Are we making New Jersey high school wrestling better—or making the path too easy?

Lower Cape May head wrestling and football coach Billy Damiana joins New Jersey Mat Chat: Coach’s Corner for a wide-ranging conversation about coaching, toughness, athlete development and some of the biggest issues facing NJ wrestling.

Billy grew up in Cape May, competed in wrestling and football at the college level, and eventually returned home to coach the next generation at Lower Cape May.

But this conversation goes well beyond his own career.

Billy believes coaches have a responsibility to create an environment that challenges young athletes, makes them tougher and prepares them for far more than winning wrestling matches.

🤼 Guest: Billy Damiana

🏫 Lower Cape May Regional

🤼 Head Wrestling Coach

🏈 Head Football Coach

Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.

#NJWrestling #NewJerseyMatChat #BillyDamiana #LowerCapeMay #LowerCapeMayWrestling #NJHighSchoolWrestling #SouthJerseyWrestling #WrestlingPodcast

••Premier Sports Nutrition - Champion Athletes - https://champion-athletes.com

00:00 Champion Athletes Nutrition

01:22 Meet Lower Cape May Coach Billy Damiana

01:49 Growing Up in Cape May

04:20 From Being Bullied to Martial Arts & Wrestling

06:10 Choosing Division I Wrestling

07:23 College Wrestling, Football & Coming Home

08:36 Teaching at Lower Cape May

10:12 Becoming a Wrestling Coach

12:19 Learning to Coach at Buena Regional

14:27 Coaching Football & Wrestling Year-Round

17:00 What Football and Wrestling Teach Each Other

20:02 What Makes an Elite Athlete?

22:48 Why Coaching Is Really About the Kids

25:25 The Relationships That Last After Wrestling

27:07 Why Coaches Need to Stop Ducking Matches

28:17 Growing Wrestling Means Wrestling the Big Matches

31:24 What Happened to Packed NJ Wrestling Gyms?

32:34 NJ Realignment: Did We Get It Wrong?

33:59 Should 4th Place Advance to States?

35:35 The Disappearance of Multi-Sport Wrestlers

38:00 Are Today’s Wrestlers Better — But the Path Easier?

40:18 The Scariest Match of Wrestling Season

41:10 Why One-Day Districts Need to Go

42:09 Is 100 Career Wins Still a Big Milestone?

43:31 Chase Hansen: Wins, Goals & Taking Ownership as a Coach

47:07 Roasting Tristan Rosemeyer & Eli Glover

48:33 The Culture Inside Lower Cape May Wrestling

51:01 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

52:28 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

New Jersey wrestling has a new name to watch this season: MJ Gorrell.

Except MJ isn't exactly new.

The Somerset, NJ native spent his first two high school seasons competing across the border at Conwell-Egan in Pennsylvania, reaching the state blood round as a freshman and placing Top 8 in PA as a sophomore.

Now he's coming home.

MJ is transferring to St. John Vianney, stepping into the Shore Conference and setting one very clear goal for his first season wrestling high school in New Jersey:

🏆 Win an NJ State Championship.

In this episode of New Jersey Mat Chat, MJ talks about:

🤼 Why he originally left NJ to wrestle at Conwell-Egan

🏠 Living away from home during wrestling season

🔥 Training with Pennsylvania wrestlers at NPR

🥇 His first two runs through the PA postseason

➡️ Why he decided it was time to return to New Jersey

🦁 Choosing St. John Vianney

🌊 What he expects from Shore Conference wrestling

⚖️ The differences between Pennsylvania and New Jersey wrestling

🤼 Why his funky, scrambling style is better suited for folkstyle

💪 Training at Frost, Duro and NPR

🧠 The coach who's had the biggest influence on his career

🏆 His goal of becoming a New Jersey State Champion

💥 The intense strength and conditioning program he does with his father

🎓 His interest in forensic science

🐯 Training at Princeton and his goal of wrestling in the Ivy League

MJ has spent years wrestling and training around high-level competition on both sides of the Delaware.

Now New Jersey gets to see what he can do.

Welcome home, MJ.

🤼 Guest: MJ Gorrell

🏫 St. John Vianney

📍 Somerset, NJ

🏆 PA State Top-8 Finisher

🎯 Goal: NJ State Champion

Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.

••Premier Sports Nutrition - Champion Athletes - https://champion-athletes.com

00:00 Champion Athletes Nutrition

01:22 Meet MJ Gorrell

01:41 Leaving NJ to Wrestle at Conwell-Egan

03:00 Training at NPR & Wrestling in Pennsylvania

04:05 PA State Tournament Success

04:48 Living Away From Home During Wrestling Season

05:51 Why He’s Coming Back to New Jersey

06:53 Choosing St. John Vianney

07:49 What MJ Expects From NJ Wrestling

09:28 Entering the Shore Conference

10:24 Academics & Life After Wrestling

11:09 Freestyle vs. Folkstyle

12:32 Training at Frost, Duro & NPR

13:36 PA vs. NJ Wrestling Rules

15:35 Getting to Know His New SJV Teammates

16:36 His Biggest Coaching Influence

17:52 The Goal: Win an NJ State Title

19:18 How His Dad Drives His Training

20:08 MJ’s Wrestling Style

20:48 State Title or Bust?

21:19 His Dream Training Partner

22:04 Princeton & Ivy League Goals

22:52 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

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

Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.

••Premier Sports Nutrition - Champion Athletes - https://champion-athletes.com

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