By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
Jason Finlaw has worked his way up the ranks.
Now, in his eighth year at Kingsway Regional High, he’s landed the gig he’s had his eyes on all along.
Finlaw — a Multiple Disabilities Special Education Teacher who is also entering his sixth season as the head girls golf coach at Kingsway — is beginning a new chapter as the head girls soccer coach for the Dragons.
And he couldn’t have pictured a better start.
Through the first eight games this season, Kingsway is off to a 6-1-1 start under the leadership of Finlaw — a lifelong soccer guru.
“I love to teach. I love to coach. Soccer has been my passion since I was just a toddler,” said Finlaw, a 2001 Pennsville graduate who later earned his Bachelor’s degree from Wilmington (Del.) University. “It’s been in my family. I’ve been coaching since I was a teenager, and I just love the sport. I want to give all of my experience out to the youth.”
The Dragons, who are currently ranked No. 1 in the South Jersey Group 4 power points standings, own victories over Haddonfield, Bishop Eustace, Clearview, Cherry Hill East, Williamstown and Triton this season while playing to a draw with GCIT. Their first loss came to perennial power Eastern, 2-1, in a potential playoff preview on Saturday.
In that contest, 41-year-old Finlaw shared the sideline with Eastern coaching legend Jamie McGroarty, whose 554 wins across 34 seasons are the most by any coach in South Jersey history.
“Anytime you get new faces to bring new ideas to the game and raise the level of the players, it’s good for soccer in general,” McGroarty said. “He’s a soccer person and he’s going to have success because they have a good program and they have good kids. He’ll have success for sure.”
Kingsway has made deep playoff runs the few seasons, falling just short of a sectional title. The Dragons fell to Central Regional in one-score contests in the tournament in both 2023 and 2024.
With a talented roster mixed with young strength and experienced players, Finlaw will be looking to lift the Dragons over the hump.
“Since coach Finlaw took over our varsity team, he has made a large impact on us. His energy, dedication, and genuine care for each player has truly transformed the way we train and play,” senior Alyssa Reiter, a New Jersey Institute of Technology commit, said. “Coach Finlaw has made this entire girls soccer program feel like a second family. He doesn’t just focus on winning, he focuses on building us up, helping us grow both on and off the field. You can tell he truly believes in us, even when we may doubt ourselves, and that kind of belief is powerful. He’s the kind of coach who inspires you to give your all not because you have to, but because you want to. We’re incredibly lucky to have him leading this team and I am super excited to see how far we can go this year.”
Finlaw, who was a four-year varsity starter at center midfielder for Pennsville during his scholastic days, is a big teacher of the sport and a soccer addict, he said. His goal is to get everyone involved as much as he can and see growth throughout the program.
“There’s definitely a lot of young talent. Not just on varsity, but on JV,” Finlaw said. “We move girls around a lot. Whoever is playing best and fitting into the team atmosphere on that given day. We reorganized the program as far as trying to get everyone more involved as far as not depending on (skill) level. We can see that growth and all be on the same page as we move on as a program going forward.”
A Woolwich Township resident, Finlaw and his wife, Alexis, have two daughters, Eden, 9, and Iris, 4, who attend most of their father’s games to cheer him on. There’s a good chance they may be representing the red-and-black themselves one day.
“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do ever since I stopped playing,” Finlaw said of being the new head coach. “I still get out there and play. I took a couple years off, but I was playing for the men’s league in Swedesboro and Woolwich. I might join back this year because I’m missing it more and more getting back on the field.
“This has been something I’ve been looking forward to. Like I said, when I stopped playing, I wanted to teach everything I know — and I’m still a student of the game. I love the game, and one thing I share with my girls is that ‘you’re a student of the game as well, so if you see something, we talk.’ We learn as a team. We talk as a team. We grow as a team.”
