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‘Went above and beyond’: Legendary figure in Central Jersey HS sports calls it a career

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‘Went above and beyond’: Legendary figure in Central Jersey HS sports calls it a career

Paul Franklin
 |  Special to MyCentralJersey.com

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Like always, Carl Weigner is looking forward to another high school sports season later this month. Especially the part where he doesn’t have to do any paperwork.

Weigner, 87, retired earlier this summer as president of the Skyland Conference, a position he held for 26 years. He retired as athletic director from Bridgewater-Raritan High School in 1999, after having coached football, basketball, track and field and as a physical education teacher.

“It was time,” he said about his role as president. “It takes a lot of time, a lot of time behind the scenes.”

Rich Shello, retired athletic director at Ridge High School after 25 years, will replace the local legend.

“He’s been tremendous,” Shello said. “For so many years he provided the leadership to the organization and really took a load off athletic directors who were working in their positions full time and didn’t have time to give anymore. Carl just did so much. He continued to stay involved and provide direction for so many.”

Weigner is no stranger to the responsibilities of being an athletic director. He took over for retiring A.J. Troisi in 1978. Weigner not only took the job at Bridgewater-Raritan West, but years later was in charge when B-R West merged with B-R East. That’s when the Minutemen and Falcons became the Panthers.

“Most people think that all ADs do is watch games. But what we do during the day is setting up (non-conference) scheduling, setting up officials, transportation, making budgets, ordering equipment. Being an AD requires a lot of time,” he said. “You’re not home a lot, a lot of late meals. It’s a grueling time. But I was blessed in the Skyland to have very good ADs.”

Among Weigner’s assignments was creating schedules for all conference sports; schools from not only Somerset County but also Hunterdon and Warren. Twenty-three schools now comprise the conference.

He also ran the conference’s Scholar-Athlete Luncheon.

His efforts over the years not only resulted in being in the Bridgewater High School Hall of Fame, but also in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. He also served on the NJSIAA Executive Board.

Weigner and wife Kristin have three children: Kim, sons Kerry and Sean. They have two grandchildren.

Even his wife has BRHS roots, Class of 1965. “Despite all the hours and complaints and ‘When are we gonna’ get a vacation,’ she’s stuck with me all these years,” he cracked. They’ve been married 55 years.

That included working during summers painting houses and teaching teenagers how to drive.

Prior to coming to Bridgewater, Weigner taught several subjects at Hellertown High School in Pennsylvania. He also coached basketball, track and field, and was an assistant football coach. As an athlete at Collegeville High School in Yerkes, Pa., he was a standout three-sport athlete; a two-way lineman in football, a center in basketball and an everything but catcher in baseball.

At East Stroudsburg State he played basketball and soccer and was a two-time co-captain in track and field.

What he wanted coming out of college was a position as a phys-ed teacher. And that is what he was offered at Bridgewater. Soon after he was also a coach, one that included tremendous results in track and field. As head coach his teams had an 85-meet winning streak, won 13 division titles, 7 sectionals and 5 state championships.

He also wound up coaching track and field at Somerville several years.

Bob Hopek, former coach and athletic director at North Hunterdon, is remaining as secretary of the Skyland Conference. He and Weigner go way back.

“He was very professional,” Hopek said about his friend. “Very dedicated to the Skyland as he was with the Mid-State Conference. You’re not going to find another person as dedicated as Carl. He made sure things were set up ahead of time. He was very dedicated, very loyal and well-organized. He still uses paper and pencil with all his reports. Old school.”

Tony Maglione also goes way back with Weigner, having coached football and girls basketball. For the past several years he’s been among a group of guys who meet monthly for breakfast in Green Brook.

“He wasn’t just an AD,” Maglione said. “No matter what it was, as long as it helped the school and helped the kids.”

“He was involved in everything,” added Pete Falzarano, former baseball coach at Watchung Hills, who would spend 27 years as a member of the school’s Board of Education. “He kept everybody abreast and went above and beyond. He’s a good guy.”

So what does Carl think of himself? What will be his legacy?

“That’s a tough one,” he said, pausing. “I would think that I gave 100 percent for the school and that all the athletes we had I put all my energy into getting all the things they needed to be successful. That and mentoring new athletic directors.”

Mission accomplished.

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