🤼 Brady Little is just getting started.

After winning a district championship, reaching the regional finals, and qualifying for Atlantic City as a freshman, the Howell sophomore is setting his sights even higher.

🏆 Brady joins New Jersey Mat Chat to talk about Howell wrestling, Coach Gags, growing up at Shore Thing, and what it takes to compete against New Jersey's best.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

🔥 Growing up at Shore Thing Wrestling Club

🏟️ Wrestling under the lights at Howell

🐯 Coach Gags and the famous Eye of the Tiger entrance

🤼 Howell's tough loss to Southern

🥇 Winning districts and reaching Atlantic City

🧠 Handling nerves at the state tournament

💪 Preparing for his sophomore season

🏆 Howell's move to Group 4

😂 Team stories, girlfriends, and Taylor Swift

🎯 Brady's goals: 30 wins, a regional title, and a deeper run at states

💬 Can Howell make a run at the Group 4 championship this season?

🔔 Subscribe for more interviews with the wrestlers, coaches, and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet Brady Little

01:20 Growing Up at Shore Thing

04:49 Joining Howell Wrestling

05:29 Beast of the East as a Freshman

07:05 Adjusting to High School Wrestling

09:15 Howell's Home-Mat Atmosphere

09:56 Coach Gags and Eye of the Tiger

11:29 The Southern Loss

13:34 Brady's First State Tournament

15:07 Dealing With Nerves in Atlantic City

15:48 Nutrition and Making Weight

18:49 Knee Surgery and Offseason Training

19:32 Why He Loves Freestyle

20:07 Howell's Team Workouts

20:58 The Captain's Practice Story

22:57 Howell Moves to Group 4

24:09 A Tough Divisional Schedule

25:10 Facing NJ's Best Teams

26:22 Coach Gags Stories

27:28 Wrestling Rules Brady Would Change

29:19 Taylor Swift Before a Match?

30:07 Sophomore Season Goals

32:29 Aiming for a State Title

32:59 Escape the Rock or Shore Conference?

33:37 Who Has the Best Car?

34:08 Outro

🏆 From wrestling beginner to NJ State Champion in just three seasons.

Eric Childs didn't discover wrestling until high school. By 1988, he had become Rancocas Valley's first state wrestling champion.

🤼 In this New Jersey Mat Chat Legends episode, Eric shares his unlikely journey from a sophomore who barely knew the rules to defeating some of New Jersey's toughest competitors.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

🥇 Winning the 1988 NJ State Championship

🔥 His rivalry with Chi Santone

💪 The work ethic that transformed his wrestling career

🏟️ The unforgettable state finals at Princeton

❤️ Why his mother saw him wrestle for the first time in the state finals

🎓 Wrestling at Rider University and qualifying twice for the NCAA Championships

🫁 Surviving pulmonary fibrosis and receiving a double-lung transplant

🙏 The importance of organ donation and appreciating life

An incredible wrestling story — and an even greater story about perseverance and second chances.

💬 Could a wrestler today start in high school and win an NJ state championship just three seasons later?

🔔 Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches, and legends who built NJ wrestling.

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Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet 1988 State Champion Eric Childs

