By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
X @tortreports
WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP — There have been some recent coaching moves at Kingsway Regional High.
Jeanine Delaney was approved by the Kingsway Regional High School Board of Education as the new head girls basketball coach at the BOE meeting on May 16.
“We are delighted to welcome Coach Delaney as our new head girls basketball coach,” Superintendent Dr. James Lavender said in a district press release. “Her distinguished career as a player and coach and her deep commitment to mentoring young athletes make her an exceptional addition to our team. Coach Delaney’s passion for the game and ability to inspire and develop talent will undoubtedly transform our basketball program and foster a thriving, supportive community for our student-athletes. We are excited for the bright future she will help shape at Kingsway.”
Delaney is currently in her 10th year teaching at Kingsway, where she serves as a Business Education teacher. A 1985 Washington Township High School graduate, Delaney helped lead the Minutemaids to consecutive South Jersey Group 4 titles and the state final in 1985 as a 1,000-point scorer. She was a three-sport varsity athlete in basketball, tennis and track, and is a member of the WTHS Sports Hall of Fame.
She succeeds former coach Lamont Robinson Sr., who stepped aside to become Absegami’s new head football coach.
“I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to join the community of coaches and student-athletes at Kingsway Regional High School,” Coach Delaney said. “As a teacher and coach, I am passionate about helping student-athletes develop their skills and become the best versions of themselves on and off the court. I’m looking forward to coaching the girls basketball team and leading the entire program as we continue to build a culture of teamwork, dedication, work ethic, excellence and fun.”
Delaney continued her playing career at the next level at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where she earned spots on the Big Five and Atlantic 10 All-Academic teams and was a GTE Academic All-District National Team member and a Jesuit Leadership All-American. Delaney served as an assistant coach at James Madison University and later as a head coach at Clearview Regional High in Mullica Hill. She has three sons who all earned scholarships to play college basketball.
“We are very excited to have coach Delaney on board and look forward to infusing her passion and knowledge of basketball into our athletic culture,” said June Cioffi, Kingsway’s athletic director. “She has a love of the game like no other, and as a player and coach for over 30 years, she has our students’ best interests at heart. We look forward to having her as part of our coaching staff.”
Kingsway finished 11-17 each of the past two seasons, falling in the first round of the playoffs in each campaign. The Dragons return their top two leading scorers in rising seniors Paige Horton and Ava Valente. Delaney, alongside her sons, will run the Delaney Basketball Camp at Kingsway Regional Middle School this summer.
Girls Lacrosse:
Perhaps common knowledge to the vast majority of “Dragon Nation,” mom-turned-coach Suzanne Phalines has decided to step away after her first year at the helm.
With Kingsway in sudden need of a coach just two weeks prior to the season’s start, Suzanne, the mother of senior Virginia Tech commit Ally Phalines, stepped in to fill the role.
“Coach Phalines did a wonderful job stepping in at the last minute to coach the Dragons girls lacrosse team this season,” Cioffi said. “She will not be returning as she will be traveling watching her daughter Allison play at Virginia Tech. We appreciate everything she did to continue the success the team has had the last two years!”
The Dragons enjoyed a lot of success, reaching the state final for the second consecutive season, but fell to state and national power Morristown, 10-6, on Saturday.
She said she plans to watch her daughters Ally and Haley compete at the collegiate level, the latter of whom will be a senior at the University of Albany in the fall.
