Head Coach Manchester High School Football Tommy Farrell
Head Coach Manchester High School Football Tommy Farrell
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All right boom we're back at It how we doing are we good yeah we're Good we're on we're live we're we're Rolling I'm in I'm in I'm in I'm in a Secret Location I give you credit you're you're In the other in the cave you're in like John Gruden you're in like John Gruden's Little studio with all the Tapes oh with all the emails yeah he's What is it it's like Yeah what was what was his thing the uh Uh fired coaches association or Something yeah go yeah yeah yeah Yeah well uh today's gonna be a great Guest and I'll let you intro him in a Second we got coach uh Tommy Farrell the Head coach of Manchester High School um Correct me if I'm wrong the youngest Head coach in the shore conference or Yeah I believe he is the youngest head Coach in the shore conference and uh I Believe one of if not the youngest in The state so interesting give G give us A little background then I'll let him Let him inro himself as well but oh sure So uh you know Tommy's uh obviously Family uh known him for a long time Great kid uh went to um Donovan Catholic Which was uh mon Senor Donovan at the Time he went on to play at Stonehill Always a smart kid um and really kind of Jumped into coaching right away uh Obviously he's the son of a coach been
Around Sports his entire life uh young So passionate um and was fortunate Enough after a couple gigs and a couple Stints to uh to land the head coaching Job at Manchester and uh he's coming up On year two and I'll tell you one thing You can already start to see the culture Change uh and it's really awesome to see A young guy really be you know Successful Maybe not maybe not looked at In wins and losses but off the field and That uh in like the culture aspect of Just changing lives in general so you Know I'm obviously biased him being Family but uh you know I'm really Looking forward to hearing his Perspective on on just things about the Game well we're GNA bring him in and and And talk about a lot of things today so It should be it should be a lot of fun Um rock and roll I'm excited here he is Coach welcome to the podcast thanks for Having me guys Derek that was the nicest Thing you said to me I think since I've Known you as smoking mirrors bro I gotta Be kind listen I was thought to always Start always lead with a compliment Always lead with something positive and Then you could I love it I love it I Appreciate that guys my Buddy coach tell everybody your Background um you know where you played How you got into coaching what what kind Of kind of got you there and then
Obviously where you are now and yeah Yeah so look I I I have to start off With my father you know uh great Relationship with my dad he's coached at New Egypt and Donovan and and MTH University um he got out of coaching Right when I went into high school at Donovan in 2009 um to watch me play um I Was lucky enough to play for Coach dudy Um where we won the be South Championship in 2012 uh went six and Four um I had the unfortunate experience Of blocking or trying to block Quinton Nelson uh in the nonpublic play offs uh That wasn't fun um but I was lucky Enough to play at Stonehill College uh Which is now division one I'm I'm lucky To I'm happy to see what coach Gardner Is doing there uh played outside Linebacker um then right out of college Uh I got my masters at Syracuse knew uh My junior year of college I I blew my Knee out I was helping the younger kids Out knew I wanted to coach someday down The road uh so coach fence at New Egypt Uh gave me that opportunity right out The gate uh 2018 and 2019 I coached at New Egypt uh 2020 I got my first teaching gig up in Pary Where I drove an hour 40 but I loved Every second of it coach coaching with Derek eatman I would call Derek my Cousin Derek all the time on my way home Uh when I was in traffic on on uh 280 um
And then I had the I had a I had a Really lucky experience uh to go to Shore Regional with Coach C coaching With him for a year and uh I I you know I I thought I was going to be at Shore For a long time learning under him and I Was fortunate enough I live in Manchester the job open up I applied for It and I was lucky enough to get the gig And you know we're going in year two we Have a lot of returning starters coming Back and this should be a should be an Exciting season for Manchester cool what who are some of the Teams that are on your schedule this Year yeah so we open up uh this Friday With North planfield who is the who Derek eatman is the head coach who I Worked under at Barony high school So I remember when you guys were setting That up that I thought that was kind of Cool you know yeah so um yeah so we're Both group three teams um he always you Know we we call it the Iron Bowl it's The first annual Iron Bowl f for Farrell E for eatman Fe is iron um so we're Calling it the first annual ironball They're coming down to Hawks to to the Hawks Nest on Friday night and uh Hopefully we'll go there next year They're getting a new stadium up in North Playfield this year so uh just a Great opportunity for the kids to to Play different areas of the state so
We're we're fired up for Friday night That that is cool um so going into a Program Taking it over as and and I'm just Thinking back to I mean now as I'm Getting I'm getting older now so I'm 49 But I I know what it's like to take over A program at a young age I was a head Coach at 30 so um and I had only been Co It had only been coaching for three Years at the time when I became a head Coach so because I didn't start coaching Right away I was in um uh I was working For corporations for a few years so um I Know what it's like it could it could be CH it's exciting it's Challen it's Everything all wrapped up in one right You're your learning as they're learning Um te tell me some of the things that You found to be the most exciting and The most challenging you know be being a Younger coach so the most exciting thing Is to me um we walk out with the band Friday nights like from the locker room We walk through the tailgate in the Parking lot right onto the stadium um There's nothing like Friday Night Lights Um there's nothing like you know walking Through your family um even when you're A player um I took that from coach Eatman at Pary we walked with the band Out onto the field um down the hill at Parcion um and I love I loved every Second of it and going back to what I
