Boguszewski resigned as Eastern’s head football coach after three years.
Former Eastern Regional High School football head coach Daniel Boguszewski said he thought his team was going in the right direction. Eastern had its best record under Boguszewski in 2016, improving to 4–6 after going 1–9 the previous two seasons.
Boguszewski resigned from his position after three years. Jason Hill, vice principal of athletics at Eastern, announced Boguszewski’s resignation in a statement on Monday.
“(Boguszewski) has made a positive impact on the lives of his student-athletes and the community,” the statement read. “The Eastern Regional school district is appreciative of his hard work and dedication over these past three years.”
Hill and Boguszewski declined further explanation on the resignation.
Boguszewski will continue to teach health and physical education at Eastern.
“I thought the program here, coming off a championship run, we basically had to kind of restart after that,” he explained. “We had to hit a reset button, start a fresh new program and build our way back up. I thought the kids were buying into the program and taking a shift in the right direction.”
Boguszewski said the things he’ll miss the most are the kids and the coaching staff.
“It was phenomenal,” he said. “I had a great group of guys. The biggest thing I always asked for when we tried to establish a coaching staff was loyalty, and these guys were second to none. They were extremely supportive through thick and thin, and they were willing to do whatever for the better of the program and the kids.”
Assistant football coach Gary Worthington spoke highly of Boguszewski, saying he was always energetic, exciting to work with and a players’ coach.
“This was the first time in a long time that the kids started believing in the process of what their role is as a student athlete,” Worthington said.
Boguszewski instilled the players to be the best teammates to each other and also be community minded by serving the public. The players put together food drives and joined the organization A Few Good Men, whose mission is to transform student athletes into leaders and “ambassadors representing the character, values and way of life that when emulated by others, makes the world a better place.” Boguszewski also got the athletes involved in the Read Across America program for the feeder schools in the Eastern school district — Berlin, Gibbsboro and Voorhees.
“The teachers were excited to see them, and the kids looked up to them as celebrities, which made the guys feel great as well,” he said.
Even though the records showed otherwise, Worthington said they played competitively, and most importantly he says, Boguszewski brought Eastern pride back to the players and students on and off the field.
“We lost pride in Eastern football, and I think he brought that energy back,” he said. “Kids were really embracing having that jersey on and wanting to play on Friday nights. He got the energy back into the school by having pep rallies and brought kids back to the stands. I think regardless of whether we won or not, kids were excited to watch football and be supportive. That’s what Danny Boguszewski brought to the Eastern football program.”
Outside of friends and family, Boguszewski said football is his favorite thing, and he doesn’t rule out coaching again in the future.
“It’s such a part of my life, I would imagine at some point again I’d be coaching,” he said. “I would like to thank everyone for their support and the community for being so great and open when I first came here. My focus now is to maintain being a (Eastern) Viking, taking care of my family and being here as long as I can.”
