BACKGROUND: Princeton High boys soccer head coach Wayne Sutcliffe reviews the action during a game last fall. Sutcliffe recently announced his retirement from coaching the Tigers after 26 seasons at the helm of the program. During his tenure, the Tigers won numerous championships, including 19 Colonial Valley Conference division titles, seven Mercer County tournament titles, seven New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey sectional crowns. , two NJSIAA state finals (2014, 2017), and two NJSIAA state championships (2009, 2012). (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Wayne Sutcliffe faced tough competition in 1997 when he put his hat in the ring in a bid to take over as head of the Princeton High boys soccer program.
“I was hired to replace Ron (Celestin),” Sutcliffe said, referring to the beloved and legendary Celestin, who had guided the program to a state title before leaving to become an assistant coach with the team women’s soccer team at Princeton University. “There were 50 applicants for the position and I got it.”
Sutcliffe, who previously coached at Moorestown Friends and served as technical director of the Moorestown Football Club, quickly realized he had found himself in a hot seat.
“The pressure was really intense because two years before, Princeton had won the Group 2 state championship,” said Sutcliffe, who also worked as a physical education teacher at PHS. “There were high expectations, it wasn’t easy.”
Over the past 26 seasons, Sutcliffe has exceeded those expectations, guiding the Tigers to more than 300 wins and a multitude of titles. The program’s postseason included 19 Colonial Valley Conference division titles, seven Mercer County tournaments, seven New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey sectional crowns, two NJSIAA state finals (2014, 2017) and two NJSIAA state championships (2009, 2012)
Earlier this month, Sutcliffe announced he was stepping down from the program, concluding it was the right time to pass the torch.
“We’re going to have a really good team this fall, the team is in a really good position,” Sutcliffe said.
“It wasn’t such a difficult decision, I had been thinking about it for two years. I coached there for 26 seasons. We won everything you could win in New Jersey football. It’s good to try again. I just feel like the program is in a really good place with the health of all three teams (freshman, JV and varsity), quality of players, chemistry and atmosphere. The parents support club is fantastic, they have given us great support. I had my time.
Sutcliffe had a great time guiding PHS on its journey of excellence.
“When you win a state championship, it’s absolutely amazing,” said Sutcliffe, whose team beat Millburn in the 2009 Group 3 title game and shared the championship with Ramapo in 2012.
“I remember every title, the sectional titles, the MCT titles, the CVC titles and winning the league on the last day of the season. We have done this several times. This level of success is absolutely extraordinary when it happens. There is so much work to do, it’s so hard.
This success is the result of the good work of its players who produced a special brand of football.
“There is certainly a collective understanding and mission that it’s all about the team tactically and playing the game the right way,” Sutcliffe said.
“We were trying to play as simple as possible and keep the ball, I would say those are the two themes. My goal was to continue that momentum with the Princeton team and put my mark on it because that’s how Ron coached.
Sutlcliffe’s longtime coaching staff, which included assistant coaches Salvy Baldino and Carlos Salazar, played a key role in the program’s accomplishments.
“We were a team, we all had our strengths and we are very close personal friends; Salvy played for me,” Sutcliffe said.
“We were so committed to this team. We are in the weight room from March to June. There were alumni gathering games every Tuesday and Thursday on the turf with 30.40 guys in attendance. We played in the Mercer 8s league for years with great success. Once the pre-season started, the frequency of training and matches was six to seven days a week. We gave our all to this team and held it as high a priority as anything else in our lives except our families.
For Baldino, being part of the staff was like family. “Wayne never gets too high or too low, he’s such a level-headed gentleman that I really respect as a player and as a coach to work with,” said Baldino, the program’s goalie from 1997 to 1999, who served as deputy. coach from 2004 to 2019.
“We immediately worked very well together. Between Carlos, Wayne and I, we immediately became very close friends.
In Baldino’s opinion, Sutcliffe’s close relationship with his players has been a major factor in his excellent run.
“He was so connected with our players, seeing all these kids at school,” Baldino said.
“In many cases he knew their parents, he knew their cousins or he had trained their brothers. There was such a connection he made with the players. He knew when they were on, he knew when they were off. He really knew how to get the best out of players.
While all the titles are great, Baldino believes it’s this brotherhood that matters most to Sutcliffe.
“More than the wins, Wayne will always cherish the relationships we have with the players,” Baldino said.
“Year after year, we have our alumni game the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone is home and so many guys have come back over the years. For these guys to come back and stay in touch and be really friends with some of them and their families, that means a lot more to Wayne than the championships. This year we had the game and as luck would have it the USA played England on the same day. Then we all went to Conte’s house to watch the World Cup match. These are the memories Wayne will truly cherish, the football community, the brotherhood.
Sutcliffe agrees, relishing the rapport he has with his players.
“These guys are all in their 20s and 30s now and they’re some of my best friends, we keep in touch,” Sutcliffe said.
“At the annual alumni game the day after Thanksgiving last year, we had 35 guys. I haven’t lost connection with most of the guys.
That connection is evident in the way players and coaches reacted to the detention of former PHS star and team captain Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia in late March in connection with ‘a mission. The United States claimed the arrest was illegal and insisted that Gershkovich be released. PHS stakeholders created a website, Free Evan Gershkovich (www.freegershkovich.com), to remedy the situation.
“There’s a little bit of irony that this is happening to Evan right now and the alumni and the current team have been brought together on this front,” Sutcliffe said, noting that Gershkovich played a key role in the team’s victory over Millburn in the 2009 state championship game.
One of those current players, junior Felipe Matar Grandi, credits Sutcliffe with having a major impact on his development.
“I feel like it was a learning experience, he taught me a lot, not only about football but in life, about how to grow as a player and as a person,” said Matar Grandi.
“He taught me a lot about leadership because I was a junior captain. He gave me all the support I needed.
Sutcliffe brought his vast experience of the game to the players.
“He’s the coach I played under who probably has the most knowledge,” Matar Grandi said.
“He knows a lot about the game and he really loves football. He always does his research, he always watches the matches and talks about them.
This knowledge translated into Sutcliffe’s ability to motivate his players to perform at their best on the pitch.
“He always had confidence in our teams, he knew we could do it and that gave confidence to the players,” Matar Grandi said.
“He pushed us to do everything and got us fired up before the matches. He always strived to make players better, work as a team and keep us together. I want to think of him for everything he did for us.
Sutcliffe, for his part, is grateful to have gotten the PHS job and won’t soon forget everything he’s experienced over the past 26 years
this message.
“I will miss the players, the coaching, the relationships with the players, winning a game late,” said Sutcliffe, who will continue to teach physical education at PHS and is looking to coach club soccer, noting that the current assistant
Ryan Walsh is his likely successor to lead the Tigers.
“I can’t give enough credit to Salvy and Carlos and, for the last seven years, Ryan. It’s not just about me. We worked so hard together and they are three of my best friends too. There are staff but it was so special. We’ve all played this game, we have coaching licenses. What we did was we lived it. It was so much fun.”
