James Young LITTLE SILVER — Red Bank Regional High School has hired a new coach to put its girls basketball program on a par with other local schools.
The RBR Board of Education has named RBR Academy of Finance teacher and Neptune resident James Young, a former athlete with Red Bank Catholic High School, as head coach for girls basketball.
“We think Coach Young can return RBR’s girls basketball to the level of play it enjoyed in the ’90s,” said Athletic Director Del Dal Pra of the new head coach selection.
“He knows Monmouth County is loaded with great girls basketball programs, and RBR shares the Two River peninsula with two of the best in the state — RBC [Red Bank Catholic High School] and RFH [Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School].
“Young has strong ties in the Jersey Shore and knows what it will take to compete and win at RBR. He also has great enthusiasm for basketball and for teaching kids. We are very lucky to get such a top-notch coach.”
The 6-foot-6 Young played both high school and college basketball. He began his coaching career in 1998 at his alma mater, Green Mountain College in Vermont, where he was responsible for scouting and recruiting for the men’s basketball team.
His teaching career brought him back home to his high school, Red Bank Catholic, where he served as assistant coach for the boys basketball team from 1999 to 2007. In the fall of 2007, he was appointed head coach for the RFH boys basketball team. During the two seasons he coached at RFH, the team qualified for both state and conference playoffs.
Young said he believes there is little difference in coaching boys and girls in basketball, explaining, “You have to defend the rim more with boys because of their size and athletic ability. I will coach the girls the same way I have always coached: focusing on defense, selfless play, and commitment to becoming better people on and off the court.”
Young credited all of the coaches in his playing and coaching careers who helped hone his skills and abilities, singling out Joe Nappo, Joe Montano and Mike Feerst at RBC, George Sourlis at RFH, and Willie Mayer from Middletown High School North.
“All these great coaches have helped establish the foundation upon which I will build the RBR program,” he said.
As first a student and later an employee of private schools his entire life, Young admits he was a bit apprehensive making the leap to public school to join RBR’s Academy of Finance as a business teacher this past September.
“Now I believe this was the best decision I ever made in my entire life,” Young said in a press release. “I love the relationship [RBR] administration has with its faculty as well as the diversity of the school, the support of the parents, the specialization in curriculum and the move to small learning communities.”
Young has already begun off-season conditioning with the members of the girls basketball team
“The spring and summer are a very crucial part to the success of the program if we are going to become an upper-echelon team in this area. It begins with the commitment of the girls, as well as the parents, to be willing to work toward a common goal of quickly gaining respectability and having a desire to compete in every game.”