Vince Ascolese woke up last Monday morning and was greeted with a few catchy notes from his wife, Pat.
"She wrote a little reminder that this was my 41st year," said the veteran North Bergen High School football coach. "She wrote that if I was going to keep doing it, I better do it right."
For 41 straight Augusts, Ascolese has sacrificed his summer vacation for the good of North Bergen’s teenagers. He’s molded thousands of kids over those 41 years, teaching kids the proper way of playing the sport.
"People ask me why do I keep doing it," said Ascolese, who will turn 65 next month. "I want to keep influencing kids, keep them on the right track."
So even with the temperatures hovering near 100 degrees and the humidity making everything totally unbearable, the granddaddy of Hudson County football is hard at work, readying for yet another football season.
"We’re out there, every day, in this heat," Ascolese said. "I certainly still have the fever and the intensity. I want to win more than the next guy."
And with nine victories this season, Ascolese will reach a milestone that has only been attained by one other New Jersey high school football coach.
The ninth Bruin victory this season would mean that Ascolese had collected 300 career coaching victories during his four decades, first at Demarest (Hoboken High School), then for the last 31 years at North Bergen.
Only West New York native Warren Wolf, who has spent more than 40 years at Brick Township High School, has reached the impressive 300-win plateau.
But Ascolese isn’t caught up with the idea of becoming the second coach to ever win 300 career games.
"With God’s luck, I can get there this year," Ascolese said. "But if you want to know the truth, when you really look at it, records don’t mean a thing. So many of the coaches who I grew up with, my friends, are gone. I’ve lost 19 kids who played for me in Hoboken and 12 who played for me in North Bergen. I pray for them all every day. When you look at that, you say to yourself, ‘What does a record mean?’ Those people are gone. That’s more important. That’s looking at the big picture."
Ascolese said that he has been invigorated by a group of hard working seniors, like quarterback Mark Rogers and running back Eric Macias, who have been part of Ascolese’s program since they were sophomores.
"I like this group," Ascolese said. "They’re a great group of kids who have worked so hard to get ready, working in this heat. Now, it’s about coaching. And I’m coaching kids whose fathers I once coached. We have to try to do our best and see what we can do."
The Bruins open the season with a local bang, locking horns with St. Peter’s Prep on Sept. 13. More than likely, the archrival Marauders will be ranked among the state’s best teams, so these Bruins will be thrown right into the fire.
But Vince Ascolese wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, he’s been accepting challenges for 41 years now.
"My wife is a solid influence," Ascolese said. "She wouldn’t let me coach if I didn’t want to be there. But I want to be there. I love the chance to coach these kids. If I’m lucky enough, I’ll continue to coach. I feel young enough. I’m not going to walk away anytime soon. Cowards walk away."
And the granddaddy of local coaches is certainly not ready to run away from anything, especially another run at an HCIAA title come November. – Jim Hague