New coach to build wrestling
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Edward Ferraro wasn’t going to pass on another opportunity at West Windsor-Plainsboro High North.
As the former wrestling coach at Grover Middle School that feeds into Knights’ rival WW-P South, Ferraro had been offered the head coach position at WW-P North, but hadn’t been able to take it because the commute from Newark was too much. This year, with a job closer to Plainsboro, he couldn’t miss out.
”This is a dream job for me,” Ferraro said. “Ever since I coached at Grover, and Marty Flynn, he was the previous athletic director and said I did such a good job, they only had one win before and we went .500. I was finally going to get my dream job and I got a job in Newark and I couldn’t take it. I’m excited to finally have my chance.”
Ferraro brings an excitement to the program. He comes in with energy and patience to rebuild a program that has been thinned by its lack of success.
”I talked to athletic director, and one of the major things is the numbers,” Ferraro said. “Because the numbers are so low, the team is going to struggle. Preseason, I was at the school every day trying to recruit kids. It’s so damaged, they’re turned off by it. I’m not going to change the program overnight, but getting some quality wins might spark some interest.
”I’m working on sparking that interest to get the numbers out. I know I can develop the wrestlers. I just have to get them out.”
Ferraro has found a knack for developing wrestlers at every stop along his way. He wrestled at Manville High School before starting his college career at Coastal Carolina before returning closer to home to wrestle at Montclair State. When Montclair dropped its wrestling as a varsity sport, he moved into coaching.
”It was Thanksgiving, and one of the teachers asked if I wanted to volunteer for him,” Ferraro said. “I volunteered my first year at Manville Middle School, and I was there for a few years.”
Manville has done well in producing a tough team despite being a smaller school. From there, Ferraro moved on to help coach middle schoolers at Bound Brook, which has become a powerhouse. He came to Grover shortly thereafter then coached at Eagle Academy for Young Men the last two years before coming to WW-P North.
”When I took the job, the athletic director said she wanted me and my assistant to build a family atmosphere in the room and get kids interested in wrestling again,” Ferraro said. “I think there’s a lot of potential with these kids. I’ve coached wrestling quite a few years. No team I’ve had has worked as hard as these guys.”
The Knights received an early reward for their dedication with several wrestlers picking up wins in a 45-2 loss to the Academy of Urban Leadership Charter School in Perth Amboy.
”We’re light on numbers,” Ferraro said. “We’re giving up about 18 points. Academy for Urban Charter it was a tight match. I know they’re new, but we did well. We have the big quad this Saturday and I think we can pull out a win. I’m impressed with kids that hadn’t wrestled much came up with wins.”
Christopher St. Amour won at 113 pounds, Eric Austin won by pin at 152 pounds, Josh Schupak won by pin at 170 pounds as did Andres Soler at 182 pounds. Vinny Porreca won by pin in 34 seconds at 220 pounds. Porreca returns for his senior season after advancing to regions last year.
”If he continues to put the work in, I think he can make states this year,” Ferraro said. “That’s the goal for him. I would hate to see him work as hard as he’s been working and not make it. He went to regions and I believe he can make states again.”
Porreca gives WW-P North a high level wrestler that they can build around as they go forward. He is looking to set a standard that others will strive for. He has picked up where he left off and is looking good in the early going.
”He won the championship at the Princeton tournament,” Ferraro said. “I was excited for him. He’s taking those little steps.
”He’s at 220 this year. He made quite a jump. He’s put on a lot of solid mass. I think it’s a great weight for him because he moves. You don’t see a lot of shots at 220. But he wrestles like a 70-pounder. He’s constantly going.”
Porreca also has helped with the transition to Ferraro, who teaches health and physical education at Children’s Day School in Ewing. Porreca has kept the Knights on task as a captain.
”Coming from a different school, sometimes I’m late,” Ferraro said. “He has the practice already started. He’s a great leader.”
Ferraro is seeing progress from his inexperienced team that has 14 wrestlers out for it, and more asking every day.
”That’s getting the spark going,” Ferraro said.
In the wrestling room, Ferraro has been pleased with the developments of his team. They are progressing as a group.
”The kids are coming together,” he said. “They’re showing me great things that are starting to developing a program.”
The quad meet on Saturday will be the next test for the Knights. They will face a challenge from South, Sayreville and East Brunswick.
”I really believe that if they come to wrestle and they’ve shown me what they can do last match, I think we’ll be OK.” Ferraro said. He knows that he can’t rebuild the Knights overnight, but his previous experience gives him confidence that it will come. His last stop at Eagle Academy saw a big jump in a short time.
”I developed their middle school program and within the first year we won a tournament and last year we were 12-2 and second in the league,” Ferraro said. “Developing programs is something I like to do. I was also working with the Eagle Academy in New York as well. They’re established. They got their first state champion.”
Ferraro is sticking with the methods and philosophies that he has adopted during his years of coaching and observing other successful coaches, from Scott Goodale and Frank Edgar at Rutgers to Manville coach Pat Gorbatuk and former Blair Academy coach Jeff Buxton.
”I used a lot of his practice plan,” Ferraro said of Buxton. “I use his stuff, a lot of drilling and wresting, getting the kids in situations so they’re aware of what they’ll be in every single match. You can see how they’re picking things up. You can see they know what they’re doing. To see those steps, especially with the new kids, it’s exciting to see them catch on.”
Helping to build up the program is Chris Petrone, Ferraro’s assistant coach. Petrone is an assistant for the WW-P North football team and head coach of boys lacrosse team. He teaches at the high school which keeps him close to the team during school hours, and he and Ferraro are delighted with the response from their team.
”The kids are embracing everything that Chris are teaching them,” Ferraro said. “They’re hitting moves in the matches that we’ve been drilling. It’s a wonderful feeling that they’re catching on. As the season progresses, they’ll progress. They don’t stop working. I’m really confident that they’ll do some wonderful things. We’re not going to change overnight, but the steps are the right direction.”