With the popularity and growth of wrestling on the rise, Immaculata High School has announced plans to add wrestling as its 16th varsity sport. The wrestling program will officially begin with the new academic year, under the direction of newly hired head coach Rodney Van Ness.
With the popularity and growth of wrestling on the rise, Immaculata High School has announced plans to add wrestling as its 16th varsity sport. The wrestling program will officially begin with the new academic year, under the direction of newly hired head coach Rodney Van Ness.
“This is about the students and the winning tradition of Immaculata athletics, and the wrestling program will have that full backing,” Van Ness said. “This program is going to be about way more than Rodney Van Ness. It’s going to be about each and every one of those students who make up the team.”
As the co-owner and operator of the Rhino Wrestling Club in Hillsborough, a local workout facility primarily for kids K-12, Van Ness is no stranger to the sport or the Somerville area, where he was a 1992 state medalist for Somerville High School before going on to a 113-35 career record at Rutgers. For the past 23 years, he has served as a volunteer coach, an assistant coach, and a co-head coach for Somerville High School, until now.
Now, the head coach of the fledgling wrestling program said, he is eager to get started at Immaculata High School, where he will also serve as a physical education teacher and as an assistant football coach.
“What I’m offering is the ability for them to become the best version of themselves,” he said. “For some that means becoming an NCAA champion or beyond, for some that means becoming an NCAA All-American, for some it could mean Division 2 or 3. And for some of them it could mean a 25-win season as a high school sophomore.”
Athletic Director Tom Gambino said the wrestling program will fill a void, adding there are both current and prospective students with backgrounds and interest in the sport. He said he anticipates the wrestling program to further advance the commitment of Immaculata High School to provide competitive athletic opportunities and a robust student life program.
Opened in 1962, the school has had notable success in sports such as baseball and softball, football, girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, boys lacrosse and girls swimming. The program will be an official member of the NJSIAA.
With brand-new equipment and a new coach at the helm, Gambino said he is confident in the program’s future success, adding “Van Ness has a tremendous history in the area,” which will be an asset to the school overall, particularly its athletics program.