Coach Norm Hewitt
Head Baseball Coach,
Hillsborough High School, Hillsborough, NJ
Coach Hewitt attended Watchung Hills High School from 1961-65, where he earned 10 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. He was named to the All County Teams in all, and to the All-State team in baseball. He attended tryouts with the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Yankees and the Houston Astros. Norm attended Salem College on a baseball scholarship, and helped lead Salem to the NAIA Eastern Regionals in 1966. The Warren Lions Club named Norm Athlete of the Year in 1970.
Norm was the first baseball coach when Hillsborough High School opened its doors in 1969. He also served as a football and basketball coach until his departure in 1980, to take on the head coaching position at Drew University. While at Hillsborough, the Raiders captured a conference title in 1977 and two SCT titles in '77 and '79. During that time, the Raiders appeared in 5 SCT finals and were ranked #2 in New Jersey in 1977. Since returning to Hillsborough in 2000, coach Hewitt has taken the Raiders to 5 additional SCT finals, winning the crown in 2005. The Raiders have also added some credible feats such as: Skyland Conference titles in 2003, '04, and '06. In 2005, the Raiders captured the most prestigious crown of all, the NJ Group 4 State Championship, and were ranked #2 in New Jersey. Since then, the Raiders have appeared in 2 additional Central Jersey Finals, in '07 and '09.
In his only season at Drew University, Coach Hewitt took the Rangers to their only NCAA appearance in baseball, while capturing the IAC crown. That year, the Rangers set a new seasonal win record, of 17, and recorded the first winning record in 26 years. Norm served as the pitching coach of Rutgers University in 1983 and '84. In 1986, Coach Hewitt took over the reins at Bridgewater Raritan HS. From 1987-1999 the Falcons and Panthers won 6 conference titles, 2 SCT titles, a Group 2 State Championship in '89, and appeared in 5 SCT finals.
Coach Hewitt is a member of the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame and the WHRHS Hall of Fame He has been named Coach of the Year 7 times including New Jersey Coach of the Year in 1989 and again in 2005. He was also recognized by the NJSIAA as the State’s representative for National Coach of the Year in 2005, and has served on the NJSIAA rules committee. Norm has accumulated 609 career wins and has proudly advanced over 150 of his high school players to the collegiate level, including 14 future All Americans. Three of his pitchers have been drafted from his high school level. He is currently preparing for his 19th season of summer camps.
Beyond coaching, Norm was named: Hillsborough High School’s Teacher of the Year in 1992, and served as the mayor Millstone in the 1980s. He was the founder of the first Central New Jersey indoor baseball training center; Touching All the Bases. He’s been married to high school sweetheart for 43 years, and has 3 daughters and a grandson. Norm is most proud of the great young men who have passed through his programs and have achieved remarkable careers.
Recent Articles and Videos:
Building a Positive Relationship With Parents Promotes Winning—Hopefully the information provided in this article will assist in making others more tolerant and appreciative of the good things that can be enjoyed by coaches, players and best of all the parents.
Every Players Worst Enemy: The Low Elbow—Baseball basically involves three main categories of success through skill. We know that these categories include various skills, but I categorize them to our players to focus on the significance of their effect on winning games.
Quicker Hands With a Double Ball Drill Video —This video demonstrates a progressive drill that we created years ago to improve hand-eye coordination, quicker transition for our infielders, catchers, pitchers and even outfielders, and encourages a spontaneous catch and release reinforcement. It also reinforces training the eyes for hitting due to the requirement of picking up the ball in flight. The drill then progresses to a single ball and glove exchange with the focus on where to catch the ball in the glove and how to maintain a circular rotation with nonstop action for a faster, smoother transition. It concludes with our 4-Corner Drill which aids in the application during a game. It's a great drill for cut-offs and blind-side catch and tag at a bag.