Mike Ahern's journey with wrestling enters a different, very unexpected phase

Mike Ahern will never be a politician, but he’s about to feel like one in his new line of work.

After a standout wrestling career at Paul VI High School and 27 years coaching the sport, Ahern is donning the grey pin-striped shirt along with the red and green wristbands as a first-year wrestling official.

“As an official, it's like politics, half the people are going to like the call you make, the other half won’t,” he said. “And I’m OK with that.”

It’s an interesting, and very unexpected, move for the 52-year-old Ahern.

As a head coach at three different stops in South Jersey, including a successful stint at Sterling from 1996-2002 that included two South Jersey titles, Ahern and his Irish temper rarely held back from giving grief to officials. He felt he was only fighting for his kids.

Now, he’s the one with the whistle in his hand.

Think fiery baseball manager Earl Weaver becoming an umpire.

“Absolutely not,” Ahern said when asked if he could ever imagine becoming an official back in his younger days. “I’ve come full circle with the sport. It’s been every enjoyable so far, very humbling.

“I wanted to stay a part of (the sport). I want to get better at (being an official), that’s just my type-A personality. I want to succeed at this and move up. That’s my goal.”

Kingsway head coach Mike Barikian got to experience Ahern’s personality on a daily basis when he wrestled at Sterling.

“He was always very vocal, very chippy back then,” Barikian said. “As you get older, you see people through different lenses. I’m proud of him, he’s still giving back to the sport.”

Ahern was one of 18 new cadets in the Southern Chapter of the New Jersey Officials Association when classes began in late November. Also among the cadets is Joe Melchiore, a three-time state champion at Highland and current head coach at St. Joseph Academy.

Despite being around the mats for the majority of his life, Ahern says he’s still learning about the sport, specifically the rules.

“Everything you think you know about the sport, there’s always more you can learn,” said Ahern, who is following in his older brother Terry’s footsteps as an official. “Joe (Melchiore) and I will sit there and talk about rules in the book, there are certain ones I was wrong about my whole career (as a wrestler and coach).”

Ahern said he’s gotten a warm reception from his new colleagues, but he does cringe inside sometimes.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh no, how bad did I abuse this person?’” he said.

Anyone in particular?

“All of them,” he quipped.

That hasn’t stopped many of them from helping Ahern, welcoming him into a fraternity that has dwindled in numbers over recent years.

“I know Mike will have a bigger appreciation for officials now,” veteran official Darren Walsh said. “We’re lucky to have him. He’s going to be a good referee.”

Ahern said there’s more than just learning, interpreting and enforcing the rules when it comes to officiating.

“Positioning is a big thing,” he said. “I’m watching a lot of tape now, and I’m always looking at the referee, watching their positioning. Watching someone like Gary Wade officiate a college match.  It’s something I’m really working on. Joe Derillo gave me some advice about positioning, saying if you get kicked in the face, you’ll back up.”

Derillo, who was inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame last November, isn’t shy about ribbing Ahern a little when it comes to now being on the other end of coaches' and fans' ire.  However, there’s a mutual respect for anyone who wears the whistle.

“He’s not wasting his wrestling knowledge, he’s using it,” Derillo said. “These guys are stepping up because we desperately need officials. I’m proud of what Michael is trying. I’m hoping more try it, too. It’s fun for me to watch these guys grow up through the sport.”

Ahern was a three-time Region 7 champ with 101 career wins at Paul VI. He wrestled at Elizabethtown, where he was a four-time Division III qualifier and a three-time Mid-Atlantic Conference champ.

Ahern later became a coach, landing the top job at Penns Grove, as well as Sterling and Haddon Heights along with numerous assistant coach positions, including Clayton where he is a social studies teacher.

As a cadet official, Ahern is limited to doing mostly youth level and junior varsity at the scholastic level. He’s shadowed some varsity matches.

Even as an official, coaching remains in his blood.

“It’s neat because it’s still like you’re coaching them a little bit out there,” Ahern said about explaining a rule to a wrestler. “I’ll give the little tots high fives, too. It’s been a lot of fun.”

And has he thought about what will happen when he gets an earful from an angry coach or parent? Of course he has.

“I’m an Irish guy, I’m emotional, but I have to keep my professionalism,” Ahern said.

“I’m an official now.”

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: A once fiery wrestling coach, Mike Ahern sees another side of sport as an official