NUTLEY, NJ — Valerie Martin is excited about the Nutley High School girls tennis season.
Entering her 16th season as the head coach, Martin said the program continues to grow. This season, there are 28 players in the program, with 11 on the varsity and the rest on junior varsity.
Nutley defeated Bloomfield, 5-0, in the season opener Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the DeMuro Park tennis courts.
Here is the NHS lineup:
The Raiders are coming off a strong season, finishing 9-6, which included capturing a share of the Super Essex Conference–Colonial Division championship with Cedar Grove. Both teams had 7-1 divisional marks. Nutley fell to Morris Hills in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 state tournament first round.
This season will be very special for Martin and her family. Her son, Joe Martin, has been the NHS girls JV coach for the past few seasons. Her other son, Jeff Martin, has been named the new girls tennis head coach at West Essex Regional in North Caldwell.
It will be mother versus son when Nutley faces West Essex twice this season. The first meeting is Thursday, Sept. 14, at West Essex and the second is Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Nutley Tennis Club, located at 51 Maple Place.
“It should be a great match between Nutley and West Essex,” Valerie said, in an interview with the Nutley Journal on Thursday, Aug. 24. Jeff “is very into it,” Valerie added. “Today, he was taking (the West Essex girls team) to the U.S. Open.”
West Essex last season won the NJSIAA’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 state tournament championship and finished 10-6 overall.
Joe Martin also is passionate about tennis. In addition to being the girls JV head coach, he is the NHS boys tennis varsity coach in the spring.
Valerie Martin and her sons were born and bred in Nutley, and are all NHS graduates who played sports throughout high school. In fact, Valerie and Joe reside in Nutley.
Jeff Martin had been an assistant coach with the NHS football program for the past few seasons. He also is the head varsity coach of the West Essex boys tennis team in the spring. Because the football and girls tennis seasons are held in the fall, Jeff had to step down from his position as a Raiders football assistant.
The Martins, indeed, love to coach and mentor their athletes.
“We’re very into (helping) the kids, we’re very competitive,” Valerie said. “It came from my (late) father’s mentality; he was a youth football coach years ago and it’s just in the family. Between the teaching and the coaching, all our lives we were exposed to it. Now the three of us are coaching.”
NHS schedule
- Sept. 5: vs. Bloomfield, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 7: at Belleville, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 11: at Cedar Grove, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 13: vs. Caldwell, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 14: at West Essex (North Caldwell), 4 p.m.
- Sept. 15: vs. Irvington,4 p.m.
- Sept. 18: at Golda Och Academy (West Orange), 4 p.m.
- Sept. 20: at Bloomfield, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 21: vs. West Essex, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 22: at Glen Ridge, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 28: vs. Golda Och Academy, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 29: vs. Cedar Grove, 4 p.m.
- Oct. 2: vs. Newark East Side, 4 p.m.
- Oct. 3: at Irvington, 4 p.m.
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