01:38 Discovering Wrestling as a Sophomore

05:25 His First District Tournament

06:22 Realizing He Could Become a Champion

07:56 Beating Chi Santone

08:08 Eric's Wrestling Philosophy

09:46 Learning at Wrestling Camp

10:26 His First Region Championship

13:04 Training Harder Than Ever

15:12 Natural Athleticism and Coordination

16:26 Rivalries With Chi Santone and Johnny Duran

17:32 Two Early Senior-Year Losses

18:08 The Undefeated Run Begins

19:10 Finally Beating Chi at Districts

19:33 Mapping Out His Championship Goals

21:47 The 1988 State Tournament

22:01 Reaching the Semifinals

23:42 Beating DeJoseph to Reach the Finals

24:03 Winning the Semifinal

25:26 His Parents Finally Watch Him Wrestle

26:59 His Mother's First Match Was the State Final

28:09 Winning the 1988 State Championship

29:30 Choosing Rider University

30:50 The Shock of Division I Wrestling

32:48 Qualifying for the NCAA Championships

33:40 Learning About Freestyle Wrestling

35:06 Becoming Rancocas Valley's First State Champion

36:06 Moving to California

36:43 Diagnosed With Pulmonary Fibrosis

37:31 Receiving a Life-Saving Double-Lung Transplant

38:04 The Day His New Lungs Arrived

40:06 A New Appreciation for Life

40:51 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

🏆 ONE GOAL. ONE FINAL SEASON. AN NJ STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.

Gavin Young has one goal for his senior wrestling season: Become a New Jersey State Champion.

🤼 The Old Bridge wrestler was practically born into the sport. His father coached at South River, his family has a history of wrestling success, and Gavin started competing through the Old Bridge Mat Rats as a young kid.

But his high school career hasn't gone exactly as planned.

🚑 Freshman Year: A serious concussion just days before regions ended his postseason.

🔥 Sophomore Year: Gavin returned, placed at regions, and accomplished his childhood dream of wrestling at the NJ State Championships in Atlantic City.

🥇 Junior Year: After winning his first district championship, Gavin suffered a devastating loss in the regional quarterfinals. The disappointment carried into the wrestlebacks, and he admits he wasn't mentally prepared to keep competing.

🎯 Senior Year: He's determined to make sure that doesn't happen again.

In this episode of New Jersey Mat Chat, Gavin opens up about the setbacks, lessons, and motivation driving his final high school season.

---

💬 “There's only one thing on my mind. It's just being a state champ.”

Gavin knows what it's like to have a season end before he's ready.

He knows what it's like to lose when everything is on the line.

And he knows that the only person who can change the outcome is himself.

Now he's entering his final season at Old Bridge with something to prove.

One more season. One more opportunity. One very clear goal. 🏆

---

🎙️ Guest: Gavin Young

🏫 School: Old Bridge High School

🤼 Series: New Jersey Mat Chat

🎬 Episode: 89

🔔 SUBSCRIBE to New Jersey Mat Chat for interviews with the wrestlers, coaches, and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.

💬 COMMENT BELOW: What's harder in wrestling — preparing to win or bouncing back after a devastating loss?

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S

00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet Gavin Young of Old Bridge

04:43 The Concussion That Ended His Freshman Season

05:15 Bouncing Back and Reaching Atlantic City

06:49 Managing Weight and Ignoring Opponents

08:51 Learning From a Devastating Regional Loss

11:06 One Goal: Become a State Champion

12:33 Why Gavin Added Football

14:27 Taking Responsibility on the Wrestling Mat

15:20 Training at Ryze and Old Bridge

16:26 Coach Post and the Old Bridge Wrestling Culture

17:53 College, Careers and Coaching Ambitions

19:04 How Nutrition Changed His Wrestling

20:05 College Decisions and Future Plans

20:40 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

22:09 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

🤼 What does it take to build a championship wrestling program — and help change the sport itself?

Legendary Brick Memorial and Point Pleasant Beach coach Dan O'Cone joins New Jersey Mat Chat's Coach's Corner to discuss his coaching career, the powerhouse Shore Conference, and his role in developing NJ wrestling's prestige-point seeding system.

🏆 From winning back-to-back Group 4 championships at Brick Memorial to helping make tournament seeding fairer, O'Cone has seen New Jersey wrestling from nearly every angle.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

🏆 Building championship teams at Brick Memorial

🤼 Learning from legendary Trenton State coach Dave Icenhower

🔥 The rivalries that made the Shore Conference a powerhouse

📊 How prestige points changed NJ wrestling seeding

🐐 The Damion Hahn problem that exposed flaws in the old system

⚖️ District realignment: fairness vs. tradition

🏟️ The forgotten controversy of Super Regions

🤝 Why coaches must respect wrestling officials

👧 Coaching his daughter Cecilia and growing girls wrestling

💪 Why the future of NJ wrestling is brighter than ever

💬 Do you think NJ wrestling's current district and seeding systems are fair, or should we bring back the old rivalries?

