8-20-2023 9:22pm

JOSHUA EVERETT WILL FOLLOW SUCCESSUL PATH IN HIS NEW ROLE AS HEAD GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL COACH AT BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL

Donnella Tilery Editor

Joshua Everett grew up in the highly respected —and highly successful—Bridgewater-Raritan High School volleyball program.He played at Bridgewater-Raritan High School and has served at his alma mater for the last 10 years as an assistant coach for both the girls’ and boys’ teams.So, the philosophy of hall of fame coach Cory Romanak has certainly rubbed off on him when he enters this fall with a new role in the program—head coach of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School girls’ volleyball team.Coach Everett moves up from assistant to replace the legendary Romanak, who left after guiding the girls’ program for 25 years.

During his career as the skipper of the girl’s team, Romanak won 386 matches and captured one state Tournament of Champions title, three Group 4 state championships and seven Somerset County Tournament titles. Romanak, who is a member of the New Jersey State Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has remained as the head coach of the boys’ team.

He completed his 25th spring season with the boys and steered Bridgewater-Raritan to the Group 4 state title match where the Panthers fell to Southern Regional High School.That Group 4 final result left Bridgewater-Raritan and Southern Regional tied for the most state boys’ volleyball championships in New Jersey history with seven apiece.Coach Everett, who declared that the highlight of his coaching career was being able to coach his nephew Alex Everett-Lopez for the past four spring seasons, will pick up where his mentor left off.“Having played and then coached under Cory I will have the same philosophy and beliefs when I coach,” said Coach Everett, who remained an assistant on the boys’ team.And he explained the importance of those ideals.“We want to see our players grow off the court as much as on the court,” Coach Everett said.

“They are student-athletes, not athlete-students.”Well, his student-athletes responded in a record number when tryouts began this summer for spots on all three of the teams—varsity, junior varsity and freshman squads.“We have 128 girls trying out,” Coach Everett reported. “That is the most ever.”The previous record was the total of 107 girls who tried out for the teams last season.What is the attraction?“I think the efforts of Coach Romanak to bring the opportunity for younger players to try volleyball in middle school with his camps and clinics has played a big role,” Coach Everett stated. “One of the great aspects of those middle school camps and clinics is that our high school players are actively involved in running them. Their continued passion for maintaining the high standard of the program for future generations has rubbed off on the campers.”He continued:“Our players and coaches have made our program something special to be part of.”Eventually Coach Everett and his staff will have to be forced to pare down the numbers to finish with a total of 45 players combined on the three high school teams.He is counting on five veterans to assist in his transition this season as the head coach.Those five key seniors are Madison Patton, who plays up front on the right side, Gabi Gonzalez, the libero, and outside hitters Vasi Papanastasiou, Isabel Rivera and Emilia Dolinski.“They bring a high level of leadership that other kids can emulate,” he said about his five crucial players.Coach Everett, who was a member of the 2005 boys’ volleyball team that won a state championship, became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst two years ago and is contracted with the Westfield and Berkeley Heights school districts to work in classrooms with autistic children. He previously had been a Special Education Teacher in Middlesex Borough, Bound Brook and a private school.But his heart—and passion—has always been here in Bridgewater-Raritan.“I was coaching a club team and the job opened up 10 years ago as an assistant and Cory called me,” Coach Everett remembered. “I was so excited to come back to my old stomping ground.”While he was offered head jobs at other schools, he remained at Bridgewater-Raritan where he dreamt of one day being the head man. “I didn’t know when Cory would retire but my patience worked out.”Coach Everett who resides in Bridgewater with his wife and two young children, concluded:“I belong here at Bridgewater-Raritan.”