CLARK, NJ- At Arthur L. Johnson High School in Clark, New Jersey, you can see him calling out football plays on defense, you may find him training with track and field athletes in the weight room or on the softball field at Brewer School. During the school day, you can find him teaching gym or health classes to his students.
His name is Chris Di Nucci, not only the coach, but a teacher and mentor to many. He aspires to help students become better people for when they leave high school, both in and out of athletics.
It was in high school when Di Nucci realized he wanted to become a physical education teacher.
“I thought it would be cool to have the job,” Di Nucci said. “I love sports and I thought working with kids would be great. I wanted to do some of the same things my teachers and coaches had the ability to do for me. I knew the best way into coaching would be teaching.”
“I knew the best way into coaching would be teaching.” -Johnson Softball Head Coach Chris Di Nucci on what jump-started his wanting to be a teacher/coach
Di Nucci is a 2009 graduate and a three-sport athlete, playing football, track and field and baseball while a student at ALJ. Eight years later, he now teaches physical education and health classes in the school he once attended.
He also added that his overall goal is to turn teenagers into young men and women, and he believes he can do that through teaching.
His coaching career began in the 2011-12 Spring Track and Field season. Starting with the 2012-13 school year, he would also coach football and track and field in not just the spring, but also the winter track season.
During his career, his philosophy as a coach is to always be honest with kids; especially with what they’re doing right and what they may not be doing right, to help them correct mistakes and help them become better.
Athletes he coached while they were in high school say he’s done great things for them as a coach.
“Playing for Coach Di Nucci was something I really enjoyed as a player,” Andrew Zub, a 2013 graduate of Arthur L. Johnson High School, said. “He showed that he was all-in on not only me as a player and thrower, but as a position group and a team. That is something I really admired about him. He helped me grow as a player and a person,” he added. “He is for sure the perfect fit to come back to Johnson and he will be doing great things for the programs.”
“He is for sure the perfect fit to come back to Johnson and he will be doing great things for the programs.” -Arthur L. Johnson High School 2013 graduate Andrew Zub on playing under Chris Di Nucci
On January 10, 2017, he was officially named the new softball head coach. He expressed why he wanted to pursue the position of a successful program. This includes county, conference and state championships in the 2016 season along with a 24-9 record. Although having played baseball, Di Nucci has never coached the sport before.
“I saw the opportunity to become a head coach with a great group of young women and I thought that would be a great opportunity for me,” Di Nucci said. “I thought it was time for me to take a step forward and run my own program.”
“I thought it was time for me to take a step forward and run my own program.” -Johnson Softball Head Coach Chris Di Nucci on why he decided to pursue the head softball coaching job
“I’m very lucky to have four good assistants,” he added. “I have Coach [Andrea] Ascolese who’s helping me, Coach [Laura] Bundy and her dad [Gary], who helps us out and as well as a former player, coach Amanda Merten. They all do a great job, they give me great input and they’re willing to do anything I ask them to do. So far, they’re great. They’re always at practice, most of them are donating their time for us and they’re volunteering, so they really want to be here.”
“They’re always at practice, most of them are donating their time for us and they’re volunteering, so they really want to be here.” -Johnson Softball Head Coach Chris Di Nucci on assistant coaches Laura Bundy, Andrea Ascolese, Amanda Merten
In addition to being the softball head coach, he currently coaches track and field in the winter. He will also be returning to coach football as the defensive coordinator in the 2017 season.
He talked about the main values and qualities he took from his playing career as he moved forward into his years of teaching.
“All players are different,” he said. “Some players are role-players and some players are leaders and some players are the best athletes, sometimes your best athletes are your leaders and sometimes they’re not. Everybody comes in different shapes and sizes. I think the most important thing for me as a former player and continuing as a coach is that it’s about doing it together as one unit.”
“I think the most important thing for me as a former player and continuing as a coach is that it’s about doing it together as one unit.” -Johnson Softball Head Coach Chris Di Nucci on what he learned as a player
He credits Gus Kalikas, his football coach and current athletic director, who he says inspired him. Di Nucci also added that not only was he a great influence, but they also have a great relationship.
