John Jay star Theresa Swertfager returns as coach

Theresa Swertfager-Assumma back on the court at John Jay ready for her first season as head varsity volleyball court for the Wolves. Jim MacLean Photo

By JIM MACLEAN

Sometimes the stars align, with perfect timing and a perfect opportunity for a perfect candidate.

That is certainly the case for former John Jay two-sport star Theresa Swertfager. One of the best athletes in John Jay history, she was a two-time All-State star captain in volleyball and led the Wolves to a Section 1 title, and she was an All-State captain in softball and went on to play collegiate softball for NCAA powerhouse University of Florida. She will be inducted into the John Jay Hall of Fame this fall.

And now, she is coming home, named as the new head varsity coach in both volleyball and softball at John Jay. Both coaching positions opened up this year, and John Jay was lucky to have the perfect candidate willing to come back to her alma mater. Perfect timing for what has already been an amazing year for Swertfager. 

She did the interview process with John Jay Athletic Director Christian McCarthy and got the coaching jobs. She starts a new job this fall teaching at Meadow Pond Elementary School and she bought a house in the district. And she now goes by the name Theresa Assumma as she got married three weeks ago to fellow John Jay alum Stephen Assumma, and they just returned from their honeymoon in Italy.

“It’s a little surreal, this has always been my dream to come back to John Jay,” admitted Assumma. “Now that it’s happening, it’s an honor and I’m very excited. I’m born and bred John Jay, it’s all I’ve known. This is my homecoming, and I’m being inducted into the Hall of Fame. McCarthy knew I wanted to be here and he believed in me. Volleyball and softball are my two specialties, so it was a perfect fit. It was my dream, it was meant to be, and it’s been an amazing ride.”

She can’t remember the first time she walked into the John Jay gym because she has been coming there since the day she was born. From day one every day of her life has been influenced by sports. She lived in the same home throughout her childhood in the Katonah-Lewisboro district, growing up playing sports with her friends all the way through high school, graduating from John Jay in 2015.

Theresa Swertfager during her playing days on the court at John Jay. Jim MacLean Photo

The influence of sports starts with her parents who are both legends in Section 1 high school sports. Her father, Bill Swertfager, was a three-sport star at Horace Greeley, a state champion in wrestling and a standout in football and baseball. He went on to play football and wrestle in college at William & Mary. Her mom, Diane, was a three-sport athlete at Pleasantville and went on to play volleyball in college at Springfield.

Mom and dad have always been involved in coaching since before Theresa was born. Dad was the varsity wrestling coach at John Jay for decades, restarting the program from scratch and building it into a sectional powerhouse.

Mom is the most successful volleyball coach in Section 1 history, number one on the all-time career win list with an astounding 695 victories, including four New York state championships and 17 Section 1 championships at Hen Hud.

Both her brothers were three-sport athletes at John Jay playing football, wrestling and baseball. Both went on to play baseball in college with John at Long Island University, and Mark at Marist University. Mark is the current varsity wrestling coach for the Wolves.

“It’s ingrained in my blood, my family, my parents, my brothers — they are my role models. At John Jay with my dad as the wrestling coach, my brother Mark as the wrestling coach now, my brothers playing three sports, it’s a family affair. We all love John Jay, and we truly care about this community and want to give back.”

For John Jay volleyball, she was a four-year varsity player and two-time All-State captain for the 2014 Section 1 championship team for coach Tom Rizzotti. The Wolves won the Section 1 title again last fall under Rizzotti, who retired after 22 years as head coach. That championship team featured a solid senior class lost to graduation, but Assumma is ready for the challenge taking over as coach for the defending champs.

“He’s a great guy, a great coach and I loved having him as my coach and I’m grateful to succeed him and keep the program running,” Assumma said of Rizzotti. “Our focus is on skills and to keep getting better. We’ll be fine, a lot of athletes who were waiting for their turn and their turn in here. We’re going to be strong and competitive and keep building the program.”

In softball, it will be the opposite as she takes over a team on the rise full of young talent that lost just two seniors on the roster. Coach Steve DelMoro took a new job in the Scarsdale district, opening up another opportunity for Assumma to take over the softball program at John Jay with a team full of high expectations for the upcoming season.

While volleyball played a big part in her life between her mom coaching at Hen Hud and her time on the court with travel teams and playing at John Jay, her main focus turned out to be softball starting in her freshman year at John Jay.

She was an All-State shortstop/pitcher for the Wolves her senior season, and she traveled all around the country playing travel softball. That got her recruited by the University of Florida, one of the top programs in the country, and in her sophomore year at John Jay she committed to play at Florida. She went to the NCAA tournament all four years at Florida, advancing to the finals in her sophomore season.

After graduating from Florida, she came back north and earned her master’s degree from Manhattanville College. She also worked as an assistant coach with her mom at Hen Hud, winning a state title in 2021, and she was an assistant volleyball coach at Horace Greeley last fall winning a Section 1 title.

Luckily, her mom retired so they will not have to coach against each other, and Theresa hopes she can get her mom, Diane, to help her out at John Jay. Diane is busy running the new Prodigy Volleyball Academy that she founded and opened this year.

“I’ve always looked up to both of them and I’m so grateful to have them as parents. They’ve shown me what it takes to be a good coach and a good person and I hope to live up to their standards. They showed me the dedication and hard work that it takes, and they did a great job with the work/life balance for us and that’s what I hope to do. When we won the Section 1 title, my mom as the volleyball chair got to give me my medal and that was so special. I hope one day I can be like them.”

Now, she’s coming back home to where she always wanted to be. Even at her wedding, two of her bridesmaids were her John Jay teammates and two of them were teammates from Florida. Her Florida friend reminded her how she always talked about John Jay and how she wanted to go back there and be a teacher and a coach, and here she is, a dream come true.

“I just want to hit the ground running. It’s all about the kids, they’re student athletes, on and off the court, you want to work with the whole child to get them ready for the real world. There are so many life lessons to learn from sports and I want to be a role model as a coach. It’s an amazing time of their life. It means so much to play with your friends for your community. I have so much pride for my community and I want to give back and that’s why I’m here.”