By Jason Bernstein
For The Jersey Journal
John Sterling posed for a couple of pictures with his Secaucus girls basketball players after earning his 500th career victory with a 59-50 win over Old Tappan on Wednesday at the Joe Poli Tournament. But the veteran coach would not be celebrating for long.
Just minutes later, Sterling was seated in the bleachers at Pascack Valley High School, taking notes and getting ready for the Patriots’ next opponent. For Sterling, it was just another opportunity to help out his players, those he gives much of the credit for his success.
“Like many coaches say, it’s a labor of love. You have to love what you’re doing to do it this long and I really do,” Sterling said. “I’m very happy when I’m in the gym. I can’t wait to go to practice each day and you want to give your team every opportunity to do as well as they possibly can. I think if you work hard, your team is going to work hard.”
“(Coaching for him) opened my eyes to how much effort and time he puts into the game of basketball and to his team,” said Secaucus assistant coach Shannon Waters, a four-year starter under Sterling. “Every group of girls that he gets, he puts in 100 percent effort. He just wants to win and he cares for the girls so much.
Now that I see him as a coach, I see how much he cares for them on and off the court. He’s such a great coach to all of them.”
Throughout his 28-year coaching career, it’s always been about the players for Sterling, who is always quick to praise them for his lofty accomplishments at Bogota, Wood-Ridge and Secaucus.
Now in his 10th season at Secaucus, Sterling has led the Patriots to an incredible 172-49 record with a Hudson County Tournament title in 2014 and three trips to the North 2, Group 1 final. At Bogota, he led the Bergen County school to four North 1, Group 1 championships. Overall, his teams have gone 500-147 with countless division titles.
However, what matters most to him is the way his teams represent themselves on the court. Coaching exclusively at the Group 1 level, Sterling’s teams rarely have great depth or size, but are always disciplined and full of energy for 32 minutes each night.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is when coaches come up to me, ‘Coach, your team plays really hard.’ I always feel really good about that because as a coach, that’s the part you really got to instill in your players — give maximum effort,” he said. “You’re not always going to make your shots, you’re not always going to have a great day, but if you’re playing hard, that’s all you can really ask.”
Sterling, who was also a longtime football coach with stops at Bogota and Old Tappan, used the milestone to think back to all the coaches that have had an impact over his own life — starting with the ones he played for at Passaic Valley High School, Coast Guard Academy and Moravian College. He thought back to all the great friendships he has made from coaching including Brian Dunn, who was on the other sideline for Wednesday’s milestone and for whom Sterling was a football assistant under.
None of those coaches shaped Sterling more than the first one in his life — his father George, who was a longtime football and track coach and teacher at Mahwah.
“The person I think of the most when I come to a milestone like this is my dad. He was a high school teacher and coach,” Sterling said. “I saw the commitment he gave to both his teaching and coaching profession, but more importantly to his family. I thank him for the way he raised me to do things the right way and to be dedicated and committed to something. I really owe everything to him. I’m very proud to reach this and reflect upon all he’s done for me and my family.”
Sterling, a math teacher at Bogota, credits his father as the reason he got into coaching and teaching. All these years later, he still maintains that enthusiasm for coaching and teaching that his father had.
“I always knew (this is what I wanted) when I saw my dad coaching and teaching and how much he enjoyed it,” said Sterling. “He asked me if I was sure if this was what I wanted to do. He said that I was a pretty good student in school and that I could make a lot more money doing other things. I was certain that this was what I wanted to do. I always knew that I wanted to teach math and coach football and basketball. I’ve never regretted a day.”
Congratulations on the 500th Victory
