New beginnings for Faggiani

Change can be hard, especially when three of the biggest changes in your life are all happening at once. Robert Faggiani has gone through big changes this year, including his new PE/health teacher job at West Essex, his promotion to West Essex varsity Girls soccer head coach and becoming a father for the first time. 

“ ‘Hectic’ is the word you can quote me on,” Faggiani said, “It’s a lot of running around, but like I said, it’s all changes in life and that’s what happens. It’s all good changes and it’s fun to have all those things going on. It’s just a little crazy to have them going on at once.” 

Faggiani is technically new, but he’s been a part of the West Essex family for eight years now as a member of the girls soccer coaching staff. Thanks to his prior involvement within West Essex and his familiarity with the building, he says, the transition to teaching at the high school has been fairly smooth. 

Soccer has been a part of Faggiani’s life from a young age, and it was the only sport that he played as a child. He played year-round, always trying to find a way to get involved in the sport he loves. Coaching has provided a way for Faggiani to stay active within the world of soccer. 

“I knew Coach Grasso, who is the boys soccer coach, and he was starting his Sticks and Kicks organization and he needed coaches, so that’s where I started my coaching career.” Mr.Faggiani said. 

Despite helping coach for Sticks and Kicks soccer programs, Mr.Faggiani has also worked for local club teams, helped coach at camps during his college days and has found himself coaching at West Essex, leading up to his new spot as the Girls Varsity Soccer head coach. He says he looks forward to what his future holds with the soccer team. 

“I know the players expectations are to win the conference, and I’m definitely on board with that.” Faggiani said. 

Whenever he finds some increasingly rare free time, Faggiani can be found engaged in some of his other interests such as fishing, enjoying the outdoors and watching his beloved New York Rangers. 

As a teacher, he brings his real-world experiences into the classroom; before graduating, he believes that all students should learn true real world values such as showing maturity.

“Growing up, there are different responsibilities that come into life,” Faggiani said, “Just hope that you can manage that and manage your lifestyle and whatever hobbies you have.”