Said you know hurting my knee in college My junior year when I was out I was out For the whole year um I knew that Football was not going to be over for me In just one year I knew I needed to be On the sideline um not not to be a Player not to be as much as I love the Chess match of football you know you run This I'm going to call this um just to Be in that atmosphere and to lead young Men um you know I I'm a product of coach Dudy at Donovan who's very positive um I'm not afraid to tell a kid I love him Uh you know even if I rip you in Practice I'm the first one to put my arm Around your shoulder and just to be you Know I I I know you guys are going to Say I'm I'm the youngest this I'm the You know at the end of the day I'm a Head coach and and I I love leading These young men and I know what these Kids need um so to get this opportunity At Manchester just to lead these young Men um is great look I I lift with the Kids I I run with the kids um I listen I Listen to their music I'm not afraid to Say that so um to relate to their level They know I'm not their friend um they Know I'm their coach but to have that Bonding experience with them on and off The field is is just huge and um that's What I'm fired up to do every day I wake Up before my alarm um this is what I was Meant to do and I'm just happy to be
Here I man I'm blessed When you think about um coaching from a Like philosophical standpoint you talked About like the positivity that you you Know that environment that you came from What is kind of your philosophical Approach to developing and building your Team and uh reason why I say right Manchester they've had some great They've had some really good teams but There there's been a lot of ups and Downs at Manchester right yeah Inconsistency all right that's a great Word for okay so um what what is your Philosophy and approach to building for The long run to be able to to to build The program up the way that you want it To become I think if they believe in you Off the football field right like I'm Proud to say I'm gonna brag about I I Don't I'm not a braggadocious person I Don't like you know as much as I love Being on this show I I don't like doing This stuff necessarily because I love The chess match of football football um But here's one thing I'll brag about you Know we had a uh for what I can recall Is the first time that Manchester Football had a 3.0 team GPA um so for Them to believe in me off the field to Get the jobs done in the classroom uh we Did three or four community service Trips uh to the 55 up communities in Manchester I saw that that was excellent
Yeah oh it's it's it's great and not Only did I make them do it the kids Enjoyed doing it um and then another Thing you know going back to when I Played at Stonehill you see it on my Sweatshirt dig um I I took it from Stonehill uh discipline intellect and Grit I always say you know like for Example today's Wednesday's practice we Did not have any intellect today we were We were disciplined when we went on a Hard count we were gritty in between the Trenches but you know we made some uh Philosophical errors some schematical Errors in the secondary we lacked Intellect so discipline intellect and Grit if we hit all three phases we're Probably going to be successful on the Football field um and you know coach ran Like culture is is is a great word it's A great thing that as a first year head Coach to build a program off of um but It it's also a buzzword you know like I Can do all these things we can get them New nice white helmets we can get them You know into the in into the community We can get them having good grades and Those are all great and I'm not Diminishing that by any means um but at The end of the day like I am a football Coach I am a competitor and and I want This to relate to wins at the end of the Day so um I I think we're going to take That step I'm I'm hoping we take that
Step you know we have the talent to do It now it's just time to execute and I'd Like to think that's coaching um if I Can get these kids to execute with the Talent that they have um that's that's The step from going from year one to Year two as a head football coach very Cool what what are some of the building Block things that you think are Essential so uh you got you know weight Rooms obviously an important part of it But what are what are the things that You build into the program to help each Individual kind of be successful uh as a Player yeah so look I'm a I'm a run First kind of guy I want to bring back That old school Ocean County Smashmouth Football to Manchester um and nothing Against before I got there they were a Five wide they were you know slinging Sling It kind of football team um I'm Kind of the opposite so to be that Smashmouth football team going off of You like a building block or a Phil Philosophical thing I think we had to Get in the weight room I think that was A a a Part of Me no no excuses uh part Of me joining late last year was we Didn't really have a a good off season Program so for me being in the weight Room for an entire year you you see that Now with a with a returning abely we're Returning all linemen on both sides of The ball um so to if we want to build
That identity of running the football And being in 21 Personnel we got to win Up front and that was huge in the weight Room so yeah to answer your question the Weight room was was everything um and Even during camp we I I my brother you Know Derek my brother plays at Mammoth University I met with Coach Tim who's Their strength and conditioning coach And they lift two two to three days a Week I followed that exact program when I was at mommoth not the lifts Necessarily but just just but building Those strength building blocks in the Weight room just being in there Absolutely and yeah and you you know Like being in the weight room is one Thing you can go to you know Tom's River Fitness or Planet Fitness and and be in There oh I was in the gym for two hours No you can get in the waight room for 30 To 45 minutes and and really get after It so so that was a huge I took Attendance in the offseason I'm I'm All About multiple Sports if you played a Sport great I wanted you to play Multiple sports but if you weren't I was Taking attendance uh in the off season And that's kind of how we picked jersey Numbers this year it wasn't just by Class it was how many times are you in The weit room how many times uh you know Did you not get in trouble you know it Was pretty much like a the less demerits
You had or the less points you had you Got to pick your jersey number so there Were some sophomores that picked the Jersey number before senior and that's Just kind of how I started it going into Year two uh just being in the weight Room uh especially with the identity we Want to build on the offensive side of The ball that's I think think that's Great man I mean honestly that's a great Way a little nice incentive for those Younger guys to kind of hey man like I Can go do this if I if I do this I can Get rewarded and really kind of follow Through with it and I'll tell you one Thing and and Dave he can back me up on It because he was at mom 7 out7 when Your team was there and and so he's seen Your guys live and I said the first Thing I said was damn this is not the Same team looking wise physically like You can tell these guys have been doing Stuff to get bigger stronger Factor Because looking at some of those guys That I saw in Camp last year and now saw In June totally different team Physically yeah I mean look look at the End of the day you know and and I Appreciate the compliment cuz but you Know we can look the part um but at that Moment seven on seven we didn't perform The part U but the good thing is is that We improved from the mom at 7 on seven To the Shore's best seven on seven to
