College Basketball
He fell in love with a career the first time he assisted an adult coaching a group of youngsters.
JW was born in Paterson, NJ, the younger brother to an older sister. His father managed a roadside barbeque / root beer stand while his mother worked in a retail store. Later his father was an assembly line worker before becoming a bookkeeper for a retail grocery business. JW would be the first in the family to attend college.
FIRST EXPERIENCE WAS LOVE WHEN THE FIRST BALL ROLLED OUT
One day in high school, a teacher asked for volunteers to help coach younger children in a local recreation league for basketball. JW raised his hand to assist and soon realized that he wanted to grow up to coach young men’s and women’s athletics, which path he followed for the next 60 years, zigzagging through many jobs while gaining experience and contacts along the way.
Through his high school years, JW was active in one sport or another every school season and during the Summers, focusing on Winter basketball and Spring tennis, while proficient in soccer to remain active on a team each Fall.
COLLEGE COURSES CHOSEN TOWARD CAREER GOALS
JW learned that to serve as a high school sports coach, he would need to teach an academic subject. A counselor suggested that science teachers were in high demand, so JW initially opted for college courses in both chemistry and education. But even at the Division III level of college sports (no athletic scholarships and overall, less sports intense than Division I college sports), it was difficult to balance science laboratory courses with sports’ practice and game commitments for basketball in the Winter and tennis in the Spring. To resolve this scheduling conflict, JW consulted with a college counselor, who recommended dropping the science courses in favor of history courses, which would enable JW to obtain a “general” education certification rather than being focused on teaching science. Teaching and coaching jobs would still be available.
FIRST JOB OFFER WAS NOT A PERFECT FIT BUT HE WISELY ACCEPTED
JW’s first job offer was (ironically) to teach general science and history at a junior high school (grades 7-9, now called middle school) while coaching that school’s soccer, basketball, and tennis teams. JW’s interests were primarily basketball and tennis but when a job offer included coaching soccer, he wisely accepted the entire package as offered.
As a junior high sports coach, JW soon met the high school coaches and as high school coaching openings became available, he moved up to coaching at the high school, first jayvee, then varsity, while early on retaining some coaching at the junior high level.
SELF ASSESSMENT NEEDED AS TWO CAREER PATHS BECKON: CONTINUE BOTH OR FOCUS ON ONE?
At the outset of JW’s junior and senior high school teaching and coaching careers, he continued to play serious tennis as a member of high level, amateur teams throughout the middle states area (PA, NJ, NY) plus a few summers in Europe. The U.S. pro tennis circuit was not well established at the time. If he was able to shift his career to tennis professional, would he be good enough to earn a living? Compared to teaching and coaching, how long would or could such a career last? Could he continue to balance both careers?
JOIN A NETWORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS; MEET AND LISTEN TO MENTORS
Wisely, JW bounced his questions off fellow coaches; the consensus advice was that JW would likely have a longer career teaching and coaching than competing as a professional athlete. He already had his teaching certifications but how to move up to college level coaching? The answer: join the coaching network to meet your peer group, from whom you would most likely be introduced to coaching opportunities.
Heeding the advice offered, JW abandoned his summer tennis focus and instead joined the coaching staff at summer basketball camps. There, he met fellow high school basketball coaches, one of whom suggested they travel to the West Coast to attend the Final Four tournament, where JW could join a national college coaches association despite only being a high school coach. The same friend alerted JW the next year to an assistant basketball coach’s position opening in a NJ university. JW accepted that position while retaining his concurrent high school teaching job.
Having remained teaching at the same high school long enough to qualify for their “sabbatical program” (a year away from any teaching duties while still being paid full salary per teacher’s union contract), JW sought a head coaching job at an area college, where he could use his sabbatical year to pursue a formal post-graduate degree in education and concurrently earn certification as an elementary school teacher to add to his teaching versatility. Eventually JW earned his Master’s degree plus 66 course hours!
PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY
JW’s experience as a long-time high school basketball head coach plus his limited experience as an assistant college basketball coach was a sufficient resume to gain an interview at a university (Division II) in need of a head basketball coach. A match was made.
EVERY BUSINESS HAS SOME DOWNSIDE
Soon the new head coach met a bump in the road of his personal life: his constant recruiting trips meant JW was unable to be at home with his new wife for much time before, during and after the basketball season (yes, that means all the time). Some careers cause more personal life stress than others; some marriages cannot survive the stress; JW was soon divorced.
WHEN A DOOR CLOSES, KEEP LOOKING FOR THE NEXT ONE TO OPEN
Husband and wife having mutually agreed to depart their marriage, JW kept his ears open for a different opportunity within the world of college basketball coaching. Fortunately, an opening for head basketball and tennis coach at a Division III college became available; JW’s experience, including his graduate degree and continued pursuit of advanced education courses (at least one class a year for 13 years post college) and JW’s optimistic personality, led to a job offer which included not only the double head coaching positions but an appointment to the academic faculty, with eventual retirement benefits.
BRING EXPERIENCE TO A NEW CAREER
Even a Division III head coaching position requires some attention to recruiting since not all traveling to view or meet future basketball prospects can be left to assistant coaches. Now married a second time and having been a head coach at the same college for 36 years, JW concluded it was best to retire and change pace but use his experience and contacts in a new way.
One of the highlights of coaching college sports is to travel with the team before the formal league season begins, as an opportunity for the team to bond while not under pressure to win each game and concurrently expose the players to a journey within a different culture. Accordingly, JW had led his teams on many brief, annual trips to Ireland, Canada, and Europe, playing against local college age basketball teams for the mutual enjoyment of the players and those accompanying them.
Initially post-retirement, JW was employed by a small business based in Costa Rica, which arranged foreign travel game experiences for college sports teams. JW’s task was to expand the business despite its debt problems, which turned out to be not a recipe for business success. However, JW decided that such a business could be started without any significant financial investment, using his experience in arranging travel plans for teams plus his contacts within the college basketball “coaching fraternity” and thus was born JW’s start-up business with his adult son, who had once served briefly as an assistant coach with JW and now had a full-time job within the business world.
JW’s travel business had already achieved success before the covid pandemic of 2020-21, booking teams’ travel to Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Portugal and Spain. An expanding list of coaches is interested in continuing such team experiences as their schools and host countries permit; trips are currently in planning for Peru and France.
A THIRD CAREER?
By now the reader is not surprised to learn that JW has always had a lot of energy. In addition to his ongoing travel business, JW has written the first 400 pages of a biography of a professional athlete whose teammates won multiple professional championships leading to multiple books written by and about the better known “stars.” JW’s book focuses on a lesser-known player, whose efforts were integral to support his championship teams – just like the efforts of the 60-year basketball coach whose career story is briefly recounted here as an inspiration to all who realize their career passion at an early age and then see that hard work while listening to mentors for guidance will eventually match experience, persistence and opportunity.
