By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Jeff Torralba wasn’t really sure what to do with himself in the afternoons this past week., Most days after school Torralba can be found on the field or the court, coaching one of the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North teams. An assistant football coach in the fall and an assistant basketball coach in the winter, the WW-P North graduate had been an assistant lacrosse coach for the Knights as well before stepping down from that position this year., Torralba always felt like he would get into coaching after college. The fact he got to get into coaching at his alma mater was all the better., “Ever since high school I knew I wanted to coach,” said Torralba, a health and physical education teacher at North. “I worked a lot of the camps as a student at North. I saw myself not leaving the realm of competitive sports. I knew in the back of my head I would come back and try and coach. I had great coached in high school and AAU and thought I would want to stay around the game.”, Torralba played football and basketball at North before graduating in 2005. While in college he spent one season as a volunteer basketball coach for the Knights under Mike Jackson. After college he first started coaching at North as a volunteer football assistant under Chris Casamento and a basketball assistant to Dale Florio., “That fall I started at school as a sub and study hall monitor,” Torralba said. “I did a lot of the day to day things until a physical education position opened up. This is my fourth year teaching health and phys ed., Torralba has been an assistant under a number of coaches at North. He’s worked with two different head football coaches, three in basketball and three others in lacrosse. He’s taken a little from each of them in molding himself as a coach., “It’s funny because I have been coaching seven years and I have had so many different head coaches between the three sports,” Torralba said.”They have so much experience to draw from and have helped me a lot over the years.”, The coaches have helped Torralba, while he has also helped them. He has ascended to the role of offensive coordinator on the football coaching staff, helping the offense generate an average of 24 points a game over the last two years., “I have coached with Jeff for the past three seasons at North,” head football coach Jeff Reilly said. “From day one he has been on board and dedicated as our offensive coordinator. He really took the position and ran with it. In our second season we realized that we had to switch to a spread style offense after five preseason practices. Jeff kicked into gear by staying up late at night and reaching out to every resource imaginable to create a quality scheme that fits our team., “He understands his content and is always researching on what we can do to be better. Jeff, is a very calm coach and cerebral on the sidelines even in the most heated situations. Nothing gets him too high or low and I think that helps in his play calling during games.”, He’s had just as positive an affect on the basketball court for the Knights., “Jeff has been a part of the basketball coaching staff since before I took over as head coach,” head basketball coach Tim Stevens said. “Having played at North, Jeff approaches each season, practice, and game with great pride and enthusiasm. He draws on his own experiences at North to motivate and encourage the players at all levels of the program. Jeff has played an essential role within this program for many years, both as a player and a coach.”, Being an alum, as well as a teacher at the school, has made coaching for the Knights special for Torralba., “At first it was a little weird and different,” Torralba said. “I’ve been able to coach with Art Stubbs, who was my coach. Being able to coach with him has been awesome. The same thing wth Eric Becker, who was my coach. He’s been coaching with the girls team and we see each other all the time. I carry a lot of pride as being a former player and now coaching with them and seeing how far we can take it., “Typically a high school kid who has been here too long can’t wait to get out. But when you go away you forget how lucky you were to go through place like North with its great people and it is a great district. I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to coach here.”, Down the road, Torralba should eventually get a chance to be a head coach, whether it is at North or somewhere else. For now, he’s just enjoying doing what he is doing for the Knights., “When you start out everybody wants to be the head coach as soon as possible,” Torralba said. “I took a different approach whether its basketball or football, the sports I have been involved in, it has been great working with Tim and Jeff. They pretty much give me my freedom and each one has helped me develop my skills as a coach with Xs and Os and game responsibilities., “I am happy where I am now. Eventually I would like to be a head coach. People ask me about this job or that job. But I want to make sure I am fully prepared and confident. I want to make sure I have the answers no matter what arises.”, He’s been doing that as an assistant at his alma mater for several years. And it is a role Torralba enjoys., “What’s nice is I am in the school,” Torralba said. “So when kids have issues or questions, I like to think they’ll come to me because I am in the building. They all know I went to North. I don’t speak about it too much. Sometimes I’ll coach kids where I played with their older brothers. But for the most part I don’t mention it too much. They know I have been here. They’ll ask me what it was like.”, For Jeff Torralba, the experience as an athlete for the Knights was a positive one. And now he’s getting a chance to enjoy his time as a coach at the school.