The shore conference s on seven and and In you told me this cuz like it's all About improving and competing and we did That from the first seven on seven to The second seven on seven I'm not a guy At the banquet you know I have my Banquet on Super Bowl Sunday uh for we Do a banquet brunch uh I'm not the kind Of guy that talks about seven on sevens Or scrimmages um because that doesn't Matter that's not on my resume that's Not on our resume but the Improvement Aspect and um just being a student of The game to improve was huge for us uh It was awesome it was just good to see So well every part of it is is part of The building the culture and getting the More winds you have whether it's in 7 on Seven or it's a scrimmage or they just Build on itself builds confidence and And those things build on each other in Order to become you know more successful Uh as a team what what what are your so Let let's say like let's go to look at Like some plans um if you yes yeah yeah So if you were to say like do you and I Don't know if you do or you don't like Um I'll give an example yeah so yeah Derek knows this so when years ago when I took over a program Pal Park Leonia it Was probably one of the worst teams in The state of New Jersey when we took it Over PS overp pee Park like just Whatever they had to move all those
Games that they were gonna do there they Had to move them because the field Conditions are unplayable so something Why they were supposed have games PE Park yeah like they had like a little Jamere like Ramsey was playing somebody Like all that and then they they have to They had to move it to Westwood because Field is deemed unplayable really I Didn't even know that um where's that Taxpayer money am the fun fact of New Jersey high school football is Derek dep Pascal yeah I know he is listen once you Move below the bridge like you know Obviously I Liv out of it I don't even Know going half the time so You know Tommy got the coach in par Tommy got the coach in parip for a year So he was he was more poundy for a year I'm getting these calls like hey I gotta Play Mountain Lakes and hey buddy buckle Up buddy here they come like yeah be Glad you got out of oh no they can't be That yeah dude just wait you don't Understand some of these guys are brutal But anyway go ahead Coach yeah it's not uh it's well pacifi Troy Hills is not is not a bad place to Be that's that's the problem why parity Has a hard time because parity Troy Hailes everyone wants to go there um so Uh what was say oh so anyway so when I Took over that Pro it was it was just You know it was left for dead it was a
Co-op and the superintendent came to me And he said listen you know it's gonna Take you five years to get to where you Want to be so we set that as our goal Like the fifth year was to go to be in The state championship amazingly we were Able to do it we we we but if I said Like you're twoo I um I all I would have Been doing is torturing myself you know What I mean now obviously when you have Your you know with your kids I I always Say every year our goal is to to to win A state champion to win a league Championship those are our goals but the Key is progress right you don't get to That point right away all the time how Do you how do you stay in step with Players in in in as you're building the Program at the same time that you're Looking to to you know one day win a Sav Championship because every coach that's What their goal is um and and H how do You do that from a balance St I know It's a tough question but you know got I'm curious to hear well the first thing Is you know go look going into the Interview you know as a 27 year old last Year um going into the interview I Wanted to see you know did I have Administrative support and I absolutely Did um you know Keith liser my athletic Director has been nothing but amazing to Me since I've been there um my Superintendent John barado he's I was I
Think I was his first hire um and we Just have that that special relationship Where I I can text him um I can text my Superintendent I can text my athletic Director there's that you know Communication is huge for me um and it's Huge for them as well so to be on to Just to have a transparency aspect to it Is is awesome but to answer your Question um you know from a goal aspect Right like I I don't want to take the Cliche answer and say I don't have Football goals but I'm gonna and I don't Have football goals um I I I think I Took that from uh PJ Fleck he always Says he never has football goals for his Team he has community service goals he Has uh academic goals and he lets the Captains and the senior leadership Provide the football goals now like I Said before is winning important to me Absolutely if winning was important to Me I should not be a head football coach I should not be a coach in general Compor I'm a competitor at heart at the End of the day everybody wants to win Right but it is at at the high school Level I will say here's maybe where I'm Different it's bigger than football um Especially in Manchester it's a Bluecollar community I want to see these Kids get to college I want to see these Kids serve the community um but when you Do those things outside of the football
Field um you know those goals are going To relay onto the football field and my Seniors I don't want to put it on this Show what their goals are but they have High aspirations and I don't know the Last time Manchester had had very high On the- field goals um so for my cap I Have a captain's dinner the night before Training camp starts so um we started August 7 love that you do that a August 6th um I have the team I took it from Coach duddy each player votes for their Captains the coaches also vote um I I Tallied all the votes on a piece of Paper uh I I nominated the captains in Mini camp and they came to my house for A stake I I grill steaks I make potato You know I look like my Italian mother Derek but I'm Irish right my name is Irish I I my mom says I may look like Her but I act like my Dad an Irish family buddy whoa Baby so I have my I have my captains Over for dinner and the the Only Rule is I don't want to talk about Football Let's talk about school let's talk about Your friend group let's talk about what You guys are doing in the summer and That camaraderie builds into wow now When I get to hit a different color Jersey I'm going to I'm going to support My brother through and through from Whistle to whistle from quarter to Quarter um and that's huge so I know