🔔 Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches, and legends who built New Jersey wrestling.

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet Coach Dan O'Cone

18:32 Shore Conference Rivalries & Coaching Philosophy

33:41 Debating Prestige Points and Tournament Seeding

34:58 District Realignment: Fairness vs. Tradition

37:17 What's Best for Wrestlers vs. Fans?

38:05 Could NJ Bring Back Traditional Districts?

41:18 The Wrestlers Who Missed Atlantic City

41:47 The Super Regions Controversy

45:12 A Lesson in Respecting Officials

47:42 Why Coaches Shouldn't Blame Referees

49:23 The Future of Wrestling and the Growth of Girls Wrestling

51:32 Coaching His Daughter and Staying in the Sport

53:23 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

🏆 WHO ARE NEW JERSEY'S 50 GREATEST HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME?

After releasing our Top 50 rankings, Pete and Doug sit down to explain how the list was created, why certain wrestlers made the cut, and what it takes to compare greatness across generations.

🤼 From the legends of the 1970s and 1980s to modern-day champions, ranking NJ wrestling history is anything but simple.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

📊 How our panel developed the Top 50 rankings

🏆 State titles vs. strength of competition

⏳ Comparing wrestlers across different eras

🥇 Why Damion Hahn earned the #1 spot

🔥 The toughest decisions and biggest omissions

🤼 Why one head-to-head result doesn't tell the whole story

📚 Preserving NJ wrestling history for future generations

👀 Current wrestlers who could eventually crack the list

💬 Do you agree with our rankings? Who belongs in the Top 50, and who would you put at #1?

This list is about more than rankings. It's about recognizing the wrestlers who built New Jersey's incredible wrestling tradition.

🔔 Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for interviews, wrestling history, and conversations with NJ's greatest athletes and coaches.

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Why We Created NJ's Top 50

02:43 How the Rankings Were Calculated

04:09 Comparing Wrestling Legends Across Generations

06:58 National Tournaments and Different Eras

07:55 Keeping Wrestling History Alive

08:51 Why One Match Doesn't Determine Greatness

09:23 Learning From the Wrestling Community

12:49 How Wrestling Rules Have Changed

13:16 Current Wrestlers Who Could Make the List

14:16 The Oldest Wrestler on the List

15:33 Why Damion Hahn Is #1

17:19 The Original NJ Wrestling Superstars

18:00 Honorable Mentions and Near Misses

19:40 Jimmy Conroy, Mike Gray and Strength of Competition

21:58 Three-Time vs. Four-Time State Champions

22:56 The Hardest Part of Making the Rankings

23:43 Why We Wish We'd Ranked 100

26:50 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

What defines a great wrestling coach?

Championships? Career wins? State titles?

For legendary Raritan wrestling coach Rob Nucci, the answer goes much deeper.

Nucci became a high school head coach at just 22 years old, taking over Pinelands before eventually building Raritan into one of the Shore Conference's most respected small-school wrestling programs.

Over his coaching career at Raritan, he helped deliver five sectional championships, created one of New Jersey's most intimidating home wrestling environments — The Launch Pad — and built a culture that turned local wrestlers into hometown heroes.

But in this Coach's Corner episode of New Jersey Mat Chat, Nucci opens up about something far more important than his wrestling record.

He discusses losing seven former wrestlers to overdoses, the dozens more he says are in recovery, and how those experiences changed his understanding of coaching, mental health, and the responsibility coaches carry long after athletes graduate.

One of the most memorable moments comes when Nucci is asked whether he'd still be considered a great coach without his hundreds of career victories.

His answer changes the entire conversation.

He talks about seven former wrestlers he lost — and the many others whose lives continue beyond the wrestling room.

Because a coach's impact isn't always measured on a scoreboard.

