Graham wins 400th game at Wayne Hills by Sean Farrell of The Record
The words of wisdom came from his dad.
Nelson Graham lives by the motto he learned long ago from another coach.
“First of all, you need the horses,” Graham said. “Then it’s what you do with the horses. I’ve had talented teams that have underachieved. But generally, we’ve overachieved year in and year out.”
Graham has spent 36 seasons making a winner at his alma mater.
The Wayne Hills coach reached yet another milestone on Tuesday.
Boys soccer: Nelson Graham, Coach of the Year
He earned his 400th career victory in a league match against West Milford, and was honored by players on both sidelines. Graham said he was so caught up in the game that he forgot about the achievement until being congratulated soon after the clock hit zero.
“He is one of the true gentlemen in high school sports and one of the most humble people I know,” Highlander coach Ray Ferriola said.
Graham is as much a part of Wayne Hills as the maroon and white.
He’s won four Passaic County titles there and even played for the first Patriots squad when the school opened. It wasn’t long after leaving the soccer team at Ohio University that he got into coaching. His dad was a town director of recreation, and Graham had always liked working with young kids. That’s what keeps him in the game all these years later.
“I use humor a lot with the players to relate to them and get them to laugh at themselves and laugh at me at times,” Graham said. “I don’t want anything taken too seriously. I always say to be a gentleman. It’s the toughest thing to do in a game. Try not to lose your cool or your composure. Stay focused.”
Soccer has changed since Graham started. Formations are different. More players do the sport year-round. And the game is played at a higher level.
Along the way, Graham has adapted with it. When asked to describe his coaching style, he said he doesn’t have one.
A flexible attitude has helped him build a consistent winner throughout his tenure, even in years like this one when his team was rebuilding on paper.
The 18th-ranked Patriots (5-2-3 entering Thursday) brought only a few starters back and fit people in new roles, but are still a contender to defend their county title.
“There’s no one way,” Graham said, on his philosophy. “There’s many ways and you adapt to the players you have. It’s not college. It’s not pro. I can’t select the players into a system. You have to create your system based on the players you get.”