March 10, 2010
Valdez makes the move to Union City
Wilbur Valdez takes over as the head coach at Union City after seven seasons at Ferris.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
When he was scouting Union City from the opposing sidelines, Wilbur Valdez could see the potential was there for the program to become something special. It is now up to Valdez, who officially was named the Soaring Eagles’ head coach last week, to transform that potential into on-field success.
“From evaluating them as an opponent, they’re a very impressive looking group,” said Valdez calling the opportunity one he ‘couldn’t pass by.’ “They have some huge guys up front, some skill guys that are homerun threats. There’s a lot of kids who made plays that are back
“I played and coached against Union City kids and I know how tough, hard-nosed and hard working they are and that’s something that’s very appealing to me.”
The hiring of Valdez, who spent the previous seven seasons as the head coach at Ferris, ended months of speculation about the position that had been open since they decided not to retain former coach Joe Rotondi late last year.
Valdez, a standout at Hoboken who went on to play at University of Miami, will bring his entire staff from Ferris with him to Union City. Valdez’s staff will also include former Hoboken standout Ravon Anderson as well as Eddie Marinez, the former head coach at Emerson High School before merging with Union Hill.
As excited as Valdez is about the opportunity and potential at Union City, the decision leave the place that gave him his first head coaching gig was hardly and easy one.
“It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my professional career thus far,” said Valdez, noting that his final meeting with the kids at Ferris was a tearful one. Those kids were great. “I’m definitely proud of what we were able to do there. I’m proud of the Ferris kids and I know that individually those kids are going to be great. I had to explain to them that it had nothing to do with them as people. I just felt it was better for my career and help take my career to the next level.”
Valdez, who inherited a 1-9 team when he went to Ferris, went 33-37 in his seven seasons there. Making the state playoffs, having four straight winning seasons and sending seven kids to college on full scholarships were amongst the accomplishments he was most proud of during his time at the Jersey City school.
The first two seasons have been disappointing for the Soaring Eagles since the merger of Emerson and Union Hill after 2007. Despite one of the deepest rosters in Hudson County, Union City was just 5-5 in 2008 and 3-7 last season.
Last year Union City had a roster of roughly 80 players while at Ferris Valdez normally had around 35 players. For Valdez, it’s an opportunity to hit the ground running and create a level of competition and pace that he wasn’t always able to do in the past.
“When you have 80 kids they should be in constant competition to see who’s on the field,” Valdez said. “Now instead of just being big and strong and fast, I think some character and other intangibles to get on the field. Just being talented isn’t going to cut it. We’re going to try to create a very competitive situation at Union City High School.
“We want kids to understand that this game is played at full speed at all times and that it’s a game of constant collisions. Those are the type of kids that are there. I just think the tempo needs to be a little faster from what I saw last year and there needs to be a sense of urgency and I know I have no problem creating that type of environment where everyone’s on their toes.”