What the football goals my guys have um When I lay the foundation now again and I know I'm I'm going a little long here I'm blessed enough to have a 11 Assistants on my Staff I have four volunteers he's got a Ton he's got got I have four volunteers Who are all alumni and have three former Head coaches on my staff and Bob M my That's something you should definitely Touch on because your staff is so like Yeah you set it up the right way where Look and I know you're smart enough to Do it this way right and with that and Everything it's a great way but you know Hey I'm going into this as a young head Coach I'm not gonna know everything at Least if I surround myself with some of Those guys right they've gone through What I don't know how to handle or you Know kind of just help me I mean look You set it up great and to have those Guys on staff what a benefit all so yeah So just a touch on that let me let me Shout him out real quick so Bob misseri State Hall of Famer sh conference Hall Of Famer coach that we have more F we Have uh he has more coaching experience Than we do on all fingers and toes um he He just did a stint in Lee Florida I Think a couple years ago uh before he Came back uh he was my dad's head coach At Donovan I got uh Gerardo Donald who's The my uncle my dad's best friend I call
Him Uncle G he's my defensive Coordinator winning as coach at Manchester uh with 27 wins and then I Got Lamar Davenport who I just brought On board as my Dbacks coach he was the Asbury Park coach last year and we were And we were and he doesn't talk that Much he's a soft spoken dude I said yo Lamar don't be afraid to speak up bro You have the highest winning percentage Out of any coach on the staff he went Five and three last year uh and then you Know and then I have Jeff Brown as my Offensive coordinator who's won multiple State championship with Jackson Memorial I think he went to a sectional with Mainland when he was the o line coach There two years ago I'm just blessed With an amazing staff and and I relay Things here and there but they also know At the end of the day I'm the head coach You know no matter what my age is um so They respect that the kids respect that Um but just a bounce ideas off of former Head coaches off of 11 coaches off of Four volunteers who played at Manchester Back in the day is absolutely huge and You know I'm not going to say I know the Two of you will both say you know you Could still be a head coach and you Don't know the answers Bob misseri at 74 Years old says he doesn't have all the Answers but when you have 12 guys who Believe in the same thing and have the
Same values it makes my job so much Easier 100% that that's a fantastic and Unique thing that you have in taking Over a program that had had not had a History of a lot of success because that Doesn't usually happen usually what Happens is there's a whole huge Transition Year from year one to year Two to year three to be able to start With that is really a great thing giv it Gives you a leg up Foundation wise yeah Foundation I mean Foundation right which Is you're going to build off of that Anyway right you don't have to build the Foundation you have the foundation to Start with which is which is amazing That really is amazing and going off a Foundation not to interrupt you coach But my my my freshman Coach Joe selli um One of the best football players in Jackson Memorial history was on that Team 20 I think it was 01023 that like I think he said he lost Two football games in his entire career Um so to have him come back from Coaching after you know a little stin of Not coaching and to be my freshman coach Which you guys both know that to have a Freshman coach you can trust and run That program is vital um so I I have to Give him a shout out as well I know I'm Probably missing people him and uh I'm Missing people but I I'm I'm just I'm Super blessed you know it makes my job
So much easier that's awesome that that Was really great I think we got like a a Really really good groundwork of success So now we can get to the fun Stuff so we we like to get we like to Get uh uh your opinions on different Things within like uh college football And we always we always everyone we we Kind of bring on we talk about uh a Couple of these topics with then Derek Probably knows where I'm going um Because I'm always it's it's there's no Wrong or right answer we we are always Just curious because the world of uh High School football and college Football's constantly Evolving and um and recruiting right Which is basically the the world we're In what is what is your approach to Recruiting with the with your kids like How how do you set the stage with your Parents how do you set the stage with Your players because that today in Today's football the way football is is Is such a difficult thing Not just not not just because recruiting That's a whole different ball game which We'll talk about but but like helping Everyone understand expectations H how Do you do that so the first thing I do Is I'm not afraid to say it I I try to Go to every single home ayf game uh at Manchester I'm lucky to live in Manchester the AY Fields a f fields are
Closer to my house than the high school I could ride my bike there if I wanted To there's no excuse for me to not go There show my face wear a Manchester Sweatshirt I I'll do all that um from a Recruiting aspect you know with the new Rules of transferring and recruiting Here's what I'll say and maybe this Isn't the young guy Take I don't have the foundation to Recruit right now if I was in eighth Grade and I was an eighth grader's Parent why would you come to Manchester Let's call a spade a spade three and Seven last year only winning season in The last 10 years I believe was 2 21 um besides 2010 you know what am I going to do to Sell the school I look I'm I'm coming Out here my administrators is probably Going to be mad at me but at the end of The day we're not a winning program That's on me I'm a losing coach at three And seven um so for example I have I Have a couple kids who play at Manchester a who are going to uh other Local high schools other local uh Catholic schools I wish them nothing but The best I I I I tell them to take Coaching to be coachable to have fun and Enjoy the moment um I'm not one that's Going to come out here and get mad I'm Not I'm not one that's going to like Petition a transfer and say I'm gonna
