NOTE: This article will be updated with more information.
Jeremy Nurnberger knows all about the big names and success of the South Plainfield wrestling program through the years. Now, he’ll be leading the next generation of Tigers on the mat.
The South Plainfield Board of Education approved Nurnberger to become the seventh head coach in program history that goes back to 1961-62 last month. The former Manville High School and Centenary University wrestler isn’t jumping in as an outsider and is well familiar with the roster.
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Nurnberger, 28, was the coach of South Plainfield’s middle school team the past three seasons and teaches special education at the high school.
“I’m honored,” Nurnberger said. “I’m excited. It’s South Plainfield with the tradition and stuff. It’s very important. Growing up I always used to come here for wrestling camps, so South Plainfield always has been a part of my life. Then coming here and coaching the middle school and now I’m getting the privilege to now be the head high school coach, it’s just nice to work up the ladder to finally become the head guy.”
Steve Johnston stepped down as the Tigers head coach in June to become the Parsippany Hills athletic director. Johnston, a former South Plainfield wrestler (class of 2003), complied a 117-49 record in eight seasons and coached three individual state champions.
South Plainfield is one of New Jersey’s storied programs and finished as the No. 1 team in the state in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Among the stars donning the green and white singlet were Anthony Ashnault, a four-time state champion and NCAA champ at Rutgers, as well as 2018 Division 1 All-Americans Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) and Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers).
Nurnberger is aware of that history and noted he used to go to South Plainfield wrestling camps at the PAL. He earned 111 career wins at Manville (Class of 2016), where he was a district and Somerset County Tournament champion his senior season. At Centenary, he was selected as a NWCA Scholar All-American in 2019-20.
Nurnberger said he knew in college he wanted to become a coach. He currently coaches junior varsity soccer in South Plainfield and coached middle school baseball last season, which he’s not doing this spring.
He credited the South Plainfield coaches he worked with for mentoring and helping him out the last few seasons. That included Craig Salvatore, the previous middle school wrestling skipper, and Johnston, among others.
Nurnberger also observed how his coaches operated, including Manville’s Pat Gorbatuk and Centenary’s John Garriques. He recalled seeing the detailed notes they wrote breaking down practices and adjustments needed and “even the most minutia things, you’re always kind of changing and adapting, see how you can get the best.”
“And it was just, ‘wow’,” Nurnberger said. “And that’s when I learned, kind of all right, this is what it takes to be a good coach. That’s what I got to do. … With those coaches you’re bound to pick some stuff up because they’re high-level coaches. Something I learned about them is they just put in a ton of effort and a ton of heart. They connected with me at an individual level when I was going through the program and that’s something I liked a lot. So that’s something I’m hoping to carry forward is connecting to kids at an individual level.”
Nurnberger, who also played football at Manville for four years and a season of baseball, said it’s been a seamless transition.
“I feel a lot of support from the community, too, so that’s very nice,” he said. “It’s similar to Manville where they start young. It’s a tradition where a lot of these families like to start them young, get them in and then have them go through the program. That’s something I also want to do, too, is have a face through the rec, the middle school, just so that I could build it up because I know that’s a big point. A lot of these kids come through the pipeline of the rec program and the middle school.
“I’m excited for it. I’m ready for it. I can’t wait to see what happens in the upcoming season and upcoming years.”
Plus, Nurnberger added with a laugh, that the current freshmen he coached as fifth graders, “So these guys are going to have me for quite a while.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: South Plainfield hires Nurnberger as head wrestling coach