Jack Kelly named head of varsity girls basketball team
By: Jeremy Wang-Iverson
WEST AMWELL Students and parents lobbied the South Hunterdon Board of Education for Jack Kelly to be the next coach of the varsity girls basketball team.
Their strategy worked.
At around 10 p.m. on Aug. 2, the board went into closed session, usually the cue for the audience to go home. But the tension mounted for the 10 students and a handful of parents who had sat through the board’s other business so they could lobby for Mr. Kelly.
The crowd lingered in the darkened hallway outside the library, nervously anticipating the board’s decision, sending an occasional spy to stick their ear up to the door to figure out what exactly was going on in there.
After about 20 minutes of suspense, the board unanimously reached its decision and announced Mr. Kelly was to succeed Don Woodring as coach.
Mr. Kelly, who’s lived in West Amwell for 28 years, has a long and involved history with the school. He coached the boys basketball team between 1969 and 1978 and oversaw an expansion of the varsity and junior program by establishing a middle school and freshman squad. Initially, he had to drive the students in his car to get them to practices.
Mr. Kelly is the son-in-law of Pat and Vic Walker, the South Hunterdon benefactors to whom the fields are dedicated. He’s been a longtime substitute at the school, but will work full time as a physical education teacher in the fall.
"I know the kids; know the parents," Mr. Kelly said. "It’s a good situation. They say you can never go home again, but it’s not one of those deals. I know the officials, know the league. It’s pretty competitive. It’ll be good."
Mr. Kelly has been a player and a coach. After attending and playing for Bound Brook, Mr. Kelly attended the University of Delaware, where he continued his career before playing professionally in Asbury Park for the Eastern League, which was a step below the NBA.
In his 25-year coaching career at South Hunterdon, Bound Brook and Hopewell Valley, he’s tallied up more than 300 wins and earned a place in the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame. In 1969, he was offered a place on the team that provides opposition for the Harlem Globetrotters.
"The expectations (at South) are pretty high," Mr. Kelly said. "They lost only two seniors, and the girls work hard. For a school that size, they’ve done a pretty nice job."
"We know how good he is," said Kari Yannarella, the captain this year. "He’s been a gym teacher and has been helping us improve. I think we’ll do pretty well this year."
Kari also spoke about the retirement of Mr. Woodring, the popular coach for the past 11 years, who led them to the state finals.
"He put in so much time for us," Kari said, referring to a four-day clinic at Chapel Hill and Mr. Woodring’s summer clinics during which he would enlist players to help out.
The transition should be an easy one, however, as Mr. Kelly says he always tailors his strategies to the talents of the players.