For Cerreto, 'Coach' is Second Only to 'Dad'

• Name: Carmen Cerreto, 44
• Children: Three boys ages 17, 14, and 5, and two girls, ages 14 and 5. He has two sets of twins.
• Part of Town: Cerreto has been associated with Montville for 18 years. “I lived in Pine Brook for 11 years,” explained Cerreto, who now lives in West Caldwell. “My three oldest children still live in Montville.” All of Cerreto’s children are involved with Montville sports. “Every single one of them plays sports in one form or another,” Cerreto said.
• Montville Broncos Football and Montville Baseball Softball Association: Cerreto is the director of the Montville Broncos Football for kids in second through eighth grades. He is also the chairperson of the Montville Baseball and Softball Association’s concession stand, known as 5th Base. “You round home and come to 5th Base,” Cerreto said. At 5th Base, he often cooks. “I like making meatballs. I like flipping hamburgers,” he said. For both organizations, Cerreto recruits and trains volunteers, organizes kids, manages details and coaches.
• Coaching: “From the time I was 16, I started coaching,” Cerreto said. “I coached football in Belleville, where I’m from.” It all began when his little brother’s team needed an assistant coach. After his own football practice, Cerreto would help his brother’s coach. Ultimately, he was asked to take charge when the coach was unable to make practice. As a Marine, Cerreto continued coaching during his stint in Japan and Korea. Upon his return to the states, he went back to coaching in Belleville. He has coached many sports from baseball to football to wrestling. When his oldest child turned 5, Cerreto got involved in Montville T-ball. “They call me, 'coach,'” he said of the kids on his teams. “Next to being 'dad,' it’s the greatest thing.”
• Time: Cerreto begins prepping for football in March. Practices start Aug. 1. Once the season begins, he will coach seven days a week through November. He takes December and January off, and then begins coaching preparations for baseball. During the baseball season, he coaches four to five days per week. His four youngest children will be involved with several sports this spring, including traveling baseball, varsity baseball, T-ball, cheerleading and horseback riding.
• Career:  “I am a banker,” Cerreto said. He is the branch manager and assistant vice president for Valley National Bank of West Caldwell. “The banking field is a lot like being a coach,” he said. “People come to you with situations and you have to learn to, you know, do the best with what’s presented to you. If someone comes to me with an issue, it’s my job to make sure I give them the right advice. It’s almost like coaching. You’re always looking to give the best advice so someone puts their best foot forward.”
• Service: Cerreto, who was president of his class at Belleville High School, joined the Marines immediately following high school graduation. “I was recruited to play football for Wagner College in Staten Island, but I chose to be a Marine because, there again, service and doing what’s right, and making the hard decision.” He served from 1984 to 1992. “If I could be in the Marine Corps now, I probably would, but I had a family, and the right thing is to be there.”
• Most Memorable Coaching Experience: “We had a young man in our football program, and he wasn’t the most skilled athlete in the world. It’s tough, football. You get bounced around, and you get a little intimidated,” Cerreto explained. “This boy was a little shy, and the parents said, ‘Please, just find a place for him to feel like he’s a part of the team.’ As a coach, that’s what we have to do, especially at an early age. We found out this young man could kick…by eighth grade, this young man was kicking 40-yard field goals.” The young man was recruited to play football for a private high school in the area. “That, to me, is what Montville [Bronco] Football is all about. He is going to move forward in his life, and his career, and his roots were based in Montville…That’s a very rewarding thing.”
• Other Activities: In Montville, Cerreto is also a member of the Montville Mustangs Association, “Which,” he explained, “is the booster club for the high school.” He also is active with Turf the Valley, the committee of parents who have been raising money to put artificial turf on the Montville Township High School football field. Despite that committee’s efforts, the Board of Education voted last December to cancel a referendum vote regarding the installation of turf. Cerreto agrees that the education of students is paramount, and must be the first priority for education funds, however, he worries that kids are leaving Montville to attend schools with better facilities. “If we provide great places for kids to play, kids will want to stay. There are a lot of kids looking to go elsewhere,” he said. “If you build it they will come.”
• Favorite Thing About Montville: “The kids. The kids are awesome. I have met some great, great people in the town that have a passion for helping kids.”
• Something He Would Change: “If I had to change anything, I would want to see turf on the high school football field,” he said. Cerreto would also like to see more stands at Camp Dawson, and another baseball field at the River Road facility. “I’d like to see a lot of things,” he said. “Is it practical? Are they smart to do in this climate?  Probably not. But, being the sports-minded guy that I am, anytime we can better a facility for the kids, I think that goes a long way.”
• Philosophy:  “Kids need to get more than sports out of sports. ... I honestly believe they have to get life skills out of sports. ... It’s essential that they learn how to show up on time, they learn how to work well with each other. It’s a team atmosphere. I work in the corporate world and everything is team, team, team, everything is for the team, everything is for the corporation, and those little lessons that they learn. ... I’ve had people come back and say, ‘Coach, you were right, the hard decision is always the right decision.’”
• Advice: “Coaching has helped me with everything. When you coach you teach,” Cerreto said. “When you manage, you teach, you mentor, you set a good example.” He encourages everyone, even those without children on a team, to get involved with coaching. “We need more volunteers,” he explained. “There are never enough volunteers.” Cerreto would especially like to see more young couples and older people volunteer to coach. “We can’t survive without moms and dads coaching,” he said. “But it’s always a different perspective when you have a non-parent coaching. ... Get involved with the kids in town, and you’ll get a lot out of it. It’s riches beyond belief.”

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