Ruin some ninth graders life some elth Graders life I'm not that guy if you Want to play for Manchester football I'm Gonna coach you if you don't want to Play for Manchester football I'm gonna Root for you um that may be a a Different aspect but right now I don't Think Manchester football is there yet To be on that recruiting scale um and That's on me I'm calling myself out Looking at you guys in the camera and I'm saying I got to be better Manchester Football has to be better and this Upcoming year I hope I make that that Change where when we do start winning You know now we have 71 kids on our Roster top to bottom that's pretty good For Manchester football that's your your Numbers heavy and last year you were What and by the way I was more talking Uh uh college Recruiting well there you go look so Look you're GNA get my you're GNA get my H was GNA let him get through this part I was gonna let him get through that Part because I know that's because you Really in all honesty Dave I didn't even Think about that I mean look it's it's Something that that obviously Tommy and I go back and forth with discussed Obviously me being in a parochial World Him being in a public school World me Being in this world just talking about Like obviously Optics itself you know
Just like and like and I think he yeah Obviously I'm biased but I think his Approach is excellent to that right like He's you got in order to sell something It really helps when the product you're Selling is is something worth worth it Right like it's hard to S you know [ __ ] You know or you know it's kind of you Know so you got to put it all together And look big picture I also think the Approach of hey good luck where you're Going and then keep that good Relationship for the bounce back yeah But I'm not even look and yeah I guess That's great in the in the in the Hindsight of it I know thought process No but like what I don't know maybe like Again I call it the I call it the Positive dudy effect right coach dudy Who I played for what what good am I Going to get from petitioning a transfer Or losing a recruit like what am I gonna That's not what a man is Right coach Dudy always said I know 18y old men and I know 55 year old boys what if I am all Salty because an eighth grader wants to Go to another school that's me being a Boy right I got to set the precedent at Manchester we got to win some football Games now I have 71 kids in Manchester Which is a pretty you know we're the Smallest group three in the state of New Jersey by six students right six Students less from a male population
Standpoint we would be a group two now I'm not saying Central and South Jersey Group two playoffs are easier than group Three playoffs but from a PowerPoint Standpoint from a number standpoint Having 71 kids is pretty good um but When Manchester and I'm not saying if When Manchester football wins I'm going To tell you that it's going to take it's Going to you know we're going to have I Hope hopefully hopefully 100 100 more Kids um I'm I'm sorry more than 100 kids Um so that that's how I look at I know You were talking about college coach but Um that's that's my aspect because I Know the rules are changing uh in the State of New Jersey from high school so All right and now you can get into how You get guys to that next level guys That because look you do have I mean Look you got some individual Talent Right like you're gonna have some guys That can go places to play how are you Gonna handle that in terms of that whole Recruiting aspect yeah so uh last year Um you know I had I don't know I think I Had several seniors that graduated I Would say a few contributors um one of Them is going to play for the New Jersey Warriors um another one is going to be a Scholarship track runner at Lock Haven Which is division 2 and he's going to be Walking on for football uh and Tyrone Benjamin he was one of the leading
Receivers in the short conference last Year um I make it a point and you know Maybe you can go back to my age here Because I was on the recruiting Trail 10 Years ago as a player um I have Relationships with a a lot I would say Dozens of head coaches at the division Two and division three level even onea Um where I make it a point to sell my Kids I wouldn't be doing my job as a Head football coach if I wasn't proon Promoting my program promoting my kids Getting them into the weight room to Meet with our kids um and selling them You know and I I'd like to thank yeah Like you said Derek we do have a lot of Individual Talent you know we got I have A rising sophomore defensive end uh and Curtis mayor who put on 30 pounds of Muscle grew two inches um Joe harism From from Ruckers was all he had to saw Was one play against Tom Tu East and Said this kid's on my radar um that was Huge and I kind I love that Ruckers gets To every high school because that that That was awesome um I have some Sophomores uh who are now going to be Juniors uh that that I you know I had Eight I had had eight sophomore start on Both sides of the ball last year um so They're on the radar I I have a lot of Seniors up and coming that were all Division as Juniors All Conference as Juniors last year um so just to get just
To sell my kids and and just to get them In the faces of college coaches is huge Get them to go to different clinics like Boardwalks beast and and and Shores best And just to get them in the faces to see What they can do in the offseason is Huge and and that's probably my number One job uh in the off season is to is to Get my kids to go to college the end Goal yeah the end goal is to get them to Get a secondary education and if they Can get football um on top of that that That's that's even better so um that's Kind of my aspect on That yeah well I think it it's um you Know it was interesting when we Had uh I think it was not coach Grant But it was uh coach Holan who talked About like trans he's really like trans Into transforming their lives and how Football could be Transformative he talked a lot about it And he talked about how recruiting is a Big aspect for those kids enable Enabling them to transform their lives By being able to go to college leverage Football to be able to do that get Themselves a better education um is that Something that you feel is important in Your program because there's a couple Philosophies like I coached with guys That you know basically felt like most Their players will be division 3 kids And and they're going to push that to
Enjoy High School football as much as They can and if College became an option For them great uh and then I've been Around you know talking to coach Holman Talking to coach um uh Bell uh I you Know he he really they really drive home The point that college is an opportunity For you to get yourself an education so There's obviously different schools have Thought of it you know I'm there's no Right or wrong answer what are kind what What is your overall philosophy on that With respect to football yeah look I Um I'm all academics right so you know To take another cliche answer I was Lucky enough to go to a division 2 School that offered me uh a good amount Of academic money where they matched my Athletic scholarship to make it almost a Half ride so I was lucky on that aspect For my kids you know if if they want to Go and just be an academic student I'm Fine with it because you both know how How much the commitment is to be a College football player my little Brother's going through it right now at Mammoth University as a Prer as a as a walk-on and and I put Walk- on in quotes because he he's just Another guy on the team who's getting Treated like a scholarship player um Yeah but at the other aspect of it too Coach is that you know selfishly you Know as a as a as a new head coach my
