Gargione elevated to take over for Everette
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Joe Gargione knows he is ready to be a head coach.
He found the right fit at Princeton High School where he steps in for Steve Everette to take over the football program.
”It’s followed what I hoped,” said Gargione, an assistant to Everette the last five seasons. “It’s the next step.”
Gargione’s appointment was made official with a unanimous vote at Tuesday’s school board meeting. Elevating the popular assistant coach also was a move supported by the returning Little Tiger players.
”I did hold a meeting with the players,” Gargione said. “I got great applause when I told them I was coach. That made me feel better.”
Gargione has coached wide receivers and defensive backs for the Little Tigers, and last year shared co-offensive coordinator responsibility with Charlie Gallagher. He’s looking forward to his first head coaching job.
”I think I’m ready to go,” said Gargione, who teaches architecture at PHS. “It’s like teaching. They say it takes three to five years to become a good teacher. I learned the last five years. That’s why I feel like I’m ready to go for it.”
Gargione graduated from The College of New Jersey, where he played wide receiver for four years. He was an all-conference selection once, and following his 2004 graduation, he served as an assistant coach at his alma mater while working with receivers. Now he will be working with an entire high school program.
”What’s going to be different for me is the level of responsibility is greatly increased,” Gargione said. “The ongoing activities that Steve has done in the past, I’m going to continue with them. I’m a big disciplinarian. I believe in giving 100 percent effort and believing that you can do things, not saying you can’t. I’m a punctual person. And I’m a firm believer that hard work pays off.”
After being a part of the program through its resurgence — the Little Tigers made the playoffs in two of the past three years and won seven games last season for the first time since 1994 — Gargione is ready to help PHS make another jump.
”Being a part of the staff, I got to see how the program turned around,” he said. “I wasn’t there the first three years when he took it from 1-whatever to where we were, but I was there the last five years. What has to continue is the same intensity at practice, but a step higher.”
An assistant track coach, Gargione strongly encourages his players to join the track team if they are not doing a spring sport. At Absegami High, Gargione played football and ran track. It was a routine that helped him play at the next level.
”It’s good to keep that competitive edge,” Gargione said. “I used the winter time to work out. I played two sports. Once I realized I was playing college football, I picked up track and field for three years because I knew it was going to help me out. I want to get a lot of kids out for track because they go hand in hand.”
Gargione’s familiarity with the Little Tigers will not only help him to convince players to pick up track and field, but it also gives him a strong starting point to the season.
”I think it helps tremendously,” Gargione said. “They’re familiar with me. I have a good rapport with them.”
He didn’t just use his attachment to the program to earn the job. Gargione brought his outlook and a rather complete idea of his daily practice plans with him.
”I already have an idea of some of the things I carried over from TCNJ that I’ll use,” Gargione said. “I brought them to my interviews. I don’t have the full double sessions figured out, but I have the first five days. I want to meet with my coaches and make sure we’re in agreement. I don’t want to do something and not have agreement.”
Gargione already has commitments from three coaches and a fourth is pending for his staff. And he has an enthusiastic group of returning players.
”I am very encouraged,” he said. “We have a great sophomore class. And the seniors, we have good leadership this year. I’m pretty pumped up. In the meeting, I said, I’m fired up. We’re graduating 20 seniors, but I know that a lot of kids are going to step in and do a great job. We’ve gotten a lot of kids some reps. They’re a great group of kids. They’re working hard.”
Gargione will be monitoring their commitment in the weight room through the remainder of the spring and into the summer. He plans to get the team some outside competition after accepting an invitation from former TCNJ teammate and current West Windsor-Plainsboro South head coach Todd Smith for seven-on-seven drills this summer. That will lead the Little Tigers into their August double sessions and Gargione’s first season at the helm. He may be getting a little later start than he wanted to his first year, but he’s happy that his head coaching announcement is finally official.
”It makes it so much better,” Gargione said. “Now I can go forward and get things going.”