Other coaches include Scott McKinney, his offensive line coaches Dave Pinto and Carmen Scuderi, along with Marc Crisafi, who he says got him started in his coaching career. He also said the same for his baseball coach, Dave Kennedy.
He also credits former head football coach, Mike Mancino, as another inspiration to him. Mancino was Di Nucci’s defensive coordinator and coached with him for two years (2012-2013). Di Nucci would eventually succeed Mancino as the head coach of the varsity softball team.
“One of the most satisfying things for a coach, teacher or educator is to see one of their former students or athletes come back and be able to coach them and be able to give back to student-athletes at any school, but even more so, the school they graduated from,” Kalikas said.
“I can’t say I was surprised while he [Chris] was in high school,” he added. “He was always sort of a coach on the field. I’m pleasantly happy Chris is home. He’s going to do great things for our student-athletes.”
In his playing career, he was an offensive tackle and a defensive end in football. For baseball, he was a first baseman and outfielder.
His favorite memory from his playing career was going back to what he calls one of the best playoff games of all time, in the 2008 NJSIAA Central, Group 2 Semifinals.
During this, the football team made a deep run in the playoffs and during their semifinals game against Point Pleasant Boro High School, they faced a major fourth quarter deficit. Trailing 20-0, his team scored three touchdowns to pull off a stunning, come-from-behind 21-20 win to advance to the state finals at Rutgers on December 6, 2008.
Di Nucci talked about the moment he decided to pursue the job of a head softball coach, a sport he’s never coached before.
“When I was first told I got the job, I was excited,” Di Nucci said. “Obviously, when you’re going through the interview process, you’re nervous, you have excitement and everything. Once I found out I had the job, I was excited for our first game.”
“It’s just like anything else, like a player,” he added. “You get the butterflies, that’s normal, but you’re nervous, excited and ready to rock and roll and get started, especially when you’re rained out the first week.”
Di Nucci credits his family as being the most supportive of him during his playing career.
“I would definitely say my family was a great support system,” Di Nucci said. “No matter what, they were always positive and did a nice job helping me through it. They always pushed me to be the best player I could be.”
Later on, he got a full-time teaching job at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. He says he never forgets the moment he broke the news to Johnson football players who were preparing for the 2014 season. He says breaking the news to the players wasn’t easy at all.
“It was one of the hardest moments,” Di Nucci said. “Sitting down with a bunch of kids, who I coached for two years, in the weight room, to tell them that I had to leave as their coach because I was going to get a teaching job. It was tough, the kids were upset, I was upset.”
“It wasn’t easy, especially when you build a special relationship,” he added. “Unfortunately, for my future and for my teaching career I had no choice but to take that position.”
His hard work has earned the praise from fellow colleagues at the high school in Clark.
“Coach Di Nucci is what you exactly want in a coach. He’s just a genuine guy,” Johnson head football coach Anthony DelConte said. DelConte also coaches track and field in the winter with Di Nucci. “He cares about the kids he’s always out looking to go the extra mile to make these kids the best they can be.”
“I’m lucky to have him on my staff and lucky to call him one of my best friends,” DelConte added. “The other thing is that he is passionate about everything he does, being a great role model for kids and how he tries to be a perfectionist all the time. Those are the characteristics as to why he and I get along so well.”
He offered words of advice to those who want to go into coaching or teaching, saying that they really need to have a passion for doing so, along with working with kids to make them successful individuals.
Di Nucci talked about why it’s great to be coaching in the town of Clark.
“There’s a little place in your heart and there’s something to be said about coming back home,” Di Nucci said. “I graduated from this high school, there’s a little pride, so, when you come back and walk the halls that you once walked in, or you’re in the community where your friends and family is and you know a lot of kids in the school.”
“There’s just a little more sense of pride, you can say, when you walk the halls that you once walked in as a student, now as a teacher and a coach,” he added.
“There’s a little place in your heart and there’s something to be said about coming back home.” -Johnson Softball Head Coach Chris Di Nucci on coming home to teach in Clark
