'My Whole Family is Excited'
Mark Wojcik hopes to tap into a key family resource as he begins his first season as Cherry Hill West’s football coach. Wojcik was recently named head coach—replacing Justin Arabia, who resigned after five seasons. During the previous three seasons Wojcik served as West’s defensive coordinator.
West is coming off consecutive 2-7 seasons.
As for the main family resource, it’s his grandfather Dick Curl, a legendary figure in South Jersey coaching history and beyond.
Curl was the first varsity head coach at Cherry Hill East and by his second season had guided the Cougars to an 8-1 record. In seven seasons as Cherry Hill East’s head coach, Curl went 38-24-1 from 1968-1974. He took a program from its infancy and made the Cougars competitive from the beginning.
“He has forgotten more football than I know,” Wojcik says of his grandfather.
Curl would eventually coach as a college assistant, most notably at Rutgers and Boston College and was the head coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe.
He would later serve as an NFL assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams.
Now 84, Curl still beats his grandson in golf, and Wojcik is already trying to recruit his grandfather to help him in his first season.
“I will try to get him to break down some film for me,” Wojcik said.
Even though this is Wojcik’s first head coaching job, the 2009 Cinnaminson graduate has a wealth of coaching experience in college football.
A two-way lineman at Cinnaminson, Wojcik attended Gettysburg and was a starting defensive end his senior season. From there he was an offensive intern at New Hampshire and also served as a college assistant at Merrimack (Mass), Lafayette and Sacred Heart in Connecticut.
With a degree in economics and an MBA, he went into the business world but decided to switch gears and become a teacher. At Cherry Hill West he teaches business education.
The fact that he has been with the program for three years and will be teaching in the building is a major plus, according to Wojcik.
“I think it is a tremendous advantage and everything is tailor-made for the players, said Wojcik, who was also a wrestler at Cinnaminson. “Knowing the guys’ strengths and weaknesses is such a key.”
He said he will also attempt to recruit players in the hallways who haven’t come out for the team.
Most of all, he is clearly pumped up for his first head coaching opportunity.
“It’s so exciting,” he said. “My whole family is excited.”
Including his grandfather, who his grandson will be tapping into for all of his vast football knowledge.
Photo / Provided by Mark Wojcik
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Author: Marc Narducci
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