Mercer County Community College athletic director John Simone had three words to describe Elyse Diamond: Mercer County icon.
Iconic, indeed, in two different ways.
Diamond is an icon in Mercer girls’ soccer, both on the field and on the sidelines. As a player, she holds the school record at Hamilton West with 112 career goals. As a coach, she spent a quarter of a century at the helm of the Nottingham High School girls’ soccer squad. She is also an icon at MCCC itself as she still holds the school record with 118 career goals, which has endured for more than 30 years. After Mercer, Diamond went on to play at Rutgers University.
If Diamond can recruit some players similar to herself, she could be in for quite a career in her new position as the Vikings’ women’s soccer coach.
Diamond was hired in early February, leaving Nottingham looking for a new head coach for the first time since 1989. It was perfect timing, as Diamond needed a change but did not necessarily want to leave coaching.
“I was contemplating this for a couple of years because I spent so much time at Nottingham,” she said. “But I think if I didn’t take this job and I stopped coaching Nottingham, it would have been a little bit tougher. I think it’s going to be a much easier transition away from Nottingham soccer and going to something else.”
For Simone, the choice was a no-brainer. Diamond has been around the program in recent years as her daughters Kelly and Katie both played for Mercer. Katie is in her sophomore year, and she strongly encouraged her mom to take the position. Simone was in agreement.
“I know her history, I’ve known her since I was coaching at Notre Dame,” Simone said. “When I coached girls’ basketball, she played for Hamilton High. I followed her career at Mercer and at Rutgers. She’s kind of stayed close to us here. We’ve talked over the years, especially when her daughters played. The opportunity was perfect for her at this time and certainly the opening was there for us. She fits very well at this time.”
Diamond will remain at Nottingham as a health and physical education teacher. And this isn’t the first time a Hamilton Township teacher has pulled double duty for both the district and the Vikings—Charlie Inverso, who currently coaches the Rider men’s soccer team, set the precedent, teaching at Crockett Middle School while winning five national titles with the Mercer men’s squad.
Diamond looks forward to the new challenge. Nottingham’s program has fallen on hard times in recent years, but the coach remained at the helm due to her loyalty to the players.
“I guess I’m just proudest of the relationships I’ve had over the years with my players,” Diamond said. “I’m still in touch with many of them. That means more to me than the record, or wins and losses. Just the rapport that you’ve had and the relationships you have along the way. The memories stay forever, lots of good times. That’s what kept me going.”
“I never looked that far into the future, but I never thought I’d be coaching for 25 years,” Diamond said. “I was 26, 27 when I started, you’re not thinking 25 years later. I was just so excited to get the head job at Nottingham. I coached year to year.”
Everything runs its course, however, and when the Mercer job came up, Diamond saw it as a new challenge.
“It’s just a different mentality,” she said. “Now I can recruit and everything is different on the college level. That’s what’s really going to change the game, I think. I can go out in somebody else’s backyard instead of never being able to look outside my backyard.”
Diamond feels the change will do her good, if only because coaching is still something that she loves, but at a higher level. Though Nottingham has come a long way over the years, she said, being able to coach in a stadium with a turf field is an exciting new prospect.
Simone said a job change can be refreshing, and he already sees a difference in Diamond.
“I can just tell in my conversations with her she’s energized and anxious for the challenge,” he said. “She’s going to have soccer players on the field who have played a lot of high school and club soccer that are going to adapt much faster to a system than having to teach basics.”
Diamond inherits nine returning players from a team that dominated the Region XIX championship game before losing in penalty kicks. She is fairly certain that Cindy Mejia, Julissa Vasquez and Jennifer Macario, who were seniors on her Northstar team last fall, will be following her over.
As Simone pointed out, the women’s soccer program is one of the few left at MCCC that still has a roster containing a majority of players from Mercer County. Diamond will use that as her recruiting base.
“I wouldn’t say no to someone who wanted to come, but I’m going to focus my recruiting in the county just because it’s where I spent my last 25 years,” Diamond said. “If one kid from each team came here, that would be a very good start.”
Aside from incoming freshman, the new coach will count heavily upon her returning players picking up their performance.
“These sophomores that played with Katie, I saw them play as freshmen, and they really brought it up a couple notches from freshman year to sophomore,” Diamond said. “That’s what I’m hoping these freshmen do this year. Turn around and step up a couple notches. They’re older and more mature, they develop and get better.”
Once again, Diamond does not plan on setting a timetable. She did not rush into the decision, waiting several days after being offered the position before she accepted it.
Diamond said it will once again be a year by year situation, but she loves the atmosphere at Mercer.
“Everyone is very accommodating and seems to get along,” Diamond said. “All the part-time coaches go there to hang out and not just coach. It’s like a little family out there. After speaking to John and speaking to (veteran trainer) Lisa Camillone, I think I belong out there. They were always very kind, very encouraging to me. They’re going to support me in my first year out there. I know they’re looking forward to it, I’m looking forward to it.”
Simone is also looking forward to it, as he feels with her JUCO background, Diamond understands what goes into coaching at Mercer a little better than some others might.
“I like that she is a Mercer alum, I like the idea that she’s got leadership qualities that the young ladies look up to,” he said. “She understands the job at this level is more than winning. A lot of times we need our coaches to serve as mentors to student-athletes, in terms of their quest for graduation and moving on to other colleges. I think she has those qualities and again she’s a great role model as someone who came to Mercer and the went on to Rutgers.”
And succeeded every step of the way.
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