State Coaches Hall Of Fame Honors Central's Truhan

When the Central Regional girls basketball team takes the floor to open its 2015-16 season with a game against Point Pleasant Boro, they will do so with a coach who can claim the title Hall of Famer.

That’s because John Truhan was inducted into the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame during the offseason.

Truhan, who has been the girls basketball coach at Central since the 2009-2010 season, was a member of the 2015 class inducted last spring, according to the NJCSA. He was among 30 coaches representing sports from fencing to soccer, football to bowling, nominated for the honor by their fellow coaches.

“When you consider that there are 435 public, non-public and independent secondary schools in New Jersey for the 2014-2015 school year, sponsoring 8,085 varsity teams, requiring that number of head coaches, then it has to be a distinct honor to have been selected by your peers for membership in the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame,” the NJSCA says in the Hall of Fame program.

Truhan was honored for his cumulative accomplishments at the three schools where he’s coached: Toms River South (1998-99 to 2002-03) and Colts Neck (2003-04 to 2008-09) as well as Central.

Over the course of 17 years, his teams have won 310 games and lost 130. They also have three Shore Conference Sportsmanship awards, including the 2013-14 season with Central. Truhan surpassed the 300-win mark last season at Central and is closing in on 100 wins in his tenure at the school.

His teams have won nine Shore Conference divisional titles -- Central has three Class B South titles during his time with the Golden Eagles -- and Colts Neck captured the Shore Conference Tournament championship in 2008, the first time a public school team had won the SCT since 1989. Colts Neck also was an NJSIAA Tournament of Champions finalist after capturing the Central Jersey Group IV and overall Group IV titles in the 2008-09 season. Toms River South won the South Jersey Group III title in 2001 and was the Group III finalist that season during his tenure with the Indians. Central has reached the second round of the South Jersey Group III playoffs every year except his first season with the Golden Eagles, and twice have reached the sectional semifinals.

Truhan, who was honored as State Coach of the Year once, has two awards as Shore Conference Coach of the Year, eight Division Coach of the Year selections, four county coach of the year selections and twice was chosen as a head coach for the NJSCA Senior All-Star Game.