Nick Grippa is the social director for the Robbinsville High School Executive Council, which could come in handy if his Ravens soccer team can win a county or state tournament this fall.
The senior would love nothing more than to use his social directing skills to plan the victory party.
“I’m hoping for that,” he said. “I really am.”
Casual onlookers may think that’s a lofty goal considering all the offensive talent Robbinsville graduated last year after winning the state crown in 2022 and reaching the Group III final in 2023.
But Grippa, one of just four returning starters for the Ravens, feels his classmates have just been awaiting their chance to show their capabilities.
They took their first step this summer by repeating as champion of an 8 v 8 league that included such powerhouse teams as Steinert, Princeton, Delran and Shawnee.
“We won that with our new (varsity) players,” Grippa noted. “I think we still have the right players for the job. Winning that totally boosted our confidence. We thought we weren’t gonna be as good as the team last year but we’re on the same path as of now. I think we’re ready.
“We want to keep carrying the torch and stay where we are. We’re at the top right now. We don’t want to drop down any lower.”
The Ravens will depend heavily on the versatile Grippa to maintain its lofty standing in the CVC and state.
After playing right back last season for an offensive powerhouse, Grippa may move up to midfield as coach Jeff Fisher looks to revamp his attack. Robbinsville graduated 73 of the 84 goals it scored last year, including 35-goal scorer Bora Turker.
“Bora is something else, you can’t replace him if you tried,” Grippa said. “But we do have the guys. Hopefully our attackers can do our thing – close friends I’ve played with my whole life like Mitchell Shapiro, Ethan Pagani, Marco Paris. We have a lot of great chemistry.”
As 12-year-olds, Grippa, Pagani and senior defender Owen Voorhees were selected for the 2018-19 US Youth soccer/NJYS Olympic Development Program while playing with the Robbinsville Soccer Association. They have been developing ever since. Shapiro (6 goals) and Pagani (4) are the team’s leading returning scorers and Voorhees is a defender anxious to show what he can do after fighting injuries the past two seasons.
And then there is Grippa.
“With him coming into last year we had five guys competing for four defensive spots and Nick started coming off the bench for us in our outside back rotation,” Fisher said. “Then it got to the point where I was like “Nick you’re gonna be starting,’ to where he wasn’t coming off the field at all because he was that impactful to our defense and our team.
“Last year he was our go-to outside back. They call him Firecracker because that’s kind of who he is. Firecracker is a great way to explain him. He’s the kind of kid who will run through a wall. It doesn’t matter what’s in front of him, he’s gonna run full speed. It’s a kind of old school mentality of just running like crazy, running to the ball, running to tackles. He’s not the biggest kid on the field but he’s not gonna shy away from anybody.”
Grippa played in RSA with many of his current teammates. They went separate ways for travel ball with Grippa playing for Match Fit. During that time he learned to play all over the field.
“I just played striker in rec,” he said. “I played center-mid for my Match Fit team but I had some knowledge of playing defense. I played everywhere. (Fisher) put me in the back because he knew I was able to get the job done. I was able to catch on. From the start it was pretty challenging but I adapted and soon I was able to do my job.”
This year, his job may be scoring and setting up goals rather than preventing them. Fisher feels fairly confident with his defense, starting with standout goalie Brody Kaplan, who he says “is even better this year as a senior. I expect some big things from him.” He is looking for junior Nico Matthews to become one of the CVC’s top defenders and is also happy to have Max Goldberg back after he suffered a season-ending injury just before the states.
“Goldberg was our center back but he might also push forward,” the coach said. “(Junior) Will Berdan and (senior) Leo Daniels are also back there. It’s a real good group of defenders and we’ve got guys ready to take steps into more prominent roles. I’m hoping we’re gonna be pretty tough to score on.”
That leaves Fisher free to move Grippa back to his more natural spot of attacking. As of early August he was still figuring things out and toying with putting Grippa at midfield, but in the next breath said he may move him up top.
“Last year Nick was able to step up in the back, but he’s a guy we can get higher up the field to really help us,” the veteran coach said. “It’s still something where I could easily move him back when we need it. He can pretty much go anywhere—outside, inside. He’s got a left foot, a right foot.
“He has so much pace to him. He’s strong, and his speed and pace are two of his best attributes. As a coach he’s your dream. You have a player so versatile and humble and willing to do what’s best for the team. He’ll play anywhere, no questions asked.”
After getting a full year’s experience in the back, Grippa picked up a few tips on how a defender thinks. He hopes to put that information to use if he returns to an offensive position.
“As a defender I always had to be on my toes or keep my feet moving for any turn or touch the offense makes,” he said. “I’ll definitely be looking out for that. Maybe if they’re not as fast as me I’ll use my pace and get around them. Another thing I learned from defense is crossing the ball. Since I might play winger I’ll look to loop some balls into the box so some other guys can get a foot or head on the ball to score.”
Fisher feels Grippa could also add some explosiveness up front, which is why he is playing mad scientist in an attempt to concoct the right formation.
“He has that little burst of energy you need up there,” Fisher said. “I’m trying to figure out with the team we have what can work best formation-wise and style-wise. Every year you don’t have the same players. You try to adapt a little bit without taking away how we want to play and attack and how we want to win games with the same mentality of our program. But it’s never gonna be the same. You gotta change things up.”
As an integral part of last year’s team, Grippa understands what it takes to reach an MCT or state championship game. He is anxious for this year’s outfit to keep the legacy intact that the previous two teams established.
Fisher would have it no other way.
“That’s the mentality they should have—‘We’re seniors, it’s our turn,’” the coach said. “You want them to come to the point where they expect to win championships and expect to beat teams. You don’t want them going ‘Oh we have them on our schedule we can’t beat them.’ You want them saying ‘Who’s on our schedule? Oh good. We want to challenge ourselves and beat them.’ That’s the point we want to continue to get to. It takes more than two years though. We gotta keep doing it.”
And while Grippa is anxious to do just that, his life is more than just soccer. He sports a 3.8 grade point average and is a member of Robbinsville’s Agricultural Club and Future Business Leaders of America Club along with his duties on the Executive Committee.
He is hoping to continue his academic and athletic career at Ursinus next year.
“I don’t want to stop playing,” he said. “My love for the sport is insane.”
And his love of planning a victory party might be just as crazy.
Robbinsville High School boys' soccer player Nick Grippa with the ball during a game last season.,
