WW-P AD is learning the ropes
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Even as she was leading an academic department at Rancocas Valley High School, Jean Marie Seal always stayed close to her passion for athletics.
”I have been coaching field hockey for 17 years, the last 15 as the varsity coach,” Seal said. “I was the head of the Social Studies department for 10 years and English the last two years. I have coached track and a couple years of basketball. And I have done the clock at the wrestling matches the last couple years.”
It was that passion for sports that led to her interest when Marty Flynn retired this summer and the Athletic Director position in West Windsor-Plainsboro opened. Seal began her new job full-time last week, helping the athletic teams at WW-P North and WW-P South prepare for the season. She will also oversee athletics at the district’s two middle schools.
”As expected, it is very overwhelming at the start,” Seal said. “There are upwards of 70 head coaches between the three seasons at the four schools. I am in the process of trying to remember the people I’ve met and all the names. The people in the district could not be more welcoming. Everyone is so pleasant.
”Different people have been coming in and out. The secretaries have been phenomenal holding down the fort. I am still learning the ropes. It has been comforting that there are so many people that have been willing to help.”
Seal takes over for Flynn, who was able to meet with his successor on a few occasions to help lay the groundwork and give her an idea of what to expect in her new position.
”We met a couple times in June and I have his contact information, but I am trying not to bother him since he is also starting a new job,” she said. “But I know he is there if I need him. We went over the basics. He was extremely organized which has helped me.”
Seal certainly has plenty of experience leading as the leader of a department. And now she’ll use that experience to lead athletic programs at four different schools.
”I think that leadership was something I enjoyed and sports is something I have been drawn toward my whole life,” Seal said. “In my free time I am always reading coaching books and magazines about athletics. I felt like that was where my heart was. I am able to stay in leadership and stay in athletics, which are things I am passionate about. We had an administrators retreat for four days and there was a lot of focus on academics and that was enjoyable.”
Seal met with the coaches at the two high schools this week, and is getting to know all of the personnel involved at both high schools. She knows the value of athletics and the role it can play in conjunction with academics.
”There is a great focus on academics as well as athletics in this district,” Seal said. “I think as a coach it was always important to keep those two together and make decisions based on what is best for kids. That is the same message they get in the classroom here. We’re striving for excellence and we look at that not just by a team’s record, but if we’re going to do well and give their best effort. That is what I want to see,”