What does New Jersey high school wrestling need to change? Coach Jay Nace has some ideas.

Former Division I All-American, longtime Rider assistant and respected New Jersey wrestling coach Jay Nase joins New Jersey Mat Chat: Coach’s Corner for a wide-ranging conversation about coaching, athlete development and the future of wrestling in New Jersey.

Jay grew up wrestling at Point Pleasant Boro before becoming a Division I All-American at Rider. He later spent 11 seasons coaching at Rider and is now preparing to take the reins at Wall.

But this conversation quickly becomes much bigger than one coach's career.

We get into:

🤼 Growing up in NJ wrestling before today's club system

🎓 The difference between coaching high school and Division I athletes

🏫 Why being a teacher inside the school matters as a coach

🇺🇸 His love for freestyle and developing Team New Jersey wrestlers

🤝 Coaching club wrestlers who may eventually compete against his own team

🔥 Whether wrestlers SHOULD train at multiple clubs

💰 Why club loyalty can sometimes become complicated

🤼 Why NJ's best wrestlers need to compete together in freestyle

👀 Why today's high school dual meets are becoming less exciting

🚫 Coaches moving or ducking wrestlers to avoid marquee matchups

📅 Why Jay believes high school wrestlers compete too much

⚖️ How constant weight management can actually prevent wrestlers from improving

🏆 Why producing state qualifiers and college wrestlers matters more to him than dual-meet records

🎓 Why your best wrestling should still be ahead of you when you graduate high school

❤️ The family decision that led him to leave Rider

🐴 The Rider philosophy that shaped him as a coach

🥇 His pick for the greatest New Jersey high school wrestler ever

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00:00 Champion Athletes Nutrition

01:22 Meet Coach Jay Nase

02:39 Growing Up Wrestling at Point Pleasant Boro

04:35 The Advantage of Having a Non-Wrestling Dad

05:42 Learning to Trust & Listen to Your Coach

07:12 Wrestling Before the Club Era

08:17 When Coaching Became His Future

09:23 Returning to Wall as Head Coach

09:33 11 Years Coaching at Rider

10:37 College vs. High School Coaching

12:25 What a Wrestling Program Needs to Succeed

14:03 Coaching Where You Teach

16:13 A Life Consumed by Wrestling

18:47 Why He Loves Coaching Freestyle

21:13 Coaching Wrestlers From Rival High Schools

23:08 The Wrestling Brotherhood

24:01 Should Wrestlers Train at Multiple Clubs?

27:25 Can NJ Wrestling Clubs Coexist?

28:50 Why New Jersey Needs to Improve at Freestyle

30:13 Why Jay Loves Coaching Freestyle

31:02 The Problem With High School Dual Meets

32:26 Are NJ Wrestlers Competing Too Much?

34:30 How Jay Would Fix the High School Schedule

36:31 State Qualifiers Over Dual Meet Wins

38:49 Rider Wrestling & the NCAA Mindset

40:03 Coaching Wrestling — and Coaching People

41:27 What Comes After High School Coaching?

43:29 Why He Left Rider for His Son

45:55 Why Wrestlers Should Peak in College

47:32 The Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

49:46 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro