ROBBINSVILLE: Ravens football has new coach

Patterson returns to bolster RHS

By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
   Andrew Patterson is excited to have finally gotten his first head coaching position.
   But what has Patterson the most excited about taking over as the head football coach at Robbinsville High School is the people he will be surrounded by in his new position.
   ”We’ve tried to make it all about the parents and kids,” said Patterson, who was named the Ravens’ head coach in December. “We have a great group of kids coming back that are battle tested. There were a lot of times last year that they could have packed it in and quit and nobody did that.
   ”That core group of upcoming juniors and seniors really stuck together. No matter what happens, I’ll have a good group of kids to work with. I am very proud of the group of guys I am inheriting. Those guys really did their best last year in an up and down season.”
   Patterson has been a teacher at Robbinsville for 10 years and has spent part of that time on the coaching staff at the school. He’s looking forward to getting a chance to coach the kids he has taught and seen in the hallways of the school.
   ”Throughout the entire time I have been teaching at Robbinsville I have had most of the kids in class or in track as an assistant coach,” Patterson said. “I know the kids and families and older siblings.
   ”I am new in the sense that I have been away long enough as a football coach that all the players I will inherit don’t know me as a football coach at Robbinsville. That entire four-year sequence has graduated. The upcoming seniors know me as a guy who coaches football.”
   Patterson got his first coaching job at Pascack Valley as assistant with Craig Nielsen from 2001-03. He then started teaching at Robbinsville and was a member of the initial staff when the program started with just a freshman team. During his time with the Ravens, Patterson coached the offensive line, defensive line, or wherever he was needed.
   Patterson returned to his alma mater, The College of New Jersey, to coach running backs from 2010-2012 and last year was a volunteer assistant at Princeton University.
   ”In the back of my head I always wanted at some point to get back into the high school game and the opportunity presented itself at the right time,” Patterson said. “I enjoyed the college level but being a high school teacher, the college game is more of a business. High school is more about teaching.
   ”I think our kids bring a lot. The current juniors and seniors have had the experience of playing for a pretty good staff under Jason Gray and then an experienced staff with Irving Fryar.”
   The Ravens finished 2-8 last year under Fryar and interim head coach Mitar Rudnovic. There is plenty of enthusiasm around the program as they look to get back to their winning ways again in 2014.
   ”Right now everything is voluntary,” Patterson said. “We have a workout club open to everyone in the school. Hopefully some of the kids are there that will play on the team. We’re trying to get some kids out of the hallways that have played in the past but haven’t played football the last couple years. We’re trying to make it a school-wide campaign.
   ”The original report in December had the number (of players) in the 20s. But now sophomore to senior on paper our roster is in the low 40s, not including the new freshmen. We have a lot of battle-tested kids that were thrown right into the fire and they have experience at the varsity level. From December to now has flown by. In the summer we’ll start typical volunteer workouts in the weight room and with conditioning and we’ll have the 7-on-7 passing league. So we should be a good.”