Sometimes it's measured in the lives they help change.

Guest: Rob Nucci

Programs: Pinelands Regional / Raritan High School

Series: Coach's Corner — New Jersey Mat Chat

Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat as we document the wrestlers, coaches, and legends who shaped New Jersey wrestling.

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet Coach Rob Nucci

03:29 Growing Up in Toms River Wrestling

05:13 From Trenton State to Coaching at 22

06:19 How He Got the Pinelands Job

07:50 The Legendary Coaches Who Shaped Him

09:24 Coaching Was Always His Calling

11:02 Leaving Pinelands for Raritan

12:35 Rich Dunnels: A Coach Who Never Quit

14:05 Why Youth Wrestling Programs Matter

16:00 The Commitment to Keeping Kids at Raritan

17:52 The Personal Cost of Coaching

18:00 The Former Wrestler Who Said You Saved My Life

20:34 Why Parents Must Focus on Effort, Not Wins

21:06 Seven Losses That Still Haunt Him

23:57 How Mental Health Changed His Coaching

26:03 The Launch Pad: Raritan's Legendary Gym

28:00 The DelVal Rivalry and Five Sectional Titles

30:25 The Home-Mat Advantage

32:20 Why NJ Needs More Dual Meets

36:23 Creating Hometown Wrestling Heroes

37:21 Team Championships vs. Individual Success

41:27 How Nucci Developed State-Level Wrestlers

42:40 Is NJ Too Quick to Call Top Stalling?

46:00 Should Coaches Learn to Officiate?

55:00 The Crisis Facing Public School Wrestling

58:26 Why Schools Are Losing Coaches

01:01:00 The Greatest NJ Wrestling Legends

01:03:13 The Coaches Who Built the Shore Conference

01:05:32 The Challenges Facing Small Schools

01:06:40 Nucci's Greatest NJ Wrestler Ever

01:08:09 Final Thoughts and the Value of Small Programs

01:09:15 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

Three high schools.

Three very different experiences.

And Sonny DiMatteo says he wouldn't change the path.

The Point Pleasant Borough senior has already experienced more change during his high school wrestling career than most athletes ever will.

He started at Brick Memorial — the program he had dreamed about wrestling for since elementary school.

As a freshman, he reached the blood round in Atlantic City.

As a sophomore, he placed 4th in New Jersey.

Then he made a major decision.

He transferred to CBA.

One year later, he made another one.

He left CBA and transferred to Point Pleasant Borough for his senior season.

In this episode of New Jersey Mat Chat, Sonny gives an honest look at what went into those decisions and what he's learned along the way.

One of the most interesting things about Sonny's story is that he doesn't pretend every decision worked exactly the way he expected.

CBA wasn't ultimately the right fit.

His wrestling career hasn't followed a straight line.

There were losses.

There were moments he questioned wrestling.

There were transfers.

But when we asked Sonny what he would change if he could do it all again, his answer was basically:

Nothing.

Brick Memorial.

CBA.

Point Pleasant Borough.

That's the path that got him here.

And as Sonny says in this episode:

“Everything happens for a reason.”

Now there's one chapter left.