Reputation's also on the line if I say To a coach hey this kid's a onea kid um And he's not you know they might not Take my email seriously they might not Take my Twitter DM seriously so I have To also be not not selfish but like Realistic in a way of where could these Kids play where's their commitment level At to the game of football um where are They from an academic standpoint do they Just get by are they actually studying Are they are they taking are they doing What they need to do to get it done in The classroom and in the weight room do They play multiple Sports um so my Aspect is how bad do you you know my and Derek you told me this too my my dad Tells me this too do you like football Do you love football or do you live Football and if you don't live football Then maybe college football is not for You on no matter what level and we're Seeing that with the transfer portal After after covid too division three Football is not easy um and and and Every player who plays at any level Should be blessed um so I I take that Approach with my kids um when I sit down With college coaches um after they meet My kids I have a one-on-one conversation With those college coaches and and we go From there um but you know selfishly at The end of the day too my reputation on The line is am I a realistic recruiter
To sell my kids as well um so I got to Take that to I got to take that to an Account I think that's a huge point is Being able to diagnose that's where Those coaches that have had the Experience can really be a huge asset For you because they've seen so many Different types of players over years And all the that head coaching Experience um not not just obviously Your experience which you're getting Super quick but also the the experience And leveraging those guys who've been There um because they also the great Thing is those guys have relationships Too which is great that you'll be able To draw from which I think is is so Unique for a head coach um that's that's Younger that you have people that have Those relationships that you can get Ingrained uh and and and indoctrinated Right into so you then have those Relationships for the long term which is Really cool I mean that's a really Really unique cool aspect um uh of of Your situation which I think is is great Um an example is coach zaski from Kings College you know um he recruited me when I was uh you know in 2012 a senior in High school getting recruited out of High school he was recruiting me now He's the assistant head coach and Defense coordinator at Kings he's Recruiting my kids uh he recruited my
Little brother so to have those Relationships is huge and and being a Division 2 football player at Stonehill College and you know I'm I'll I'll come Right out and say I didn't play that Much um but to see the teammates that I Had that got NFL tryouts at a division 2 Level and now stonehills won doua in the NEC is huge I I you know you know Talent Changes every year um the game gets Faster and the game gets you know more Talented every year um but graduating College in 2017 and being a football Player and now being a head coach in 2023 you get to see where would your kid Be able to play on this type of team and That helps me a huge Lot did you watch uh swamp Kings yet I Watched the first episode last night With my wife um and I think Tim TBO came Out of the womb uh just as mature as he Is now I when was that when was Tim TBO Ever immature you know like that's my Question wait wait till you get to Episode two where he talks about how he Um uh how he when he W he first join Youth football did you saw that Derek Yeah and the coach was talking about Guys it's not about winning it's about Having fun and he looked at him and he Said coach this Sucks what about the Friday and Saturday Night workouts when they put the war Paint on their face I'm like
God I said if my quarterback walked in The weight room like that I'm running Through a wall yeah he got the needed The needed fourth and one I forgot who They were playing but his freshman year They're like we're putting in TBO and he Gets throw a jump pass yeah like yeah oh My god listen I obviously I obviously uh Have having later nights lately so I got To rip through all the episodes and Watch the whole damn thing so but let's Just I mean look a Tim team just a whole Another level man I Mean yeah me me and my CZ me and my CZ Are lucky on on this level is that my Wife is due in October his uh he was just blessed Enough to have a baby girl we're both Having girls um so my wife all of a Sudden you know we've been watching Friday Night Lights and swamp Kings and And last chance you you know I've been Coaching for five years she's been I've Been playing since she's met me now she Wants to be a coach's wife and she wants To watch I love it look better late than Never she wanted to watch Swamp Kings She gets mad if I watch Hard Knox and She's not with Me is this your first time watching Friday Night Lights the uh series no I've watched it like four or My my that was my first time watching it This was my first time ever watching
Series itself yeah I actually uh I Turned to Jen after one of the episodes And I said you know what like there's Not a episode where they don't touch on Something that I've dealt with firsthand It was just craziness whether you know What I mean whether it be booster club Kids getting in trouble or this issue I'm looking at it going damn dude i' Really I've been through all of this [ __ ] and my wife wants to be Tammy Taylor she wants my wife wants to be Tammy Taylor she because I tell her I'm Like look my wife's a nurse right Sometimes she comes to games late Because she gets off at six seven O'clock but I said I if I lose by 42 or Win by 42 I I want to go kiss my wife on The fence you know at the end of the day She's still gonna love me hopefully um But but no this has been this has been Great I actually just got her a shirt on Amazon that said says my uh what does it Say my husband doesn't care what play You think he should call love the Wife listen she's gonna be wearing she's Gonna be wearing that shirt on Friday Night poor uh poor Dave's dealing with It right now man because he's coaching The auu stuff and this is the first time That his son Troy is in like pads right So this was the first game they had this Weekend and you know P Nicole's going oh My God like what's going on my baby is
