RFH coach Robert Orrok earns national recognition from NHSSCA
RUMSON, N.J. — There鈥檚 been a lot of positive buzz regarding Coach Orrok since he was hired by RFH in 2012. He is a teacher of Health, Nutrition, and Physical Education and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. Over the last decade in Rumson, his mission has been to grow our strength and conditioning program into 鈥渟omething that can reach all of our kids and be sustainable and manageable.鈥� He recognizes the weight our kids are carrying in their management of academic, extracurricular, family and social expectations. He works to help students find ways to make training, proper nutrition and sleep part of their lives in ways that are simple, repeatable, and sustainable.
Having his students change their view on exercise/nutrition to a necessary daily activity like brushing their teeth or taking out the garbage has had a compounding impact on our kids. Orrok says, 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 need to be a big, spectacular, entertaining life-altering event. I like telling the kids to 鈥榡ust move dirt.鈥� Some days you will wake up and feel like you have a giant backhoe and other days you are going to feel like you have a spoon. On the backhoe days get after it and push yourself. On the spoon days just move a little and move on with your life and don鈥檛 feel bad about it either.鈥�
It is not surprising and very well-deserved that Rumson-Fair Haven High School & Coach Orrok have earned national recognition as an NHSSCA Program of Excellence.聽This is an organization that was developed by high school coaches to recognize high school coaches. Sarah Fitzgerald of RFH shares, 鈥淭o earn this honor, Coach Orrok & Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School have displayed excellence in safety, quality, efficacy, outreach & highlighting. They have additionally displayed excellence in continuing education & technology usage in the RFH Strength & Conditioning program.鈥�
Orrok has had strong modeling from family members to his own high school teacher. He recalls the strength of his mother, the work ethic of his grandfather who grew up as an orphan during the Great Depression and the drive of his Uncle Nick who at the young age of 14 immigrated from Greece and found his way to success solely through hard work. 鈥淢y high school math teacher and football/baseball/weight room coach Walt Currie, currently head football coach at Brick Memorial, definitely had a big impact on my life as a role model,鈥� shares Orrok. Rob can sometimes hear Currie鈥檚 voice coming through as he speaks to his own students.
Orrok enjoys spending time with friends, cooking, listening to books and podcasts while walking his dog, vacationing with his wife and working on his house and lawn. While there are certainly challenges to finding work/life balance, Coach Orrok finds inspiration in watching his students grow, develop, improve and achieve success. He adds, 鈥淲atching them walk in as tiny uncoordinated freshmen and walk out physically superior to me shocks me every year. I love talking to them about their goals and interests and what they want to do in life as they figure themselves out over the course of 4 years.鈥�
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