New North basketball coaches excited about years
By: Bob Nuse
As recently as last spring, if you had told either Bob Boyce or Mike Jackson that they would be about to begin the basketball season as head coaches, they would have been quite surprised.
Boyce, who spent the past six years as a member of Eric Becker’s boys’ basketball staff at West Windsor-Plainsboro North, figured he would be out of basketball this season. Jackson, who coached on Becker’s staff for five years, wasn’t sure he’s be back this soon after taking last year off to finish a Masters program.
But on Friday, both coaches will not only be back on the sidelines for opening night, they’ll be doing so as head coaches.
Boyce takes over as the head girls’ coach after former coach Brett Charleston left to become the athletic director at Egg Harbor Township. Jackson is back as the new head boys’ coach, taking over for Becker, who stepped down after six years as the Knights’ only head coach.
"Last year, when Eric stepped down, I decided I would step down and not do basketball anymore," said Boyce, who is also the Knights’ baseball coach. "Brett had taken the Lead AD job (at WW-P North), and somebody said that I should put in for the girls’ job. I was familiar with what Brett did and we’ve done a lot of the same things that Brett did.
"I’ve thrown in a couple more sets, but run the same presses and defenses. I want to keep the transition as clean as possible."
Jackson figured it might be a little while before he got back to the basketball sidelines after taking last year off. But when Becker decided to step down, Jackson was ready to step in.
"I knew I would get back into it eventually. I just didn’t know it would happen so soon. I spent the year off coaching my son’s teams in recreation and travel ball. I just love coaching basketball too much to give it up. I also loved coaching track and field, but it was not family friendly. I think basketball is more family friendly because my son comes to the games and he sits on the bench. The players are all like big brothers to him. With track, it’s tough with the long meets and the Saturday meets."
Both coaches are veterans in the WW-P system and appear prepared to do well in their new roles. Boyce has been in the district for nearly 20 years, and has enjoyed success in baseball, reaching two Mercer County finals with the Knights, and basketball.
"I started coaching basketball in 1983 when I was still in college," Boyce recalled. "I coached girls varsity for two years then, but other than that it’s been coaching the boys except for my first year in West Windsor in 1989, when I coached the JV girls. After that I coached with Rolla Warner at different levels. I also coached four years of varsity basketball in upstate New York before I came here.
"The main difference is trying to find out what makes them click. There are different buttons to push than with the boys. But I will tell you they work real hard. It’s not like I have to push many buttons because these girls come out and they work. They want to do it right."
Jackson, who had been the head track and field coach at North, has plenty of basketball experience as well. And he thinks the year he took off will also help him with his coaching.
"I coached for five years and then I took last year off because I was finishing my Masters at Rider," Jackson said. "Coaching was something I had to put a halt on while I was doing that. It’s tough to completely focus on a sport while you are also teaching and going to school. So I took the season off and finished and now I have my Masters in Curricular Instruction and Supervision.
"I’ll be able to use a lot of what I learned in the Masters program with my coaching."
Jackson coached one year of freshman ball and four years of junior varsity with the Knights. And so far his first weeks as the head coach have exceeded his expectations.
"The guys who are on the varsity this year were pretty much my JV team two years ago," Jackson said. "I also had a lot of them in track and field, so they know me well and I also know them well. It’s been more than what I had hoped it would be. It’s been incredible.
"We have a lot of great kids and I have enjoyed every aspect of it. It’s not just the Xs and Os, but the other stuff that goes into running a program. I enjoy getting to know the kids as players and as human beings. I put a lot of heart and soul into it and that makes the job really special for me."
And for both Jackson and Boyce, the surprise return to coaching seems to have worked out quite well.
"It’s funny how that worked out," Jackson said. "But it’s hard to pass up the opportunity to run your own program and do things exactly how you want to do them. There are a lot of little things that go into running a program. It’s not just deciding what offense to run. It’s fundraisers and uniting a team and creating a culture in your program."