Smash it in every listen it'll probably Take her a game or two before she starts Fighting people I know where she's from Dude I love it Nicole doesn't Nicole Doesn't mess around when your wife and Your wife supports you there's nothing Better there's nothing better it's fun Because I decided to take a you know I Changed my careers from working in media To being a teacher and coach in the Middle of covid when my wife's an ICU Nurse so she's getting her butt kicked Every day in the ICU flooor and I say Hey I want to change my job and switch Careers when jobs are at of scarce and I Want to do this full-time and she Supported me through and through um so You know she she loves it and now that I You know I went from an hour and 40 Commute in Pary to a 4minute commute Living in the town that I coaching so it It was All got deal that's a much better deal That's when I took the job at Red Bank I Was the Head Indian Hills I was doing The same thing that you were doing I was Here and I was commuting and actually I Loved Indian Hills I really did um but It was just so so long it was such a Long commute that I think I think Everyone was gonna kill me at some point If I if I kept steing that commute you Know to coach football but um we love The game man there's something different
About football right I mean that's why We do it no no doubt about it I was I Was glad to be able to go go to Red Bank But it it hurt me because I like I like The Indian Hills a ton remember when uh When Derek was at Red Bank with you and My brother was at Donovan and you Decided to kick an onside kick right at His Chest I told him I was gonna do It that was great and I'm in the Sidelines I go Derek's gonna kick it Right at 44 I know for a fact he's gonna Do it and there it Was Donovan was I think it's one of Those things I mean listen that's when They had that the prettyy good Quarterback yeah they were good yeah y Yeah oh yeah coach kon's going doing Good things there I always text him you Know there's no there's no bad blood Between us I'm happy what he's doing With my aler um you know yeah it's nice To see those guys win on a consist tell That any guys that are from your your Town that aren't starting just to send Them Back uh yeah you could say that coach to I'm not gonna I'll tell you a couple Things I used to do when I was at Pal Park I used to get all my players back From bur Catholic and previs pris Catholic I used to go sit in the stands And watch their J JB and freshman games
And as as soon as they thought that they Were uh getting the shaft I was standing Right there baby I was right there come On back oh my God I'll never forget my Cous right here right the long phone Calls we have you know you you're Playing at Donovan you're playing mon This that and the third and then boom Donovan turns it on my brother's there Well your brother lost more football Games than you won championships blah Blah blah I'm like all right Derek I got It bro I got it I'm just Happ to see my Water win man just because I'm a public School head coach in Ocean County Doesn't mean I'm not rooting for him my Jersey's right behind me so I tell the Greatest the greatest thing about that Though is is when like obviously we've All of us have had the fortunate or Unfortunate uh privilege of coaching With D Smith oh yeah so D line coach Baby so so the best the best story I Have is your old man told me like you Had to you had to like block him or go One-on ones with him and game or Something when he was play Like you playing offensive line and G Smith who ended up being a division Defensive line man yeah so all right so Let me tell a story before Derek puts His dramatic Derek spin on it so coach Coach Smith who's I'm blessed that he Lives in Manchester played at Mammoth
University played at Jackson Memorial uh On dude yeah oh he's the he's the man I Love he's one of my best friends for Even better our wives are good friends So that makes a job even a little bit More easier course um so sh's best Camp I don't know 2010 2011 I remember I Played for Coach dudy we ran the triple Option I'm 511 180 I'm playing Center we Played a lot of even front so all I got To do is just get to the second level we Run the fastest lineman drill I get up And I win it I'm 511 180 I should be a Running back a slotback yo this this man Ain't no linan coach Smith this ain't This man ain't no linan blah blah I'm Like yeah I am yeah know you're I go Yeah well then put your pads on needless To say a little scruff broke out um I Was on the bottom of that pile but the Good thing about that story is is that I Tell my kids that story knowing that Your head coach never backs down from Anyone no matter how big there you go Buddy strong they Are so that was and now and then I I see Him I you know I see him at a local Restaurant in town and I get the job and He happens to be at that restaurant in Town the night I got for approved and I'm like yo come coach with me he's like Really I'm like yeah he's like I live in Manchester I'm like that's even better I Got I got a STI position for you come
Coach my D oh and money if you got money You're good yeah yep so he's awesome he Just had a baby uh he has a baby girl he Just had a baby boy Juju uh him and V Live right down the street for me so That's that's just you know in 2010 you Tell me 13 years later he's gonna be my Assistant coach I would laugh e but it's Just it's awesome the networking man It's this is a network that's you know Unlike anything Else no doubt well I remember coach Smith running down the sideline when Owen Lin returned the kick and he was Chasing remember that uh we won on a our Our walkoff kick return we won on a Walkoff kick return against Central they Kicked the ball thing I've ever seen in My life there was like I mean what was There F five seconds in the game or Three seconds I think they kicked like a Ground under 10 under 10 yep it they Kicked the ground ball it squeak to our Back guy one of our back guys Owen Laughlin and he took it he got through And got to the outside had scor no time Left on the clock I love it I love it That crazy it crazy it was was Derek Calling the special teams does he take Credit for That this listen he takes credit for Whether he had anything to do with it or Not it was listen this was one of those Like dude like I don't even know like
Like they executed every way you were Supposed to do it right and you know and You're taking off your headset running Down the stands probably thinking the Game is over and all I know is and you May know it and I'm gonna blow him up Here coach bobberts okay Point guy he Decided that he was gonna jump in the Air with Dave and do like a hip check Like yeah type of chest to chest my man Was horizontal to the I crushed him dude Dave laid him out dude it was like a Flashback to him playing linebacker at Yukon dude bber he didn't get high Enough he didn't get high enough he Didn't have good enough tell you what I Love it maybe after the game he did but Either way he definitely was on the Ground dude and I'll tell you I don't Know man but it was I never saw a big Man like that hit the ground and get up So fast but we got it on tap for history Dude it was one of the craziest parts of A game I've ever seen you do some crazy You do some crazy stuff when you win man Great dude bro D Smith's a really good Guy really good coach really really good Coach Go real one more one more thing About Coach Smith so I just told you About my defensive end my sophomore Defensive end Curtis Mayer who's getting Looked at by some by some division one Schools last year he's a freshman he's Practicing with the Freshman my dude
