Nottingham turns focus to improving next spring under new coach
Nottingham High baseball does not like to play third fiddle to anyone, especially with a band of friends as consumed with the sport as they are in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, NJ.
Charlie Iacono understands that mindset because he grew up in that North Hamilton community.
Since taking over for former head coach Jim Maher, who stepped down following the 2019 season, the 2002 Northstars graduate began scouring the hallways to inquire about interest and find out why the program’s numbers have been waning.
When spring baseball got underway in March, Iacono had about 30 kids in the entire program. Half of those were probably going to see time at the varsity level.
That may be a far cry from Nottingham’s baseball numbers 18 years ago when Iacono was roaming the outfield, but it’s a point from which to build.
“It’s nice to come back and be part of the area I grew up in,” said the still young head coach who held the same position at Hightstown High from 2016-18. “I’m excited to be back.”
Yet, that excitement did not last long because his first season back on his old baseball field turned out to be the season of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We got in one week of practice, then, as soon as we split up the teams, everything got put on hold,” said Iacono, who was being assisted by Rob Nosari, Brian Emerson and Brad Harris.
March 13 the spring sports season got postponed, then, May 4, it was cancelled by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association on the same day that Gov. Phil Murphy extended remote learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.
“My main goal right now is to get our numbers back up, so I feel like we needed to play most of all,” Iacono said, regarding the lost campaign. “I think our varsity would’ve been pretty competitive this season. We had a pretty good infield, a pretty good offense and we had some pitching.”
The Northstars were coming off a 5-16 season in 2019 and had four seniors back to lead the young troops. Third baseman/righthanded pitcher Wyatt Baker and fellow infielder Logan Barber spearheaded that upper class, which also included outfielder/righthanded pitcher Ethan Scannon and outfielder Iverson Newkirk.
“I miss playing with my boys,” Baker said.
“We had a new coach, so we weren’t 100 percent sure how things were going to be. But we always have a good time together when we play, so I wasn’t that concerned.”
Like their new head coach, who began his college career at Mercer County Community College before finishing at The College of New Jersey and earning a two-year stint in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system, Baker and Barber are headed to MCCC in the fall.
“The most important thing I’ll miss about this season is going out there and playin’ with my boys,” Barber echoed. “We have so much fun together. I was really looking forward to ending my senior year on a high note.”
The Nottingham seniors knew that improving this spring was going to be the main goal — except when going up against crosstown rivals Hamilton West and Steinert, both of whom had strong and deep squads returning.
“I really wanted to play Steinert and Hamilton West this year,” Baker said. “I was finally gonna get to pitch. I worked on throwing in the offseason, and I was feeling good.”
“Two games I was really looking forward to were against Hamilton West, because this year they have a lot of seniors and were gonna be pretty good, and, of course, Steinert, because they’re another Hamilton rival,” Barber said. “Nothing beats those rivalry games under the lights (at Bob DeMeo Field in Veterans Park).”
Any field would do after three months without baseball, especially for a school which does not like finishing third in a town with three high school baseball teams.
“I hope we can get back out there and play soon,” Baker said. “I need something to do this summer.”
There’s good news on that front since Gov. Murphy announced a week ago that organized sports can begin practicing again June 22, and the NJSIAA said high school sports can return after June 30 … that is, as long as everyone follows health department and social distancing guidelines in an effort to help keep COVID-19 under control.