Schools
Former Fort Lee High School Student Has Coaching in His Blood, Future Plans
Demba Mane coaches for the love of the game(s).
Demba Mane loves coaching, and he plans on continuing his career in it for years to come.
Mane, a former student, has been coaching since 2002; he currently coaches girls track and girls freshman basketball and is an assistant coach for the boys soccer team. But that's just part of the story.
"My journey has been quite different from most of my coaching peers," Mane said. "I arrived in the U.S. a month before I started my freshman year with my diplomat parents, which was in 1991, from Guinea-Bissau."
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Guinea-Bissau is a small country on the western coast of Africa, Mane explained, and he said he arrived in Fort Lee speaking no English.
"At Fort Lee High School I immediately reported for soccer and then went out for track in the spring," Mane said. "I continued competing all year round for the rest of high school. Club soccer was just starting, and I ended up being invited to play on Tenafly's traveling team."
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In addition to being a great coach, Mane was quite the athlete during his Fort Lee High School career, making first team all-league in soccer during his sophomore, junior and senior years. He continued his soccer career at Bergen Community College and Rutgers University.
Coaching comes naturally for Mane, who says he loves every second of it.
"My most rewarding part of coaching is working with kids and watching them improve," he said. "High school sports give one many rewarding memories, and I hope to help kids become successful students, athletes and adults.”
Mane has had many memorable moments at Fort Lee High School as both an athlete and a coach, but one person in particular made a real impact that Mane still feels today.
“During my sophomore year, Jon Peppard was the captain of the track team," Mane said. "His work ethic, the way in which he treated his teammates and his confidence had a deep impact on me. The exciting way in which he won the gold medal in the 1600 meters league meet taught me a lot about boldness and perseverance.”
Mane hopes to become a certified Math teacher soon and also hopes to become a head soccer coach. When he's not coaching, he runs for fun and plays soccer in the tri-state area.
