Chris Cocciadiferro: Center back to handler

At the age of 6, Chris fell in love with soccer. He loved that he could just run around and kick the ball. Growing up in Dumont in Bergen County, it wasn’t the biggest sports town but he and his family made due. He grew up playing in Dumont recreation youth sports. 

"My dream growing up was to go professional in Soccer, one day playing in Europe, and hearing my name called. Growing up, I would practice nonstop until my parents asked me to come in the house to eat, then go back outside."

Going into middle and high school he played on the school teams playing soccer in the fall, and spent the winter offseason practicing for his travel team. In the spring he threw discus for the track and field team and played travel soccer. 

He might not have been the biggest name out of Dumont High School soccer but he had one of the biggest hearts. In his Junior year the season was cancelled due to the pandemic but that didn’t stop him. He took daily mile runs and worked out in his backyard to keep himself in shape for the season. 

After the nation lifted the quarantine sanction and he was allowed to go back to the school he ran full steam ahead at the opportunity to be back. But this was his senior year and reality set in. He was about to go to college and he had to make money to support that. So, he sat out his senior travel season to work at a local restaurant busing tables. He still went to the gym everyday and on his hybrid school days after school he would be in his backyard kicking around the ball. 

After he graduated high school instead of heading off to a 4 year university he decided the smarter decision was to stay local and go to Bergen Community College. 

He didn’t play any sports for the school and it left an empty piece in his heart. After commuting back and forth from school for a year he was ready to call another place home for the next couple of years. 

Going into his sophomore year at Bergen Community he researched different colleges he could attend. Rutgers New Brunswick, TCNJ, and Rowan University were at the top of his list. But he ultimately chose Rowan to attend for the next 2 years. 

After graduating from Bergen Community College and celebrating he immediately began practicing for the hope of getting a spot on Rowan’s Soccer team. Unfortunately when he got on campus the team did not open tryouts. Tragic news for him but Rowan has a lot of opportunities for those who want to play a sport but can’t play for the school. He played in soccer rec leagues and found his next passion. 

Rowan’s Ultimate Frisbee hosted open tryouts and he took advantage. Ultimate Frisbee is a crossover of football and soccer but with a disc. He learned all of the rules and watched film on games and went to tryouts and smashed it. He made the team. 

He chose to play a defensive role. They played him in midfield to utilize his defensive skills and so that he could play handler and cutter. A handler in ultimate frisbee is a position that tries to get the disc from one side to the other and cutter is the position that cuts to get open so the handler can throw it to the end zone. 

Chris embraced the change by scoring 3 goals in his first tournament. He found what he was missing. In the 2024 season Chris scored 20 and assisted on 10. On the team he was known for going up and grabbing the disc out of the air with other players not having a chance. In his first year playing a new sport to him he made an impact that will lead to him getting a huge role in the next season. 

Going into his second season playing the sport he was named one of the team captains in an unanimous decision by the team. Chris showed yet again when he works hard at something he can make a difference. 

“ We both were new to the sport. He would knock on my room door and tell me we are getting up and going to the field on our off days to get some throws in and pass around the disc. Before every game he was the one giving us a pep talk in the huddle, as a first year player,” former teammate and roommate Jake Ward added. 

Although Rowan’s Ultimate Frisbee didn’t have the season they expected they still rode high. They were playing Division 1 programs and hanging out with them. For Chris it made him want to play more. He is set to graduate this spring and sees himself continuing to play. 

Chris went from a lifelong soccer player to being in love with a sport that he didn’t play or learn until his junior year of college and made a long lasting impact on his teammates. 

Chris Cocciadiferro went from Center back in soccer to a handler and cutter in ultimate frisbee.