Princeton High's Soccer Coach Helped Players Excel When the Pressure Is Greatest -- Evan Gershkovich Understood

Princeton, NJ -- Wayne Sutcliffe is a former Princeton High School head soccer coach – with no desire to star as a United States vice presidential candidate or as the lead character in a highly rated television series. Maybe that’s because his first name does not begin with a T, as in Ted Lasso or Tim Walz.

Wayne, however, during this past year of “retirement,” has become a media star, thanks to one of his former soccer players, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich . Evan, a Class of 2010 Princeton High soccer phenom, made international news after spending 18 months in a Russian prison on unsubstantiated espionage charges.

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At Conte’s this past Sunday afternoon, August 25, Wayne was among Evan’s friends, teammates, and Princeton High School staff celebrating -- with beer and pizza -- Evan’s freedom that occurred three weeks ago. Evan was not there, so the attending media turned their microphones and cameras on Coach Wayne, who fielded lots of questions about Evan, Wayne’s relationship with Evan, but very few questions about the coach himself.

Since his retirement in April, 2023, after 26 years of what the students and parents call “legend-level” coaching at PHS, Wayne is still called “coach,” and he still misses “certain parts of coaching the Princeton team, like being with the players and the coaching staff,” he says.

Wayne Sutcliffe in his 26 years as coach guided Princeton to more than 300 victories, two state championships, four trips to the state final, seven Central Jersey sectional titles, six Mercer County Tournament championships and 19 Colonial Valley Conference division crowns. Coach notes that Evan Gershkovich played a key role in the team’s win over Millburn in the 2009 state championship game.

Actually, Wayne is very happy being known as a teacher -- specifically, a health, anatomy, and physical education teacher at Princeton High School. Even though he is not coaching right now, soccer coaching is “in his blood,” and he plans to return in the near future to club level coaching.

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Evan’s arrest in Russia occurred in March, 2023, one month prior to Coach Wayne’s planned retirement. But the event thrust Wayne into an unexpected and unofficial coaching endeavor – a team effort to accomplish the “most important victory imaginable” -- winning Evan’s freedom.

I first met Wayne Sutcliffe on September 26, 2023, a cool, damp day at the Princeton High School soccer field. He started coaching at PHS shortly after my kids graduated. I never was a soccer mom and as an editor/writer, I never interviewed a soccer coach or any coach, for that matter. All my coaching intelligence has been gleaned from watching Ted Lasso and Friday Night Lights. I came to the soccer field on that September afternoon not to watch soccer but to join the community’s effort to bring Evan Gershkovich home .

Now that Evan is free, I decided it was time for me to break out of my journalism rut and interview the coach who is known not only as Evan’s coach, but also a much-loved member of the Princeton High School community for nearly 30 years.

Question: Focusing on you – not Evan - how did you end up working in the Princeton School District?

Answer: Born and raised in Moorestown, NJ, I have played soccer nearly all of my life – that’s probably a literal statement. I followed in my father’s footsteps, who was a coach and phys-ed teacher. At Temple University, I majored in physical education, and have been coaching soccer ever since.

Prior to coming to Princeton High School, I coached for Moorestown Friends. I applied for the job at Princeton High School, but really had no expectations that I would get this highly sought-after job that had 50 applicants to replace the legendary Ron Selesta, who had guided the soccer program to a state title. He had left to become an assistant coach for Princeton University women’s soccer. I was very fortunate and was hired in 1997. The pressure was really intense because two years prior, Princeton High School had won the Group 2 state championship.

As soon as I got to Princeton, I felt at home. I relocated to the area – first to Rocky Hill then to Princeton. The students and coaching staff became family to me. I had two assistant coaches during the time I coached Evan: Carlos Salazar and Salvy Baldino). I initially met Salvy in 1997 when he was a goalie on the soccer team that I had just been hired to coach. Even though neither one of us is coaching soccer nowadays, we are still great friends.

Question: Since your father inspired your career, have you passed on the soccer-playing gene to another generation in your family?

Answer: Liam Sutcliffe, PHS graduate, Class of 2018, is a talented jazz musician (trumpet)  and was a member of the PHS Studio Jazz Band. Liam is now getting his master’s degree at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, and often performs in town. I did not have the skills to coach him in his chosen profession, but supported him 100 percent.

Question: How would you describe your coaching style?

Answer: I try to be innovative and relatable, a “players coach,” one who can instill belief in every player about his value and to enjoy all aspects of the game.

I often tried to help players be at their best when the pressure is greatest.

Question: Evan’s imprisonment clearly was “pressure at its greatest” for him. What about him do you think enabled him to survive his imprisonment with such aplomb?

Answer: The video footage of Evan getting off the plane shows an Evan, walking out as though nothing had happened to him (until he greets his mom). A reporter asked how he felt, and he gave his signature cheeky grin and a typical undramatic Evan response, something like “It was a good flight, not much turbulence.” And of course, Evan indicated that he still would like to interview Putin – in spite of the trauma of the past 18 months.

None of this surprises me or anyone who knows Evan. He came to us as a rising freshman. Everyone on the coaching staff was so impressed not only with his very high soccer IQ, but also with his personality – a resilient, intelligent, calm demeanor combined with a great sense of humor.

He never admitted to having a bad day, never was entitled, never complained about the intense training - six days per week during the season, along with continuous strength training all year long. He always was one of the funniest, brightest personalities in the room.”

Question: What did you do specifically to contribute to the “StandWithEvan” “Free Evan” movement?

Answer: In reality, there was nothing I did that actually got Evan back home. I along with current PHS students and his former classmates and parents and coaching staff members were shocked and sleepless but never stopped participating in Free-Evan activities for the entire 16 months.

We were just hoping that our various actions of working with the Wall Street Journal (rallies, buttons, T-shirts, letter writing, talking to media) would raise awareness – shine a spotlight – 24/7 on the situation. We participated in the Wall Street Journal’s Readathon – a 24-hour continuous reading of Evan’s Wall Street Journal articles. We were preparing ourselves mentally and emotionally for a long imprisonment. And now we are overwhelmingly grateful to the United States and other countries that cooperated to facilitate Evan’s freedom.

Question: What is the next chapter for Coach Wayne? (if not politics or television)

Answer: First and foremost, I look forward to welcoming Evan home. I know he and his family do not live here anymore, but we still claim him as part of our family. I really hope to see him in the near future. His story is an incredible one, but many others who are part of the soccer family also have stories worth communicating. And the most meaningful aspect of this soccer family are the bonds and connections that have formed and last for decades.

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