Hamilton West picks Moceri Jr. as new coach
HAMILTON » The Hamilton West baseball team didn’t have to look far for its new baseball coach.
The Hamilton Township Board of Education approved the recommendation of Mike “Mo” Moceri Jr. on Wednesday night to replace Mark Pienciak as head of the varsity baseball program. Moceri served as Pienciak’s assistant for the past six years and was John Costantino’s freshman coach in 2011.
“This is what I’ve wanted,” Moceri said. “I went to school to be a teacher because I loved to be around kids and be a positive influence for them, get them going in right direction. All my coaches growing up really kind of made me the person I am today and made me a better person all and all; and that’s what I want to do for these kids.”
The 29-year-old new father has been a lifetime fixture in Hamilton Township baseball. He played for Sunnybrae Little League and Hamilton Babe Ruth before moving on to Steinert and setting the Spartans single-season hit record with 56. He is also tied for the season home run mark with six. Steinert and Hamilton Post 31 both won state titles in 2006, Moceri’s final seasons with both programs.
During high school, he already had the coaching bug.
“Growing up I’d always work camps for (Jim) Maher and (Rich Giallella),” Moceri said. “I just knew that’s what I wanted to do. I worked for (Rider coach) Barry Davis when I was younger at his camps. I was always working with Gal (Dave Gallagher), I just always knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
After one year at Mercer County Community College, Moceri went to Kean and promptly set their season hit record with 82, while also earning first-team Division III AllAmerican honors as a junior.
During college, Moceri began helping his dad with the Hamilton Babe Ruth All-Stars, which won the 14-year-old District One title in 2011 by winning two elimination games on the final night.
Upon graduating from Kean, Moceri hooked up with fellow Steinert alum Gallagher and began coaching in Gallagher’s travel program. He was quickly snapped up by Costantino, who was the Hornets varsity baseball coach before taking the Steinert Athletic Director’s job in the fall of 2011.
Now the Hornets AD, this is Costantino’s second time hiring Moceri.
“Mike Moceri is a great fit for Hamilton baseball,” Costantino said. “I have been watching him on and off the baseball field since he played little league at Sunnybrae, Hamilton Babe Ruth and then as a player at Steinert. I followed his career at Kean, and when the opportunity to hire him as an assistant came up, it was a no brainer.
“Through these past eight or nine years, he has shown a unique ability to teach the game of baseball to various kids that had a wide range of talent. Mo is a student of the game and will continue to grow as the newest head coach at Hamilton West. We’re happy to have a coach that is passionate about the game and will be invested in our players on and off the field.”
After his first stint with Hamilton Babe Ruth, Moceri began helping Jim Petersohn with the Hamilton Little Lads 12-yearold All Stars. They won the Cal Ripken state championship that year, and this past season as the Hamilton-Northern Burlington Babe Ruth All-Stars, reached the 14-year-old World Series. Petersohn repeatedly raved about the impact that Moceri made and how vast his baseball knowledge was.
Many of the players from the H-NB team will be playing for Moceri at West; much like several years earlier when the players from his 14-year-old team came in and helped Hamilton to a state sectional championship.
“It’s kind of almost the same deal,” he said. “Now I get these Babe Ruth guys who I’ve been with; they’re coming up as freshmen and sophomores It’s kind of cool how it worked out same way. We had a lot of success with my dad’s team with Cody (Astbury) and (Kevin) Smiegocki and those guys, and they came to Hamilton and we won Central Jersey when they were seniors.”
In looking at the group he has returning from a 12-13 team, Moceri feels there could be enough talent for a successful season.
“We have a great group of senior leaders, mostly on the mound,” he said. “Our younger guys are our position players and I feel some of them can come in right away and play. I think that senior leadership is going to be the key to our season.
“Just the past two years we’ve gone out in the first round of counties and states; and these seniors were sophomores and juniors them. Most of them are on the team, I’m hoping that sticks in their mind what happened the past two years. Hopefully that leaves a sour taste in their mouth and they come back with some urgency.”
Moceri is urgent about maintaining the legacy set by predecessors Marty Flynn, Maher, Costantino and Pienciak.
“I look at Maher’s office wall, all the battles that Steinert and Hamilton used to have,” Moceri said. “Going to school at Steinert, it’s just a great feeling to be able to take over a program in Hamilton Township. Hamilton West, Steinert, Nottingham . . .one of us is always there, for sure.”
Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @fish4scores