford’s there. I think it really benefits me because that’s not necessarily one of my strengths. He kind of rounds out the whole team approach. We’re all nothing but grateful to Coach Whitford.