State of the Program: Young Morristown Beard football coach has lofty goals

Morristown Beard may have the oldest and youngest football coaches in New Jersey. At least, that's what new head coach Tahj Valentine thinks.

Valentine, a second-generation Morristown Beard alumnus, is only 23 years old. Special teams coordinator Joe DeKasar, meanwhile, is 90. He has been a football and baseball assistant almost as long as Valentine has been alive.

Hired as associate director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Valentine was also the Crimson's running backs coach last fall, working under his former coach Tim Fell. Valentine, a former running back and Student Government Association president at Stonehill College, was given the top job at Morristown Beard in late May, and started working to steer students to football.

Morristown Beard had 45 players at this summer's workouts, the most in school history. However, none of the freshmen had played tackle football before.

The Crimson will rely on 11 seniors, plus a large sophomore class, most of whom got varsity experience last fall. They have moved up to the top division of the Metropolitan Invitational Football League, which includes private schools from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

Valentine's goal is to finish over .600, far better than last year's 3-6 record.

"I'm trusting them with my heart. I'm stressing, but I trust them a lot," Valentine said. "We are going to have a very successful season this year if we can convince our school community and the outside community that Morristown Beard is here to play."

Tradition

Morristown Beard won the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association title in 1972, three straight years from 1987 to 1989. Four more championships came in 1995, and during another three-year streak from 1998 to 2000, when Tahj's father Greg Valentine played running back. The Crimson's move to the NJSIAA has been less successful − they've reached only one sectional final, in 2007.

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Challenge

Valentine is the first Black head football coach at any high school in Morristown, as well as the first Black head football coach at a Morris County private school. A Morristown native, his philosophy is built on mindset, behavior and strength.

"For me, it's not about being Black. It's about being a coach that's going to change these students' lives," said Valentine, who also became a firefighter and EMT during high school.

"If I can teach these kids something they didn't know before practice, I'm doing my job. It's about doing my job. But I know I'm going to do it with a little bit of flavor, and I know I'm going to do it the right way."

Expectations

Valentine hopes to steer Morristown Beard into the Super Football Conference. But first, he has to build the program up enough that it can hold its own against New Jersey competition. The Crimson open this fall against J.P. Stevens, which hired a new coach after going 0-8 in its Central Jersey division last fall.

Oddly, two of Morristown Beard's three victories last fall came against in-state foes: Montclair Kimberley in the season opener and Newark Academy.

"I'm changing this program around," Valentine said. "They'd better get ready. Coach Valentine is not getting anything less than the best."

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2023 schedule

Aug. 26: J.P. Stevens

Sept. 1: Sleepy Hollow (N.Y.)

Sept. 9: at King (Stamford, Conn.)

Sept. 23: Newark Academy

Sept. 30: Hopkins (New Haven, Conn.)

Oct. 6: at Hackley (Tarrytown, N.Y.)

Oct. 14: Pingry

Oct. 21: at Poly Prep (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ football 2023 preview: Young Morristown Beard coach has lofty goals