There’s a Reason Why Mike Carter is as Good as They Get – TAPinto.net
BLOOMFIELD, NJ–
Father.
Husband.
Son.
Cousin.
Uncle.
Educator.
Coach.
Brother.
Mentor.
And let’s not forget, a Friend.
Those who know him can easily apply one, or more, of the aforementioned terms to Mike Carter, a life-long resident of Bloomfield.
Carter attended Bloomfield High and later, with his beloved wife, Gerise (Geri to most) raised five children, all of whom attended Bloomfield High, as well. Mike Jr. is the eldest of the Carters’ children, followed by Kelly, Dan, Brian and Megan.
A long-time educator in the Bloomfield school system, Mike is beginning his 31st season as head football coach at his alma mater. He was also the school’s head baseball coach for over a decade, leading the 1996 Bengals to its only Greater Newark Tournament championship since the tourney became an Essex County-only format in 1973, as well as an appearance in the 1997 title game.
Large families are nothing new to Mike. The son of Pat and the late Robert Carter, Mike is one of six children born to the couple. In a recent article I wrote on Pat’s legendary father, John Gibson, Mrs. Carter noted the following:
“When dad passed away (on Dec. 29, 2006), he left behind five children (son Edward had predeceased him), as well as 19 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren and nine great-great grandchildren. Those numbers have gone up since then,” said Mrs. Carter, whose four siblings continue to thrive today.
Read more about the great John Gibson here:
Geri and Mike’s youngest, daughter Megan, 19, is a freshman at Montclair State University, and aspiring nursing student. The always-upbeat teenager provided some beautiful reflections of her father.
“He’s always helped me with sports, and was at my softball games (when she played at Bloomfield High),” said Megan. “When my mom passed away, he had to take on two roles, and he’s really done it well. He has a very busy life, but he’s there for us. We’re always first with him.”
The Sunday morning routine includes an early stop at a local bagel shop, where Mike enjoys one (or two) bacon and egg sandwiches on a bagel. He then bags up additional bagels and some Gatorades to bring home to his children, four of whom reside in the family home.
Megan now plays club softball at Montclair State, and recently, Mike was on hand for a triple header of games on a Sunday afternoon, watching from the outfield.
Eldest daughter Kelly, now 23, recalls her father’s love of old television shows, namely ‘The Honeymooners’ and ‘The There Stooges.’ Kelly is completing her studies for a Master’s Degree from William Paterson University.
“My father has always been there, from my days at Bloomfield High, playing soccer, basketball and softball,” said Kelly. “He’d usually sit by himself at a game, but it wasn’t difficult for me to find him, whereever he was sitting or standing. When I was little, he and I would do catch phrases, like ‘see you later’ and I’d say ‘alligator’. One day, I forgot to finish the phrase, and I called him at work to finish it. Stuff like that. We’d always have fun together.”
The compliments about Mike are many, and yet, Carter, while appreciating the praise, seems to downplay the effect he’s had on others.
He shouldn’t, and here are just a few examples why.
For a half century, Ken Trimmer had been coaching and developing football players in Essex County. He did so with a straight-forward, old-school approach. He throws compliments around with the ease of a proverbial manhole cover.
But when Trimmer was asked about Carter, there’s no question where Trimmer stands.
“You will not meet a better man, both as a friend and a coach,” said Trimmer. “There is no question about it. This is someone who does it right, every day. A complete gentleman and a hard-working coach. I’ve known him for almost 30 years and have felt this way from the first time I met him.”
Trimmer’s Caldwell High teams would often scrimmage Carter’s Bengals in August. And, since the inception of the Robeson Football Classic, in 1994, Carter has been by Trimmer’s side in making the All-Star game the success it is today.
“Mike is not only an excellent coach, but he’s always giving back to his family, his coaching family and his players, past and present,” said Trimmer.
Family. It continues to resonate with Mike Carter, in so many ways.
“When my mother passed away, my father took on two roles,” recalled daughter, Kelly. “And it was really special to see, because he knew he could use advice and assistance, and he never hesitated to ask. That meant a lot to me. We were all in a transitional period in our lives then. Dad always likes to group text, too. He has fun communicating.
“My dad also helped raised money for charities, and encourages people who may have depression to get help.”
After serving as an assistant coach to Chet Parlavecchio, at Bloomfield High, for three years, Carter took over as head coach at his alma mater, in 1991. Mike had played for the Bengals and then-head coach Sam Cavallaro, from 1975-1978.
