Marlboro H.S. has a new football coach
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
Derek Sininsky doesn't back down from a challenge.When he told people that he was looking into becoming the head football coach at Marlboro High School, "they told me it was impossible to win there."

That only heightened his interest in the position.

"The more people told me that, the more I wanted it," he explained.

At last month's Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education meeting, Sininsky became the Mustangs' newest head coach.

There were several things that convinced Sininsky, who has an extensive coaching résumé, that he can make things work atMarlboro, which, after all, did win a Central Jersey Group IV state championship in 1994 under coach Larry Zdilla.

Onewas theMarlboro administration itself. He pointed out that Principal Gerald North,Vice Principal ShawnBoylan and Supervisor of Extracurricular Activities Dave Ryden all have football coaching backgrounds. Theywant the programto succeed.

"It was a no-brainer," said Sininsky.

He also pointed to the PopWarner and unlimited-weight football programs in Marlboro as a positive starting point. His goal is to keep them in Marlboro.

"I want to reach out to these kids," said Sininsky. "I want them to become part of the program."

Sininsky also mentioned the resources in the community that can be used. He noted that Marlboro grad Dan Klecko, who recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and has won Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, still lives in the area.

"We have a lot of sources in the community, and I'm going to start reaching out to them," he said.

Then there are the football players themselves, and their commitment.

"We have 60 players in the weight room lifting weights right now," he said.

Three times a week, Sininsky, who was the defensive coordinator at Pinelands Regional the last two years, commutes from there to Marlboro to oversee the weightlifting program.

Sininsky, who played his high school football atMater Dei, played linebacker at Montclair State University in the late 1980s early '90s. He had among his teammates running back Scott Vega (Freehold Township) and defensive lineman Paul Cioffi(Marlboro).

Upon graduation, he was an assistant atMontclair before joining Bob Generelli's coaching staff, first at Middletown South and then at Raritan, where he was a head coach for two years, leading the Rockets to a division championship and the state playoffs. He was a head coach in Florida for a year before returning to the Jersey Shore and coaching at Monmouth Regional and, more recently, Pinelands.

Sininsky will be the third head coach Marlboro's seniors have had in their four years and he knows that they've heard it all.What they and the underclassmen are looking for is a coach who will make a serious commitment toMarlboro. They have that in Sininsky, who wants to build something at Marlboro and maintain it.

"I'm here for the long haul," he said. "I want to make this my home.

"I'm a disciplinarian and I have high expectations," he added. "I'm looking to raise the standards."