Kurt has goggles on long blonde hair we Call him Sunshine he's probably 61 maybe 180 PB soing wet now he's 6'2 like 215 and d uh Meech comes over to me and goes coach You got to put Kurt in I go Kurt goggles Kurt he goes yeah bro I'm like all right Man like coach Smith knows how to see Talent we put him in he crushes our our Uh starting offense on Scout D we put Him in on uh starting D he has two sacks Against Tom River East in our in our Second win last year and I'll never Question that man again I was like he Knows how to he knows how to find Talent Man that's great that that is great dude This has been awesome having you on the Podcast we want to we want to extend and First of all Before I Let You Go um on Twitter like how can uh people reach out To you if they were want to have you on Their their podcast something like that How yeah uh I'm Coach T Farrell on Twitter um and then on Instagram and Twitter Manchestertwp FB uh is our Manchester Football account so I appreciate you Guys having me on I feel like I was just In the car driving home from parsipany With you guys this was this just felt Like a long a long drive that got me Through traffic so I appreciate it Listen man we just we get on we just Talk ball buddy I really appreciate luck
This week thank you guys I appreciate You having week coach thank you all Right all right man talk Soon that was awesome dude that was Awesome pod that that really was great Um I really I really I had a switch to The um I had to go your route I had to Go your route you know why because not Only is the craziness going on but my um I brought my laptop upstairs and it's Always connected to the um right power Source so I never look at it you know What I mean so if for some reason I Accidentally knock it off I'm using next To the power source so I just plug it Back in you just plug you're good I look Like we're 15 we're 15 minutes in I look And I'm like what I have I'm out of Juice I'm like there's no way I'm going Downstairs in this craziness and and Trying to Juice It Up so I just like let Me make the switch that's why there was A little like weird Echo for like a Minute or two until I figured it out how To make the switch but uh the other part Like yeah it's funny dude because you Know he's so young but he's so mature Beyond his years you know what I'm Saying like you would never imagine that That kid is a is a kid you know and that This is his first head coaching job he's Just been around the game for so long And like he said he's done the right Thing by surrounding himself with some
Of those older guys to kind of you know Show him the ropes a little bit I think Was a an an extremely smart move very Very smart move I certainly in more ways Than one right and not just the hey Those guys can help me but in like an Optics type of move where if I'm a Superintendent and I'm hiring this young Guy and I see him going hire older guys Right to kind of make sure now I'm Looking at a guy that's saying okay he's Kind of doing it the right Way absolutely and I think what's really Funny what what's really interesting About that is that he did it he's got Three of them which is is is fantastic I I was thinking back when he was talking About that I was like I tried to do that By hiring darl white with as my Assistant when I was at I first got the Job at S Brook I remember and they and They basically almost they they were Like no I'm like wait a minute I can't Have the old head coach who the Winningest head coach in sou history I Was I'm trying to take the guy that Actually did something right here Yes I said that could only happen at s High School that could only and you Taught there so you know it could only Like I it's funny because he does he Does have the pretty much the one guy That did actually do a little bit of Winning at Manchester right and he right
Because that he's been a teacher and It's it's his uncle pretty much so and I've met him a bunch of times great guy And he's in the building as a teacher as Well so it kind of kills two birds with One stone you know Yeah oh no doubt about it and and it I Think that that that I didn't really Realize and I didn't realize he had 11 Coaches on his staff and he's got a yeah He's got a huge staff dude I mean Because here's the thing they have 71 Kids wow and that's that's another I'm Telling you it's another like he's Now creating something where people want To come and do it it's just a matter of Time that's it Could happen now you know one thing About the shore the one like you know we Talk about the shore scheduling like the Pros and the cons of it the one pro of Them constantly changing it each year is That um groups can get opportunities you Know I mean because of get better yeah To get better now I mean the negative on Not not for Manchester but in general The negative is that like if you're Um near the top but not the top you Could end up getting depending on yeah You could get it shafted but but it's You know depending on the year depending On how many people like went from bad to Good or good to bad if you're if you're Kind of
That if you're good but not not Elite Meaning I want to say that you're that If you're that Manaan right you're very very good but You're not like you're you're not always Going to be I don't know what nine and Two like you're you're always be a posit On the positive side you'll always be a Plus but you might not always be you Know whatever you might have more a Negative you'll drop down but if if You're always on the positive but you'll Kind of just Stay you're not like no a type of Team I think the pressure from the Outside conferences right will change The way they do that unless they decide To just be you know hey we're the shore And this is kind of how we do things but I think the pressure from like not only The other conferences but also like even The New Jersey coaches association like Those guys you can tell that they're Just like come on sure just you know do Just do what everybody else does you Know what I mean so I don't know it'll Be interesting to see but it it is look It you can only do what you're either Told or allowed to do within those Parameters right so you kind of just Take it and you maximize it like what am I gonna do I can't sit here and complain About how it is you just got to kind of Roll with it and go so absolutely knows
Great podcast let's bu we'll see you Next time all right guys we'll see you Next time
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