PV alumni back as coaches for the Valley football team

Pascack Valley defensive coordinator Adam Preciado always knew he wanted to return to his old high school as a part of the football program.

“I always knew I wanted to come back. And when I had the opportunity to come back, I took the opportunity because this is home for me. I played here, I live in River Vale now with my wife, we bought a house. So this is where I want to be,” he said. 

Apparently, he is not the only person in the Pascack Valley football community who feels this way. 

Several former players, including some who won state championships, are back at Pascack Valley as assistant football coaches. The list of players that are back coaching includes Danny Williams, TJ Schneider, Mark Vetterlein, Jimmy Alburtus, Kyle Schneider, Jonathan Moran, and Preciado.  These ex-players are a mixture of volunteer and full-time coaches.

Some of the volunteers are not able to make it to every practice or game, but they come to help out when they can. PV coach Len Cusumano is not bothered by their inconsistent attendance, as he understands that they have other commitments, but mentioned that these coaches do make a huge difference when they are around the team. 

The two full-time assistant coaches are Moran and Preciado, both of whom are physical education teachers. Moran teaches at Pascack Valley, while Preciado teaches at Cresskill Middle School and comes to PV to coach after school and on the weekends.

Perhaps the most notable ex-player that is on the coaching staff is Kyle Schneider, who was the starting quarterback for the Indians from 2011 to 2013. He helped take the team to the state championship game in his junior season against Roxbury at Kean University. He went on to play quarterback at the collegiate level for Cortland University.  Back at PV, he lends his advice to the program’s signal callers.

The leadership skills that he learned during his time in high school drove Cusumano to give him this role.

“Kyle just was a tremendous, not only talent as far as a quarterback is concerned, but he was a great leader,” he said. “He ended up playing as a sophomore here, moved in as a junior and did even better. His senior year we were undefeated going into our state championship game against Roxbury, but unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top that day… Kyle was just pretty much one of the best quarterbacks that we’ve had here at Pascack Valley. I can’t thank him enough for coming back and helping us out here.”

There are other ex-players who are helping out the Indians who have college football experience. One example is Vetterlein, who graduated PV in 2012 and afterward played football at King’s College in Pennsylvania.

“I love Pascack Valley,” Vetterlein said. “And Pascack Valley Football. That’s why I came back. I played football for 15 years of my life. It ended my senior year of college and then I wanted to continue it.”

Many of the ex-players mentioned that they enjoy seeing the current athletes improve and succeed.

“When you win as a group, it’s nice to see everyone and their happiness… when you see a kid do something right,” Alburtus said.

“I’d say the biggest thing is helping out the kids,” Vetterlein said. “Make them into better football players and better men. That’s the biggest thing. And if I can, I want to help them win the state championship.”

The years in which the coaches played for Pascack Valley are varied significantly. Vetterlein and Kyle Schneider graduated PV back in 2012 and 2013, respectively, toward the end of former Coach Craig Nielsen’s tenure. Meanwhile, Preciado and Moran played at Valley during Nielsen’s earlier years.

“My freshman year was actually Coach Nielsen’s first year,” Preciado said. “We won eight games my senior year. It was Coach Nielsen’s first winning season, first league title, and first playoff appearance. So, I’d like to think that I helped kind of build the foundation to this program.”

It can be hard to for these coaches to find time for the PV football team, but they try their best to attend the games and practices when they are available. In fact, some of the ex-players juggle another job with their PV football coaching gig.

Alburtus recently got a new job on top of the fact that he earned his Associate’s Degree at Bergen Community College. He mentioned that he was thinking about going to school to be a teacher, but decided he wasn’t dead set on committing to that.

“When I’m not at work, I try to be here as often as possible,” Alburtus said. “I want to be part of it. I love all the coaches, the kids, the whole school system. It’s just a big family.”

Moran, a physical education teacher at the school, is currently in his second season of coaching. He was a volunteer last year and graduated from PV in 2008. He was the starting tight end for the Indian’s league championship teams in 2006 and 2007.

“I knew from a young age that I wanted to get into the teaching and coaching profession,” he said. “I had such a great experience when I was a student-athlete at PV that I hoped to give the current student-athletes some of the similar experiences and impact their lives.”

The coaches all agree on the fact that the reason they came back to PV is because of their desire to continue the rich tradition of the school and the football program.

“My favorite part about being a PV student-athlete is the camaraderie between fellow students and faculty,” Moran said. “It didn’t matter what sport you played, what club you belonged to or what group you hung out with, everyone was a Pascack Valley Indian. There was a sense of pride that was carried by all students and faculty.”