Jim DeSarno, the head coach of the WHS football team and one of WHS’ assistant principals, was a three-sport star athlete at Pompton Lakes High School in New Jersey, where he played football, basketball and baseball, all at the varsity level.
DeSarno, speaking in a humble manner about himself, said, “I was pretty good. I was first-team All-State Group 1 in football and baseball.” He then went and joked that he “stunk at basketball” but had a “great experience” playing all three sports in high school.
After graduating from Pompton Lakes in 1987, DeSarno, who was recruited to play both baseball and football collegiately, took his talents to Montclair State University.
Speaking on why DeSarno chose MSU, he said, “I had some opportunities to play Division II football, and I had some opportunities to play a little farther away from home, but I liked the proximity and didn’t live too far from [MSU]. My parents could watch me play, as well as my younger brothers who were still in high school.”
He went on to add that since he could not play professionally but wanted to remain in athletics, MSU had an acceptable physical education program which would eventually help DeSarno become a teacher and a coach immediately after college.
When DeSarno arrived on campus for his freshman football season, he was listed as the team’s third-string center on the offensive line and the backup long snapper on the special teams unit. But he saw a lot of playing time.
After his freshman football season, DeSarno had a sit-down with the MSU coaching staff to see if he wanted to continue his multi-sport track as his first baseball season was approaching, or if he wanted to stick with just football.
With an injury to the backup center, DeSarno explained that “the coaches put a lot of pressure on me to know where my loyalty was and where my focus was. I really wanted to play both but then I kind of felt pressured, so I stuck with football which was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Looking back on his career at MSU, DeSarno said that playing football collegiately “is a great experience. It’s just another opportunity to build relationships.” He also added that, by playing a fall sport, he was able to get acclimated to campus life early and had instant friendships with his teammates.
On the academic side, DeSarno was a physical education major. By playing football, he only had one game per week, which occurred every weekend in the fall, and so his schedule was structured in a way that benefited him academically: “It helped me. I did better in the semesters when I was playing than when I wasn’t.”
Once his college career came to an end, DeSarno hung up his cleats and got into coaching. DeSarno explained that being an undersized college football player took a physical toll on his body. He did however participate in softball and basketball leagues after college.
DeSarno began his coaching carousel in Newark at Barringer and M.X. Shabazz High School where he coached and taught for four years. He then went to become an assistant football coach and a teacher at Linden High School for five years.
In 2001, DeSarno earned his way to the position of head football coach at Kinnelon High School in Morris County, which is also very close to his hometown of Pompton Lakes. DeSarno remained in that position for five years and in 2006 became the head football coach at Westfield.
Throughout his coaching career at Westfield, DeSarno has racked up well over 100 wins. Thirty-six of those wins came from three consecutive undefeated seasons, from 2015-2017, where Westfield won back-to-back state championships at MetLife Stadium, all against Bridgewater-Raritan. At the end of the 2017 season, DeSarno was named Football Coach of the Year by nj.com.
Reflecting on that unprecedented run, DeSarno said, “It was awesome. What a great experience, a lot of fun.”
Another memory that stands out from his career is during his first year of coaching at Westfield in 2006. Despite teaching at Roosevelt Intermediate School and not being able to see his players every day throughout the school day like he does at Westfield, DeSarno was able to form great relationships with players in that senior class. After Westfield went 2-18 in the two years before DeSarno’s arrival, DeSarno led Westfield and that senior class to a 6-4 record.
When asked what advice he would give to student-athletes today, DeSarno said, “I think if you have the opportunity to continue to play [collegiately] I think it’s a great experience. The things that you learn from being a part of a team go a long way in life. I had an opportunity to play and it was the best thing I ever did.”