🤼 Sonny DiMatteo

🏫 Point Pleasant Borough

🥉 NJ State 4th Place

🎟️ 3X NJ State Tournament Competitor

🔥 Shore Thing Wrestling

Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet Sonny DiMatteo

01:41 Growing Up at Shore Thing Wrestling

03:03 Why Sonny Took a Holdback Year

05:33 Why He Always Wanted to Wrestle at Brick Memorial

07:55 Creating His Own Wrestling Season

09:52 Why Sonny Never Bounced Between Wrestling Clubs

13:04 His Freshman & Sophomore Years at Brick Memorial

13:34 Why Sonny Left Brick Memorial for CBA

16:57 Adjusting to Life at CBA

20:12 A Rocky Start to His Junior Wrestling Season

21:23 The Time Sonny Almost Quit Wrestling

22:18 Why March Matters More Than Your Record

23:25 Looking Back at His First Season at CBA

25:23 Why Sonny Left CBA for Point Pleasant Borough

26:31 Choosing to Wrestle With His Brother

28:07 Starting Over at a Third High School

29:17 Becoming a Leader at Point Borough

30:33 Point Borough’s Team Goals

32:14 Sonny’s College Wrestling Recruitment

35:04 His Goals for His Senior Season

36:08 Why Sonny Signed Up for a Marathon

37:54 Advice to His 7-Year-Old Self

38:37 Public vs. Non-Public: What Sonny Learned

40:56 Why He Loves the Small-Town Feel

41:48 Would He Change His High School Path?

42:21 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

42:59 Why Wrestling History Matters

44:15 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro

Orlando Cáceres didn't grow up expecting to become an Olympian.

Born in Puerto Rico to an Air Force family, Orlando eventually landed in Pemberton, New Jersey and started wrestling in seventh grade.

He considers himself an average young wrestler.

Then he got tired of losing.

What followed became one of the great — and often overlooked — stories in New Jersey wrestling history.

Orlando became:

🏆 2X New Jersey State Champion

🐝 Pemberton wrestling legend

🎓 Trenton State wrestler

🇵🇷 Puerto Rican National Team member

🔥 1984 Olympian

🥉 Two points away from an Olympic bronze medal

In this New Jersey Mat Chat Legends episode, Orlando takes us back to a completely different era of wrestling.

🤼 Orlando Cáceres

🏫 Pemberton High School

🏆 2X NJ State Champion

🎓 Trenton State

🇵🇷 1984 Puerto Rican Olympic Team

Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat as we document the wrestlers, coaches and legends who built New Jersey wrestling.

Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'

Now available now on Amazon Prime:

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet NJ Legend Orlando Cáceres

01:52 From Puerto Rico to Pemberton

02:48 How Orlando Started Wrestling

03:06 Why His Parents Wouldn’t Let Him Wrestle Varsity

04:35 Going From Average to Obsessed

05:17 Running Two Miles Before Practice

06:08 Wrestling in the 1970s

06:21 “Go Wrestle Every Bearded Man You See”

07:05 The Pemberton Wrestling Powerhouse

07:42 Becoming a Dark Horse NJ State Champion

08:32 State Final vs. Dale Mills

09:59 The Jump From Junior to Senior Year

10:14 Wrestling Grown Men in Open Tournaments

10:37 Training at Fort Dix With NJ Champions

11:13 Darryl Burley’s Influence

11:39 The 1980 State Final vs. Joe Duca

12:46 The Weight Cutting Mistake

13:09 Getting Recruited by Wrestling Powers

15:14 Becoming Pemberton’s First 2X State Champion

15:51 Why He Backed Out of Iowa

17:09 Choosing Arizona

17:30 Arizona Drops Its Wrestling Program

17:42 Coming Home to Trenton State

18:42 Struggling at Arizona

19:46 Why He Hated Collegiate Wrestling

20:18 Falling in Love With Freestyle

21:25 Coach Milt Schisler’s “Computer Match”

22:44 Why Wrestling Kept Him in College

23:04 Chasing Team USA & Puerto Rico

23:33 Missing the Plane to the USA Trials

24:23 Going Toe-to-Toe With Barry Davis

25:05 Wrestling in the 1984 Olympics

25:48 Orlando’s Olympic Run

26:34 Facing a World Champion From Japan

26:52 Two Points From an Olympic Bronze Medal

27:53 Life After the Olympics

28:36 The NJ Legends Orlando Helped Develop

29:09 Coaching Pat Lynch

29:46 Coaching at Peddie

31:39 Walking Away From Wrestling

32:28 Does an Olympian Have an Obligation to Give Back?

33:03 Gary Remembers Wrestling Orlando

34:07 Why Orlando Stepped Away From Coaching

35:20 Would He Have Made His Son Wrestle?

36:21 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

37:38 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro