By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
PITMAN — What separates average from great, and great from excellent when it comes to coaching high school sports is one’s ability to make life-altering impacts on players.
A coach must have the utmost leadership, dedication, and willingness to be a mentor and guide to young student-athletes who are in the process of taking that leap from teenage years to adulthood.
Oh, and on top of all of that, you better win.
These days, it seems, there is ever-increasing pressure from parents for their kids’ playing time and fans for victories, and that can sometimes wear coaches out.
This past spring, South Plainfield softball coach Don Panzarella — who had more than 800 victories in 43 years — stepped down. “The reason for my resignation was that there became too many personal, individual parent agendas which had a negative effect on the team creating a very difficult atmosphere. It becomes even more difficult when parents disguise playing time complaints as other complaints to get the attention of the administration, which is simply wrong,’’ he wrote in a statement that was published at mycentraljersey.com in June. ““The environment that was permitted was one of no accountability, which goes against everything I believe in.”
The days of someone teaching and coaching at the same school for 20-plus years are getting fewer, it seems, each calendar year.
At Pitman High, there’s one name that checks all the boxes, and if you played any sports there during the last two decades, you already have the name in your mind — Gene Reid.
Since 2002, he’s been the head coach of four varsity sports for the Panthers at different times. Baseball (2007-2013), football (2013-2015), girls basketball (2017-2019), and now girls tennis.
Reid, 60, certainly could have retired by now if he wanted to. He has 27 years of teaching experience combined between Pitman and Woodbury, the latter where he got his start in 1998.
So what still motivates him to get out of that bed at 6 a.m. every day? What, after all these years, gives him the urge to keep coaching high school sports?
For Reid, the answer is simple: “well, teaching and coaching is what I always wanted to do, so why wouldn’t I do that on a daily basis?” he explained. “I love playing games for a living. The strategy of coaching, no matter what sport it is, is the reason I coach. It’s a new group of kids every three-to-four years, new challenges. It never gets old.”
When you’ve had the journey he’s had, how can it get old?
He’s experienced success coaching different varsity sports made up of both boys and girls. In 2010, he led the Panthers’ baseball team to the Group 1 state championship, a 5-0 victory over Whippany Park.
“Gene did a great job at making sure every guy on the team knew that they had a role to serve,” said Steven Schuler, a standout pitcher who was a senior on the 2010 championship team. “Most of the time in high school sports, the battle isn’t the X’s and O’s of the game — it’s making sure the student-athletes are focused and prepared to face the task at hand, and he always did a fantastic job at that.”
“Gene has spent a lot of time teaching and coaching. He understands what type of outside noise a student-athlete in high school may be dealing with, whatever it is. Playing for Gene, you never questioned where you stood or what the team needed of you, and that made it easy to play for him. To this day, he’s a coach who always has his players’ best interest in mind.”
The 2010 baseball team brought home the first state title in program history, boasting a 23-4 record. Mike McAleer, the former Pitman athletic director at the time who hired Reid as head baseball coach, credited Reid for his enthusiasm and passion for coaching.
“Whatever coach Reid gets involved in, he does it with great enthusiasm and passion,” McAleer, who is now the AD at Gloucester County Institute of Technology, said. “The state title for the baseball team that year was a fun and magical run. Even with a couple of twists and turns along the way, like the rainout state semifinal game in which we had a big lead after three innings and then had to play again the next day from the beginning without our starting pitcher, coach kept the team focused on the task at hand and the boys truly earned that title.”
Most recently, Reid has enjoyed success coaching the girls tennis program, a squad that has high hopes for a sectional title after returning six starters.
After falling short to Haddon Township in the sectional semifinal in 2023, the Panthers are perfect this fall with a flawless 7-0 record and a contender in South Jersey Group 1.
“Mr. Reid has always been there for me through my ups and downs with tennis,” said standout junior Anna Fisicaro, who was named first-team all-South Jersey last season by the South Jersey Tennis Coaches Association. “He’s always smiling and trying to help the team out every chance he gets. He works very hard and the team improves every day. We’re just trying to get better each day and to improve.”
Said Colette Rollins, a junior, “Reid is great at motivating us and pushing us to be our best. He keeps us focused throughout practice and only asks us to give our all and compete. The team has been playing and working hard this summer, and I want to showcase our improvement. We are the favorites this year, so I’m hoping our hard work will pay off and lead us to win South Jersey.”
Current Pitman Athletic Director Grant Shivers — who gave Reid his start by hiring him in the late 90’s at Woodbury — respects Reid and his dedication to coaching high school sports.
“Gene Reid is a good, old-school coach,” Shivers said. “He coaches with intensity and the main thing I like about Gene is that he cares about his players. He’ll do anything for his athletes.”
Despite being one of South Jersey’s smallest schools with just more than 300 students, Pitman is competitive in South Jersey Group 1 competition in most sports. As for Reid, he’s focused on bringing home a South Jersey — and potential state title — for his tennis team. When it comes to teaching and coaching, he says he doesn’t know what the future holds beyond this school year.
One thing is for certain though — he won’t go out without putting up a fight for another blue trophy.
“I’m really excited (about) teaching the middle school kids, the tennis program is really coming together,” he said. “We started a middle school feeder program. Obviously, I have a great group of juniors coming through. Two outstanding sophomores, and a lot of young freshman talent coming up.”
“I think there’s a great coaching staff here,” he continued. “Administration is very supportive. The guys are committed to their programs. We have kids who are willing to work in the offseason. I think now that the middle school is here (Pitman Middle School merged with Pitman High last school year), the feeder programs are only going to get stronger. I don’t see any drop off in the near future.”
Gene Reid isn’t the type to want to take any credit for successful teams at Pitman. But he sure deserves some.
Contact Brian Tortella: btortreportssj@gmail.com
