This year, West Morris Central welcomes a new Coordinator of Athletics and Activities to our Wolfpack family! In the short time that he has held the position, Mr. Matthew Moscatello has already demonstrated a deep passion for each of the school’s athletic programs and activities, and he has introduced fresh perspectives on how to make WMC’s athletic community even stronger.
Growing up only a couple of towns over from Long Valley, Mr. Moscatello was a two-time NJSIAA wrestling place-winner at Lenape Valley High School, as well as the 2002 NCAA Division III runner-up at The College of New Jersey. A two-time NWCA Scholar-Athlete, he certainly had a distinguished collegiate career at TCNJ while simultaneously working to earn his bachelor’s degree in physical education.
Prior to accepting the Coordinator of Athletics and Activities position at WMC this school year, Mr. Moscatello worked as a physical education and health teacher at Jefferson High School for eighteen years. Additionally, he served as the school’s head wrestling coach and an assistant football coach, leading both teams to a multitude of successes. His experiences in the Jefferson school district have served as his primary frame of reference for his teaching career. “It’s kind of unique that I have been teaching for eighteen years all in the same school, and now have the opportunity to come work in a completely different school,” stated Mr. Moscatello. “It’s definitely been very interesting to see the difference in cultures of both schools, but it has just been an awesome experience and kind of everything that I thought it would be.”
Although school has not been in session for very long, Mr. Moscatello has already had quite a bit on his plate when coordinating this year’s fall athletics. As he is most familiar with coaching and prioritizing one sport at a time, each running in different seasons, Mr. Moscatello believes that his largest undertaking thus far has been “having to look at all of the sports together” and “manage all of the teams, all of the schedules, and all of the budgets.” While a bit overwhelming at first, Mr. Moscatello finally feels that he and his administrative assistant, Mrs. Joy Jacobsen, have developed a practical system for prioritizing every team’s needs all at once.
A majority of Mr. Moscatello’s undertakings also arise on a daily basis. “Recently, we have had to do a lot of work around bad weather, rescheduling, and being short officials this season,” explains Mr. Moscatello. “You can definitely have a plan in place, but each day there are new challenges and things that you have to fix, all of these moving parts. I actually think that is one of the things that I like about the job.”
Even with numerous tasks to complete, Mr. Moscatello has been working eagerly to introduce new initiatives to WMC’s athletic community. He stepped into this new role with a multitude of innovative ideas on how to take what we already have and make it even more impressive and also practical. One thing in particular that Mr. Moscatello is thrilled to have implemented, with the help of all of the fall sports coaches, Mrs. Jacobsen, and WMC’s Athletic Trainer Mrs. Jackson, is a master schedule outlining all of the games and practices for each week of the season. Additionally, Mr. Moscatello is working to create what he calls a “coaches’ council,” where each of the in-season coaches meets at least once a month to talk about all of the school’s athletic happenings. He hopes to do the same with in-season athletic captains to ensure that all of the different teams are on the same page about multiple subject matters, but most importantly are coming together to support one another.
While he may be a new addition to our school’s star-studded faculty, Mr. Moscatello is certainly no stranger to the Wolfpack community. His father, Gil Moscatello, spent 41 years as a teacher, coach, and administrator in the West Morris Regional High School District before retiring in 2011. “West Morris is really so familiar to me,” says Mr. Moscatello. “I grew up, from the time I was ten years old, coming here. The school itself has kind of been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.”
In addition, Mr. Moscatello’s sister, and The Paw’s very own advisor, Mrs. Shana (Moscatello) Kisatsky is an English teacher at WMC. Mr. Moscatello joked that he feels like she is proof-reading all of the emails that he sends out to the staff. “Even though our paths don’t cross much due to the nature of our jobs, it is ultimately nice to have her here with me.”
Mr. Moscatello has been having a wonderful experience at WMC so far. His integration into our school community has been nothing short of graceful, and he is bound to achieve even more as the Coordinator of Athletics and Activities position!
