By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
Adam DiLorenzo was content.
A middle school mathematics teacher at the Orange School District in Essex County, the 30-year-old North Jersey native had no aspirations of relocating. That changed when his wife, Jen, mentioned the possibility of moving back to her hometown after a teaching position opened at West Deptford.
“At the end of the year in 2015, (Jen) said, ‘Adam, there’s an opening in my hometown middle school,’” said DiLorenzo, who was born and raised in Maywood, N.J. “I literally looked her dead in the face and said, ‘If I interview, I’m going to get that job.’
“I interviewed and got the job. We literally had to sell everything. My parents lived up there. We had a little baby girl in 2013, so she’s 2 years old at the time. We were pregnant at the time, and so we had to go ahead, and we had two months to sell our house and find a spot down here.”
A decade has gone by since he made the life-changing decision to move to South Jersey — and perhaps it’s proven to be one of the best he’s ever made.
After spending the last 10 years teaching at West Deptford Middle School, DiLorenzo was named the new athletic director at West Deptford High last summer.
“I’m really excited. I’ve always had my degree; I passed the Praxis for my license and I never thought I would use it,” said DiLorenzo, who earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2007 and masters in Educational Leadership from Capella University in 2015. “I wasn’t looking for (administrative) jobs, but this job just spoke to me.
“Being in the community, I have the chance to make decisions that are going to impact my own children in two years. It’s really cool. I’m not looking for any other job. I don’t want to be a principal. Not that it fell into my lap, but the opportunity did. And then that’s literally what I interviewed on.”
A 2003 Hackensack High graduate, DiLorenzo was a three-year varsity letter winner in baseball and a four-year varsity bowler. He met Jen while studying at Rutgers-Newark.
“My junior year — her sophomore year — we had a class together, American Immigration,” he recalled. “I literally walked out and told one of her friends, ‘She’s going to be my girlfriend by the end of the semester.’ We have been connected ever since.”
The pair began dating in 2005 and officially tied the knot in 2011. Jen, a 2004 graduate of West Deptford and a 2008 alumna of Rutgers-Newark, played soccer during her scholastic years and has served as West Deptford’s head girls soccer coach since 2017. Under her guidance, the Eagles finished with a 15-6-1 record and captured the South Jersey Group 2 title last fall.
After moving in with Jen’s parents in the Greenfield Heights section of West Deptford for the initial year after the move in 2016, they relocated to Washington Township. That arrangement only lasted four years, until the housing market skyrocketed during COVID in 2020.
“During Covid, we looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s sell, because we know we can get a lot of money right now,’” he said.
In 2021, they brought their “dream home” in the Meravan Farms community in West Deptford.
It’s been a worthwhile journey for West Deptford’s newest athletic director, who will now have the special opportunity to play an instrumental role in his own children’s high school experience. The DiLorenzos have three daughters: MacKenzie, 12, Peyton, 9, and Halsey, 7 — all of whom plan to play soccer when they reach high school. That time isn’t too far away for MacKenzie, who is currently in seventh grade at the middle school.
“The fact that I taught all these kids in high school through middle school, and now I can be with them as an administrator, that means a lot to me,” said DiLorenzo, who was also previously an assistant baseball coach at Hackensack and West Deptford. “Doing these senior days means something. Really shaking these hands and talking to these parents, they know me. I didn’t have to get to know these student athletes, and that’s half the battle.”
“That’s what I ran on. I can’t say I had 15 years of administrative experience. I have zero experience. But I have the experience with the community, I have the experience with the culture of what this town is, I have the experience with the students and the parents. And the fact that I’m still connected to the seventh graders, I don’t have to get to know the freshman group in two years. I already know them. There’s no learning curve right now. And that’s winning me half of my battles. To walk into this building with 700-plus students, I know 610 of them.”
For DiLorenzo, his mindset is simple: there’s no job too big, and no job too small. He’s not the type of administrator who spends most of his time in the office. Instead, he prefers to be hands-on with his involvement.
“Every time I walk outside, I make it a point to pick up some trash,” he said. “I sodded this morning. We did the goal mounds. I was out there with the grounds crew for two hours this morning. I love getting my hands dirty.”
“The fact that they trusted me in this position means a lot. I have so much support. Throughout the community, the support has been tremendous. I bring a good, positive, optimistic energy to things. I’m always looking for solutions. No job too big, no job too small.”
Adam DiLorenzo is as pro-South Jersey as you could imagine for someone born and raised 14 miles from Madison Square Garden. And now he gets to make his own mark on one of our region’s top small-school athletic programs.
“The opportunity to be in the community and develop leaders and to just promote township pride, I know what this town is. I’m not from here. This town took me in. I feel like an adopted son, in a sense,” DiLorenzo explained. “To give back to the community — that pride, that passion, that commitment to excellence — this is blue collar down here. We don’t spend thousands of dollars on lessons.
“The fact that I taught all these kids in high school when they were in middle school, and now I can be with them as an administrator, that means a lot to me, too.”
What people from all stages of his journey have to say about Adam DiLorenzo:
Gerrit Troisi, DiLorenzo’s high school teammate and best friend:
“I’ve known Adam DiLorenzo for a long time, and one thing has always been constant — his commitment to doing things the right way. Adam leads with heart, shows up for people and holds himself to a standard that inspires everyone around him. West Deptford isn’t just gaining an athletic director, they are gaining a leader who cares deeply, demands excellence, and never loses compassion. His impact will reach far beyond the scoreboard and into the lives of every West Deptford Eagle.
“I’ve watched him lead. I’ve watched him mentor. I’ve watched him change people for the better. And now, I get to watch him step into the role he was meant for and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Frank DiLorenzo, Adam’s brother and current baseball coach at Hackensack High:
“He does everything he can to get the community involved and the students involved. It’s not an easy job. It’s very different from being a math teacher. He’s taking it on, full steam ahead, and he’s loving it. I’m so proud of him.”
Mark Rizzi, DiLorenzo’s baseball coach at Rutgers-Newark:
“I couldn’t be happier to see Adam named athletic director at West Deptford High. He has always brought passion into everything he does and leads in a quiet, steady way that earns respect. His dedication, consistency and competence have continued after his playing days, and I have no doubt he will be a tremendous asset to the West Deptford athletic community. He is truly the kind of person you want to follow.
