Back in elementary school, Jake Nerwinski attended Dave Boggs’ soccer camp in Lawrenceville and loved it. As a professional player, he returned to what’s now the Boggs-Barrett Soccer Camp as a guest speaker.
And loved it just as much.
“That was really cool coming back to where I went as a kid,” Nerwinski said. “To be able to speak to the kids there was actually really special for me.”
And so, forced to step away from his Major League Soccer career, Nerwinski knows what he wants to do next.
After playing six seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and two with St. Louis City SC, he had to retire due to injuries. Facing life without soccer for the first time, Nerwinski spent the past year exploring careers in the “real” world but something was always missing.
Soccer.
He just couldn’t leave he sport.
Thus, he plans to become a soccer agent while also opening a new training academy in Mercer County.
“The past year I was looking to get back in (as a player) but also looking to the future to see what life without playing soccer would look like,” Nerwinski said. “Ideally I would like to do both. To offer (being an agent) with my training would be something very strategic and positive.
“I’m very well connected with a lot of different front office people in MLS. I know that world, I think offering that type of network to aspiring youth soccer players in Mercer County could be something great.”
One of Mercer’s well-known soccer personalities feels that Nerwinski’s return would be beneficial to area players.
“Having someone like Jake returning to his roots and giving back to the youth of the sport is huge!” said former Lawrence High player PJ Barrett, the other half of the Boggs-Barrett camp. “It’s a testament to his character and love of the sport.
“New Jersey, and Mercer County in particular, is rich in soccer talent and has produced many local legends like Mooch Myernick, Bobby Smith, The Fink brothers, Billy Gazonas and Ping Pong (Charlie Farrauto), to name a few. Their influence was tremendous in this area. Jake grew up watching these guys and is now helping guide and instill a love of the game for the next generation of future stars.”
Nerwinski graduated as Notre Dame High’s all-time leading scorer with 29 goals and 24 assists. He went on to a successful career at the University of Connecticut before being drafted by Vancouver. His father Kevin, Lawrence Township’s Municipal Manager, and uncle Frank Nerwinski also played at Notre Dame.
Former Irish coach Mike Perone echoed Barrett’s thoughts on Nerwinski’s return.
“They grow up here, they get their roots here and it’s just something great that those kind of guys want to give back,” Perone said. “We were lucky enough that they do come back and we can learn something from them. Jake’s a level-headed guy. He doesn’t forget where he came from.
“Kevin and Frankie were always like that. It’s inborn in that family. Jake learned his lessons from home, that’s for sure.”
At 31, Nerwinski has already enjoyed a life some can only dream about. He has put himself up there with the Myernicks and Smiths when it comes to recognition, as the younger generation of players look up to him with awe and admiration.
“He spoke at our camp about loving the game, being a good teammate, setting goals and working hard in the classroom,” Barrett said. “You could see the starstruck look in the campers eyes — and some of the parents — as he spoke. He stayed to take questions, sign autographs, take pictures with all the campers. It was a really great, heart-warming experience and a great moment for our campers.”
Since Nerwinski spent eight seasons focused on competing and keeping his job as a professional, it didn’t quite resonate as to what he was actually experiencing. Now that it’s over, he reflects on it with great pride.
“When I was going through it I didn’t recognize how special that time really was,” Nerwinski said. “You always think it’s gonna go on forever. It will come to an end but hopefully not as abruptly as it did for me. I was able to live out a childhood dream that I never knew was even possible.
“A lot of kids aspire to be professional athletes. To actually be able to do it, I’m so grateful and I’m proud and I tried to enjoy every step of the way. I got to meet so many different people around the world. I got to play against top players – (Lionel) Messi, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, David Villa. Those are guys you grew up watching on TV and idolizing. That was probably my favorite part. I’m just so grateful for that journey and that ride.”
The ride came to a jarring halt before Nerwinski expected. After the 2024 season he hoped to re-sign with St. Louis as a free agent.
“I had a verbal agreement, unfortunately it never went to paper,” he said. “It kind of fell through.”
Nerwinski was then asked to go on trial with San Diego FC and two days into that he tore his quad.
“I went back to our house in St. Louis, packed up everything and we moved back to New Jersey,” said Nerwinski, who is enjoying life at the beach in Belmar. “I did my rehab and had intentions of trying to find a club in the summer.
“After three months of rehab I was cleared to play and started playing pick-up in Metuchen and Hoboken trying to get back the fitness. Three weeks after being cleared, I tore my ACL playing pick-up in late May. I got surgery at the end of July.”
Facing nine to 12 months of rehabilitation, he knew it was over. Nerwinski was certain he had some productive years left in him had he stayed healthy.
“It was interesting timing,” Nerwinski said. “I gotta believe it happened for a reason. I’m still grappling with that but I’m trying hard.”
One advantage Nerwinski has as he starts anew, is a strong mindset. Perone noted that being a defender in the MLS suited him because “he just had that attitude of ‘You’re not gonna beat me, that’s not happening.’”
Nerwinski returns home a different person from when he entered MLS. He has gone from an uncertain rookie into a mature young man.
“I was drafted to Vancouver and the next week I was across the continent in a new city all alone,” he recalled. “I’m 22-years-old living in a one bedroom apartment just trying to build my career. I was in direct competition with a 28-year-old who was well established in the MLS and had a daughter. He’s fighting for his family and I’m just starting out.
“It’s just something that you really have to jump into fully and get accustomed to as quick as you can. It’s the real world and it’s based on full-on competition and you wanting to go as far as you can with it.”
He also had to speak to the media on a larger scale, which he felt “definitely shapes how you interact with people. MLS is a growing entity and a world a lot of people watch so you’re in the spotlight.” He would also play before crowds that sometimes reached nearly 60,000 after playing before 1,500 at UConn.
“It’s a sink or swim, you either grow up quick and you’re accustomed to it and all in on it, or sometimes it gets the best of you,” Nerwinski said. “I was able to lean into my mentality and all the things I experienced leading up to that, and it kept me afloat in that environment.”
One great memory for Nerwinski is the last game of his career. Usually a right back, he was inserted at left back against the Houston Dynamo and scored the fifth and final goal of his career.
“I’d never really played on the left side,” he said. “Looking back now, what better way to go out? I didn’t have many of those in my career so having it be on one of my last touches was pretty cool.”
Great recollections aside, Nerwinski must now find another way to provide for wife Allie, who he started dating at Notre Dame, and daughters Laine (3½ years old) and Lily (1½).
Nerwinski met with influential Pennington School coach Chad Bridges in mid-January to discuss opening a training facility.
“We were just bouncing ideas off each other about what it could look like if I go that route and where I can kind of tap into,” Nerwinski said. “There are so many soccer clubs and good players in Mercer County. I think being able to get out in front of them; it would be great to share my story and also share things on the field as well as what it took for me to get where I am.
“I was in that environment for eight years and I can mold my training into an elite professional training environment. Sometimes when you’re just on a club team and you’re one of 18 players that’s training three times a week, you’re not getting that specialized treatment for what you want to work on.”
Perone feels Nerwinski has the right personality for that profession.
“He’s a nice kid, he was very coachable,” he said. “When you go into that type of business the kids aren’t gonna get it right away. He’s someone that will patient, he’ll say ‘Try it this way, try it that way.’ He was always good that way.”
And he has a wealth of experience to impart, going all the way back to Boggs soccer camp.
After playing six seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and two with St. Louis City SC, Jake Nerwinski had to retire due to injuries.,