Mike’s influence on his children speaks volumes, but to anyone who knows Carter, it’s no surprise.
“Coaching with my father has always been a goal of mine growing up,” said Mike Carter Jr., who was a tremendous athlete at Bloomfield High, and later a star baseball player at Rutgers University. “I’ve always looked up to him, and the way he carries himself. He’s never shied away from a challenge, and is the first one there when someone is in need of help. He loves what he does, and brings a never-ending energy approach to life every single day.”
Mike Jr. is now a rising educator in the Bloomfield school system, and an assistant on the football coaching staff.
MIddle son, Brian, is a talented musician.
“My father is incredibly supportive,” said Brian. “He comes to my concerts and always asks how I’m doing with my music.”
Mike’s never-ending energy was also observed by a long-time friend and coaching colleague. Bill Johnson, who first met Carter when the former was an assistant football coach at Montclair State in the early 1990’s, has become close to Mike.
Bill Johnson also got to know Carter through Jermain Johnson, who played at Bloomfield High from 1987-1990, while Carter was Parlavecchio’s assistant and later, at Montclair State, where Johnson was on that coaching staff. Bill Johnson also served as an assistant coach at Bloomfield, on Carter’s staff, from 2004-2008.
“I had been the head (football) coach at Passaic Valley, prior to coming to Bloomfield,” said Johnson, who now has a few state championship rings for his work as an assistant coach at St. Joseph (Montvale) and St. Peter’s Prep, after two good stints as the head coach at Passaic Valley (1999-2003 and 2012-2014). “Mike and I had become friends and when I left PV, there was an opening for me at Bloomfield. Well, my first year there, I had seen the way Mike works and cares for his players.
“I thought I was good to my kids when I was a head coach. But when I got to Bloomfield and saw all the things Mike did to help his players, on and off the field, I was embarrassed. I was like ‘wow, this man is really something.’”
Bill Johnson was also impressed by Carter’s work ethic.
“Mike has an insatiable quest for learning football,” said Johnson. “There would be times he’d call and say ‘Moose (a favorite nickname among Carter’s coaching pals), there’s a (football) clinic in Syracuse, let’s take a ride,’” recalled Johnson, with a laugh. “There’s no place he wouldn’t go, to get better at what he does.”
Mike’s match-making skills are also well documented. He introducted Bill Johnson to his now wife and once forsaw his daughters future boyfriend, Chris Palmieri, also a Bloomfield High student.
“I’m in lunch one day, at Bloomfield High, and my dad, since he teaches at Bloomfield, was on cafeteria duty,” recalled Kelly Carter. “So he looks at me from across the cafeteria and calls me over. He says ‘you see that guy over there?’ and I said ‘yes’. And dad says ‘he likes you.’ Well, seven years later, we’re still dating.”
Getting lunch money at school wasn’t difficult, either, for any of Geri and Mike’s children.
“I’d pop by one of his classes if I needed $5.00 for lunch,” said Kelly, with a laugh. “It was good having him close by.”
When he’s not doting on his children, or throwing tennis balls to his three beloved dogs Scarlet, Philly and Roxie in the backyard, Mike spends a lot of time in front of his computer, working on football techniques and formations. After 30 years as a head coach, there’s plenty more he feels he can learn.
Dan Carter, Mike’s middle son, is a student-athlete at William Paterson University, and now has the chance to coach football on his dad’s staff. Like his older brother, Dan is a tremendous collegiate baseball player, and like Mike Jr., also played football at Bloomfield.
“Living in a football house, I have gotten to experience many different phases of football, from being the ball boy, to a player, to now a coach,” said Dan. “And one thing has remained the same, my father, Coach Carter, has been there every step of the way.
“Given the opportunity to coach alongside my father, my brother Mike, and my cousin Jason (Tiseo), has been some of the most memorable and enjoying moments of my life.”
On a recent day, Carter is driving around town, doing the usual errands. At just about any stop for a red light, or stop sign, he’d be recognized by someone crossing the street, or walking on a nice day. At one intersection, where a police officer was directing traffic, Mike tapped on his horn to say hello, and the officer responded with a respectful salute.
“Yeah, that’s a normal day for him,” said daughter Megan, with a laugh. “He’s always going somewhere, and he always knows someone.”
Megan also noted some fun times, driving with her dad.
“He’ll blast the music in the car,” she said. “Dad loves Rock and Roll and Country music, and really likes the Beetles and Willie Nelson. And he’s a pretty good singer, too. He’ll be around the house sometime, singing. He’s not bad.
“And don’t get him started on the all the concerts he’s attended all these years. He loves music.”
Competing against Carter’s football teams has always been a challenge. Just ask Nutley High’s Steve DiGregorio. The two men share a close friendship, and have been head coaches at their high school alma maters.
“If you think about it, for a man to coach at the school he played for and graduated, for over 30 years, that’s really something,” said DiGregorio. “You don’t see that too much anymore.
“Mike Carter is everything a football coach is supposed to be. He’s a class act. We actually graduated high school in the same year, but we didn’t know each other when we were kids, even though we played locally. Back then, Bloomfield and Nutley didn’t play during the regular season, but we always scrimmaged Bloomfield.
“I remember Mike’s older brother (Gibby), but it wasn’t until I was an assistant coach at Princeton (University) that I got to know Mike. We were recruiting one of Mike’s players at Bloomfield High, Ernie Stefanelli, and developed a friendship.”
DiGregorio and Carter would coach against each other in the NNJIL days, when DiGregorio got the head coaching job at Paramus Catholic, and the rivalry continued when Steve was named head coach at Nutley, in 2004.
“I think it’s great that Mike gets the chance to coach with two of his sons,” said DiGregorio. “That’s really something. Mike’s children and my kids are about the same age. I had the chance to coach my sons, when they played high school football, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. I know Mike enjoyed coaching Mike Jr. and Dan, and now, they’re on his staff. That’s special, and it couldn’t happen to a better family.”
Family. There’s that word again.
It certainly holds a special place for Mike Carter, Sr. As mentioned, he comes from a large family. Mike’s siblings are Gibby, Jerry, Kathy, Margie and the late Patti.
And speaking of the gridiron family, Carter and Chet Parlavecchio haven’t coached together for nearly 30 years, but the friendship remains intact.
Parlavecchio will be one of four coaches inducted into the Essex County Football Coaches Hall of Fame this coming May. It was Carter who called Parlavecchio to deliver the news.
At a function to honor the 1989 Bloomfield Bengals a few years back, Parlavecchio was quick to acknowledge Carter’s accomplishments as a head coach. Parlavecchio had guided a once-winless Bengals program (the team hadn’t won a game from 1983-1987) to the NJSIAA playoffs just two years after an 0-9 season, in Parlavecchio’s first year as head coach, in 1987.
“There is no better person, and no better friend than Mike Carter,” said Parlavecchio of his one-time assistant, at the beginning of his speech, as the audience stood and applauded. “He is what class is all about.”
Phil Delgado is today a successful softball coach and mentor. He’s the head coach at Bloomfield College. A generation ago, Delgado played football for Carter.
“That man saved my life, literally,” said Delgado of Carter. “I named my son after him. I don’t know where’d I’d be without Mike Carter.”
As he enters the 2021 season, Carter has been the head coach at Bloomfield for over 300 games. Other than the legendary William Foley, Carter has more time on the job than any other BHS football coach. (Foley was head coach for 36 years, Carter is beginning his 31st season).
Mike has helped countless players and students accomplish their goals, in college and in life.
The Carter coaching tree also has plenty of roots.
Gerald Carter is the head bowling and golf coach at Sparta High, Gibby Carter was a high school coach and later, an administrator, Brendan Donegan is the head track coach at Roxbury High School, Daniel Gibson is the head basketball coach at Sussex Tech and Jason Tiseo is the head baseball coach at Passaic Valley High School. Mike Carter Jr. is now an assistant football and baseball coach at his alma mater while Dan Carter is an assistant football coach.
When it comes to Mike Carter Sr., the biggest accolades still come from his children.
And yes, it’s about family, again.
“We put a television outside in the backyard last year,” said Kelly Carter. “And sometimes my dad will sit back there, with a fire in the pit, and watch a game, and just chill out. He does so much. It’s good to see him relax, when he can.”
The sons and now coaches also appreciate their dad’s wisdom.
“I learn something new every day, being around my father,” said Dan Carter. “My father still guides us all through life by setting a great example on how to be a leader, father, and great coach.”
Mike Carter’s focus is always on the future, with love in his heart for his children.
“When I was younger I would talk to him about future career paths I wanted to take,” said Mike Jr. “He explained, ‘do something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ It’s that kind of optimism and perspective on life that gives him the energy to make himself and everyone around him better every day.”