Sports
North Girls Basketball Teams Dedicate Season To Former Coach (VIDEO)
The JV and varsity teams dedicated their seasons to John Sullivan, who died earlier this year
Everyone who came into contact with former Clarkstown North girls basketball coach John Sullivan seems to have a favorite saying of his.
Jack Sullivan, 11, of Pearl River, adopts a low, raspy voice to imitate his grandfather, who used to tell him to “use your legs” while shooting. Jack’s sister, Lauren Sullivan, 11, remembers another phrase intended to help shooting a basketball.
“When I would try free throws, he’d yell ‘Straight up,’” she said. “I usually missed them anyway.”
Jen Mongiori, a senior at North, remembers one day when the team was doing drills at practice and Sullivan didn’t think the team was taking it seriously enough, so he decided to create some consequences if the team didn’t pick up its effort.
“All I remember him saying was ‘loser’s gonna run,’ and then we were all laughing and he’s like ‘a mile,’” she said.
Those words, along with “Straight up!” and a few others were written on signs and hung in the North gym Monday night when the JV and varsity teams both played Nanuet in a double-header.
Between the games, a ceremony was held to honor Sullivan, who in his sleep. North varsity coach Kerry Sullivan, no relation, spoke between the games saying both the JV and varsity teams were dedicating their seasons to John Sullivan.
In her speech between games, Sullivan talked about John Sullivan’s enthusiasm for coaching, recounting the surprise of seeing a man in his 60s doing defensive slides along with his team.
“It is evident that in all aspects of his life, passion is what drove him,” Kerry Sullivan said. “He truly loved his family with all his heart. He would absolutely light up when he spoke of you all.”
Many relatives of John Sullivan’s were in attendance Monday, including his two grandchildren, Jack and Lauren. In addition to celebrating John Sullivan’s life, the ceremonies on Monday were held to honor the life of Carolyn Sullivan, Jack and Lauren’s sister, as well as John Sullivan’s third grandchild. Carolyn Sullivan, eight years old, died Sept. 26, 2009 after battling a brain tumor for five months.
“It was very sweet of them to remember John, and incredibly nice to include Carolyn in that,” said Jeanne Sullivan, John’s daughter-in-law and Carolyn, Jack and Lauren’s mother. “We’re very appreciative of all the support we’ve gotten from everyone at North.”
After Carolyn’s death, the Carolyn Sullivan Memorial Foundation was created to, according to its website, “improve the quality of life for children battling illness, and let them know that they are not alone. The Foundation provides for anything that the family of a sick child may need to assist them in keeping their child comfortable and happy. Children need normalcy, comfort and support to achieve the goal of recovery and survival.”
In the corner of the gym right where people walk through to enter and exit, North players were sitting with a jug to collect money for the Foundation. They will be at all North girls' home games this season, and after the year, they will donate all proceeds to the Foundation.
Kerry Sullivan said they felt it was important to remember Carolyn Sullivan because of how much John Sullivan loved his family. Jeanne Sullivan said it was a nice touch on North’s part, and that is showed how many people cared for John based on how packed the gym was. Fellow teachers, parents, students and alumni came out to show their support for Sullivan.
Liz Baisley, who graduated last year, was in attendance Monday. She had Sullivan as her coach all four years of high school, as he coached the JV team and was an assistant coach for varsity. She attends SUNY Cortland and is home for the holidays, and said she came to show her support for the North basketball program, both for the girls on the team and for Sullivan.
“He always pushed us to try our hardest, he always had your back,” she said. “It was tough love, kind of, but it always helped us. He changed me into a better basketball player.”
Baisley was on the team when Sullivan died back in February.
“It was hard on all the players, but we all stuck together,” she said. “We were already a family, but we turned into a bigger family and we were there for each other, but it was a hard loss. It made us work harder and have something to play for.”
During her talk between games, Kerry Sullivan talked about going to meet with the girls on the team that Sunday back in February at a diner in New City when John Sullivan died.
“They were all in a little side room by themselves, looking similar to right now, puffy-eyed, red-faced and snotty. It was pretty much the scene I expected I would walk into, but there was something going on that I never anticipated,” she said. “They were laughing. Safe to say, I was a little thrown off. As I sat down, I quickly realized what they were up to. They’d spent the better part of the last hour writing down all the phrases that Sully was known for. I believe the list had reached over 10 or into the teens by the time I got there.”
Kerry Sullivan said as she was sitting down, she heard another being added to the list.
“We need to toughen you up, kid,” John Sullivan would tell girls on the team.
"Meet me at the Dust Bowl. Only one of us is coming back alive, and it’s gonna be the boy from Brooklyn.”
As Kerry Sullivan read the quote, another that was made into a poster hanging in the North gym, the JV and varsity girls standing hand-in-hand surrounding Sullivan laughed, just as they did that day back in February in the diner when the quote was brought up.
“That is what made Sully so amazing. Not the Dust Bowl, or his willingness to fight the girls,” Kerry Sullivan said. “But the fact that a room full of heartbroken teenagers still totally got him.”
