Pingry Coach Inducted into NJ HS Hockey Hall of Fame

in Bernards Township has announced that the school's boys varsity ice hockey head coach, John Magadini, will be the first-ever Big Blue inductee into the New Jersey High School Hockey Hall of Fame on at 3 p.m. on March 18 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

 “Mags,” as his athletes and colleagues know him best, is a Mendham resident who started his coaching career in 1966 and has been at the helm of the Pingry program since the 1996-97 season.

When asked about his successes on the ice, Magadini responded with a preference to keep a broader perspective and talk about team and process, rather than wins and losses.

“Being a high school coach involves more than teaching the game. The biggest responsibility is to help grow character, accountability, and the understanding that hard work and dedication breed success amongst the team,” Magadini said. He also believes that coaches should be role models through their words, actions, and overall conduct.

 Pingry’s Director of Athletics, Gerry Vanasse, agreed with Magadini, and added that, “Coach Magadini possesses a great combination of high standards and patience. He has the ability to get the most out of his athletes, and his teams always improve steadily throughout the season. Most importantly, however, his players develop into respectful young men off the ice as well, achieve in the classroom, and are outstanding ambassadors of the Pingry name.”

On the ice, Coach Magadini also has been breeding success, according to the school. Pingry's "Big Blue" ice hockey team captured the Skyland Conference Championship in 2011 and 2012. His players have earned a host of individual awards in reason seasons, including the Courier-News Ice Hockey Player of the Year, The Star-Ledger's Central Jersey Player of the Year, New Jersey Devils’ High School Hockey Player of the Month, the Hobey Baker High School Character Award, Skyland Conference Scholar-Athlete, and Skyland Conference Rookie of the Year.

Magadini was a three-sport standout at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), earning 10 varsity letters in ice hockey, lacrosse, and football, said the announcement from the school. His résumé also contains NCAA National Championships in both ice hockey and lacrosse, All-American Honorable Mention in lacrosse, and induction into the RPI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

Prior to coming to Pingry, he coached ice hockey at the Delbarton School in Morris County. He has been named Coach of the Year by The Daily Record (1985 and 1987), The Star-Ledger (1986), the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (2004), and the Courier-News (2010).

The Pingry School is a private institution with it upper campus (grades 6 to 12) in Bernards Township, and its lower campus in Short Hills.