Biography
By Jim Hague
Nick DeRosa always fancied himself to be a baseball player.
“I always played baseball,” DeRosa said. “I never participated in track until my junior year of high school.”
But when DeRosa entered his junior year at Roselle Catholic, the team’s shot putter, Alex Almeida, convinced DeRosa to join the track team.
“He tried to get me to come out for track for a while,” DeRosa said. “I finally gave in and the rest is history.”
DeRosa eventually won the Union County and NJSIAA Non-Public B state championships in the javelin while at Roselle Catholic.
He was originally headed to Montclair State before Rutgers-Newark head track and field coach Juan Edney caught wind of DeRosa’s abilities through his connections with the Roselle Catholic program.
“Roselle Catholic is almost like our farm club,” said Edney, who has five current members of the Scarlet Raiders’ track and field program coming from the Union County parochial school, including shot putter Almeida, the guy who first convinced DeRosa to try the javelin. Other former Roselle Catholic products on the roster include Vladimir Manasse, Calvin Novak and Josh Stinson.
“I went to see Nick throw at the (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions and tried to convince him that Rutgers-Newark was a good school and close to home, because he wanted to commute,” Edney said. “I also thought he had some potential and could eventually throw better than 200 (feet). He was already throwing 190 in high school.”
Ironically, DeRosa’s main competition in the javelin at R-N was Stinson, the fellow Roselle Catholic graduate. Stinson is a few years older than DeRosa.
“I knew Josh for a couple of years and I was friends with his younger brother, who I graduated with,” DeRosa said. “I think it helped my decision, having someone there I know.”
It also helped that Almeida also decided to attend R-N.
But it was the pending competition between himself and Stinson, the holder of all of R-N’s javelin records that intrigued DeRosa the most.
“It definitely helped and actually, the coaches encourage it,” DeRosa said. “It’s a friendly competition. We try to beat each other. I find motivation in that. I’ve known Josh for a number of years and it’s exciting to know that we can push each other.”
DeRosa didn’t mind the daily commute.
“It’s really not bad,” DeRosa said. “It’s only about 15 minutes away. I drive in every day. I have to get in pretty early, because the throwers train early (9:30 a.m.) and I have to go to the trainer’s room beforehand. I know that if I’m going to throw far, that’s what I have to do.”
DeRosa has also benefitted from the relationship with Rutgers-Newark athletic director Mark Griffin, who serves as the throwing coach for the Scarlet Raiders. Griffin’s background is in the sport of track and field, prior to becoming an athletic administrator.
“I have tons of respect for Coach Griffin,” DeRosa said. “He’s helped me out a lot and I’ve been throwing a lot better because of him.”
Edney said that Griffin has a lot of faith in DeRosa’s potential.
“Mark thinks Nick can throw 220 one day,” Edney said. “We really do believe in Nick. He’s a strong kid who is naturally gifted. He can still develop his body and he needs work on his technique. Right now, he’s just a natural thrower.”
But that natural ability allowed the talented freshman to recently eclipse 193 feet, breaking Stinson’s old school record and qualify him already for the NCAA Division III national championships upcoming next month.
“Nick has a tremendous upside and I think he’s going to be the future of our field event throwers,” Edney said. “Because whenever he’s throwing bad, he’s still throwing 170 or 180. His form is not great, but he’s still throwing pretty well. That’s natural. Once his form comes around, once he really gets going, he could be very good. He just needs it all to click for him. Once that happens, he’s going to be scary. He could be an All-American and eventually, a national champion.”
DeRosa is a little stunned with his instant success.
“Definitely, I didn’t expect this,” DeRosa said. “It’s a whole new level than high school. I was a little intimidated at first. I just had to go out there and let it fly.”
DeRosa admits that he’s still a work in progress.
“I completely agree that I need to work on my form, because if I do, I can throw further than I am throwing right now. But it’s all exciting to me. It’s been a big surprise.”
DeRosa is still undecided about his major at R-N.
“I am leaning towards history, but I’m still a little iffy,” DeRosa said. “Maybe I could become a history teacher.”
Whatever the case, Edney is happy that the pipeline from Roselle Catholic continues to send student/track athletes his way.
“Nick is a hard worker who is finally getting accustomed to what is needed of him as a college athlete,” Edney said. “Hopefully, by next year, we’ll see a horse of a different color. But right now, he fits in well. He’s a quiet kid, like a silent killer. You might not hear him, but you know he’s around.”
