Huntington's Wood becomes college coach

Jerry Wood became one of the top managers at Morgan Stanley because of his ability to organize, motivate, set goals and recruit the best people. It occurred to a friend that those very skills were just begging for Wood to take on a new role, one that has been waiting for him his whole career: golf coach at Manhattan College, his alma mater.

In a way, it is completely new for someone who has been with the same company since 1978.

"When I had to fill out my resume for Manhattan College, there weren't too many lines and jobs on there," he said, noting that his current title, senior advisor, comes with a flexible schedule.

In another way, though, it is a reunion tour. It was golf that brought him to Manhattan in the first place, given that he was the first recipient of the Huntington Country Club's caddie scholarship. He was captain of the Jaspers golf team and won the Jasper Award as the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average. He graduated magna cum laude.

"I really feel like I'm going back to school. The summer is ending and I'm going back on campus," the Huntington resident said. "I feel like Rodney Dangerfield: 'Back to School,' only without the hot tub."

At 57, he is studying for tests again, cramming last week for an exam on NCAA rules. The whole thing would have been unimaginable had he not been playing golf with friends, one of whom is a priest who is chaplain at Manhattan. It came up in discussion that another Long Islander, Walter Olsewski, was cutting back from coaching three varsity teams to two (men's and women's swimming). A meeting was scheduled with athletic director Bob Byrnes, who was impressed.

Wood figured he had the time, what with his wife, Monica, going back for her doctorate in math at Columbia. He checked with people at Morgan Stanley, who didn't have a problem with it. And a coaching career was born. "Everybody I mentioned it to thought it was perfect. They said, 'You're great with kids,' " said Wood, father of three and former head of Morgan Stanley's MBA and analyst recruitment.

He has not met any of his players yet -- careful of NCAA regulations -- but he is enthusiastic about them. He pointed out that six of them made the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference all-academic team.

"They are really smart kids who are motivated and obviously teachable. I think that combination on a golf course is really powerful," he said. "I can't tell you how many times I've set a goal. It's so good to shoot for something. It's something to focus on, rather than just going out and playing. So the goal is to win the MAAC."

Wood will give advice from his trove of experience: club champion at Huntington, finalist for the club championship at Garden City Golf Club, qualifier for the Travis and Long Island Amateur, and top-10 finisher in the Long Island Senior Open. He will install a fitness and stretching regimen. He will get his buddies Pat LaFontaine, the hockey Hall of Famer, and Walt Szczerbiak, former pro basketball player, to give pep talks.

"I've got grand plans. I'm not sure how far I'm going to get with them," he said, with a laugh. "This does feel natural. I'm 57 and I hope I'm still doing it when I'm 87."

Garden City Golf Club head pro Bob Rittberger, who played at Ohio State, said: "He brings tremendous enthusiasm for golf, which you have to have. It's going to be fun for him."

Patrick McCarthy, Rittberger's assistant and former Dowling golfer, said: "He worked every job at Huntington, from looping to caddie master. He was successful at everything he did. It will be good to show the younger guys that you don't have to come from the country club lifestyle to become a success."

Manhattan's golfers will get to know that their coach is within a handful of his goal of having played every course -- public and private -- in Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn and Queens. They will study under a man who loves his golf, and walks briskly up every fairway.

"We might not be the best team," Wood said, "but we're going to be the fastest."