By: Darren Cooper – Record Sports
The first game of Bogota’s football season just got more interesting. So did Weehawken’s.
Former Bucs football coach Nick DeStefano has been hired to take on the roles as head football coach and athletic director at Weehawken. He starts as athletic director around June 1, but will work as football coach immediately.
The two schools are set to play each other in week 1. The Bucs are now coached by DeStefano’s former assistant, Kevin Bayani.
“Whoo-hoo, that’s a good one,” said DeStefano, 33, when asked about the match-up. “I want to say that I want to win that game for Weehawken, more than for myself. There will be a lot of emotions, but it’s not about me.”
DeStefano was the head coach at Bogota from 2011-2014, taking the Bucs to the playoffs his last season. Since leaving Bogota, he’s served as an assistant coach at Fair Lawn and Nutley.
“I learned [at Bogota] that the most important thing you can do in building your program is building a relationship with the kids and the community and administration,” said DeStefano. “I think Bogota has tough, great kids and I loved every minute there.”
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There aren’t many coaches in North Jersey who also are serving as the school’s athletic director, but DeStefano jumped at the opportunity.
“I have been kind of debating between an administrative position and a coaching position and this is a job that will let me do both,” said DeStefano, who currently works as a teacher in Clifton. “I also have familiarity with the NJIC from my time at Bogota, and my first win as a varsity coach was at Weehawken. I understand the difficulties of a Group 1 program and what it’s like just trying to get the participation numbers up. I like the challenge and I have been looking to be a head coach again.”
DeStefano, who grew up in Sussex County, said he is already working on putting a football staff together and is expecting to meet with the team on Wednesday for the first time. He said he’s hoping there will be some holdovers from the previous staff. Weehawken finished 2-6 last season.
“It’s a huge job, a huge job [doing both] terrible hours,” said DeStefano with a laugh. “But its something I am passionate about, aside from my passion for my family, I am passionate about working with kids and athletes. This is the perfect job scenario.”
