Vincent Almeida admits it felt weird not spending the final weeks of summer getting ready for the upcoming fall sports season, either as a coach or, as he had the previous eight years as the athletic director at Kearny High School.
This is the reality that Almeida is experiencing for the first time in more than two decades after recently stepping down as Kearny’s athletic director to become vice principal at Franklin School.
“This is the first time in 23 years that’s the case,” said Almeida. “It’s very bizarre, but I’m taking advantage of it to spend time with my family and relax. But it’s odd for sure.
“I’m excited for a new year. It’ll be a little bit different, but it’ll be fun.”
Almeida took over as Kearny’s athletic director in January of 2017, following the retirement of John Millar. During Almeida’s time as athletic director, the Kardinals won several division and county titles in multiple sports.
Kearny’s boys soccer team won Group 4 state championships in 2017 and 2021, in addition to reaching a state final in 2023 and three Hudson County Tournament titles. The girls soccer team, which won eight consecutive Hudson County championships under Almeida’s stint as head coach prior, continued its dynasty with seven more county titles in a row.
Kearny’s success extended beyond its signature sport with Almeida reflecting upon boys volleyball winning a county title in 2022, highlighting its rise onto the statewide radar, as well as division titles won by baseball and boys basketball among others.
During Almeida’s tenure, Kearny introduced the sport of ice hockey, where it, along with North Arlington and Secaucus, won the McMullen Cup in 2022 and 2024.
“(The soccer state titles) stick out. Winning a division championship for baseball sticks out,” Almeida recalled. “Sending multiple kids down to the state for wrestling is a special moment. Doing things like getting the ice hockey team to a varsity status, winning the McMullen Cup two years later was special.
“Obviously we’re known as Soccertown USA. That’s a big part of our DNA and always will be. But other sports have been successful and volleyball in particular, is growing fast and hopefully that could become a sport that we’re known for as well throughout the state.”
For the past two school years, Almeida has also served as president of the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League and has been a longtime member of the Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey.
Almeida, a star soccer player at St. Benedict’s and later Rutgers University, first got his start at Kearny as a freshman boys soccer coach for Millar, a job he held for five seasons. Almeida was an assistant girls soccer coach for one season before taking over as head coach in 2008.
Prior to Almeida’s second season as head coach, Kearny joined the HCIAL and was a participant in the newly-founded Hudson County Tournament. Almeida’s Kardinals teams won the first eight County Tournaments and was a perennial contender in North 1, Group 4, while producing several college soccer players.
In addition, Almeida spent multiple seasons as an assistant coach for wrestling in the winter and track in the spring.
Despite his new job within the Kearny School District, Almeida knows he’ll still be involved with athletics. The big difference is that he’ll be there as a fan, something Almeida is looking forward to.
“Absolutely (I’ll be there),” Almeida said. “Now I can be there and I don’t have to worry about the crowd going crazy. I don’t have to worry about the kids or the coaches going crazy. I can just enjoy.Tht’at probably going to be the best part of not being the AD is being able to attend these events and just relax. No worries, no thoughts other than just enjoying the game.”
Longtime bowling coach Alan Correnti has been appointed to replace Almeida as Kearny’s new athletic director. We’ll have more on Correnti in next week’s Observer.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)