New head coach Joe Goerge and his Woodbridge players talk to the press at Big Central Media Day on August 8, 2024 at Kean Univeristy’s Harwood Arena in Union. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
When it comes to choosing a Coach of the Year, we’ve always felt it had to be someone who did something more than just coach the best team.
Sure, there are many decisions to be made throughout the course of a season, but it’s sometimes those outside the game that warrant attention and recognition. And sometimes, it’s the backstory that goes with it.
For Joe Goerge, the 2024 Central Jersey Sports Radio Coach of the Year, it’s both.
Goerge has coached all around New Jersey – locally at Franklin, Dayton, and twice South Brunswick – also spending time on Staten Island. He left his second stint at South Brunswick in the Spring to take over after Joe LaSala stepped down in March.
Goerge is a veteran, but sometimes veterans can get set in their ways. Not so for him.
An option coach for much of his life on the sidelines, taking the Woodbridge job was an interesting proposition. Why? Because they didn’t run it.
And then, there’s the personnel. Quarterback Derek Anderson was coming off a season where he threw for 1,751 yards and 21 touchdowns with just one pick, while his twin brother, Bryan, had 30 catches for 524 yards and four scores.
Who’s gonna mess with that?
To his credit, Goerge didn’t. He sprinkled in a few option plays, which made the Barrons that much better, and they bettered their 6-4 record in 2023 with an undefeated regular season, going 9-0.
Woodbridge eventually lost to Northern Highlands in the North 2, Group 4 semifinals, but the Barrons recorded their third undefeated regular season in the last six years under Goerge, in just his first year at the helm.
What will he do for an encore?
Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Woodbridge head coach Joe Goerge, our 2024 Coach of the Year:
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