Derek Sininksy is no longer the head football coach at St. John Vianney after he and the school's athletic administration mutually agreed to part ways Friday afternoon.

Sininsky teaches in the Freehold Regional District at Freehold Township High School and Marlboro High School, and him not being a teacher at St. John Vianney was the main factor in him leaving the post, according to both Sininsky and St. John Vianney athletic director Rich Lamberson.

“I don’t get out of school until 3:15 at Marlboro so my assistant coaches would have to run practice until I got there around 3:35, and that wasn’t fair to put the responsibility of a head coach on them,” Sininksy said when contacted Friday night. “I brought it up to Rich about a month ago that they need a guy that’s there in the school for the kids.”

“The kids need more. Not being there to help them with something during the day or to help with college coaches coming in wasn’t fair to the kids. And it wasn’t fair to Eddie Hernandez, my strength coach and linebackers coach, wasn’t fair to Rich Lamberson, our AD, and wasn’t fair to Pat Smith (assistant athletic director) because everything was dumped on them. That’s was the whole thing that went into the decision.”

Photo by Bill Normile.
Photo by Bill Normile.
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The Lancers went 10-1 this past season and finished No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10. They won a fourth straight Class A Central division title, reached the semifinals of the NJSIAA Non-Public Group III playoffs and extended their Shore Conference winning streak to 38 games. Senior linebacker Johnny Buchanan was selected as the SSN Defensive Player of the Year while junior offensive lineman Paul Liseno was a first-team All-Shore selection.

Sininsky took over as St. John Vianney’s head coach for the 2015 season after Mark Ciccotelli went 10-1 in his only season. With current Boston College redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Brown at the helm, the Lancers went 11-1 and reached the Non-Public Group III championship game. In 2016 SJV went 10-1 and fell to eventual champion St. Joseph (Montvale) in the semifinals. St. John Vianney went 31-3 during Sininksy’s tenure at the school with all three losses coming in the playoffs.

“People says I’m crazy leaving after going (31-3) but it’s not just about winning, it’s about building relationships and being there for the kids, and I wasn’t able to be there for them as much as I should.”

Sininsky also coaches indoor and outdoor track and field at St. John Vianney and said he will remain in those positions.

Sininsky has previously been the head coach at Raritan, Monmouth Regional and Marlboro and owns a 61-63 career record.

St. John Vianney graduates several of its top players from this year’s team, but the head coaching position remains a highly-attractive job in the Shore Conference.

Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.

 

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