March
17, 2005
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| After 723 wins over 32 years of coaching, PV's Jeff Jasper got his first ever 'W' in the Tournament of Champions with a win over Sacred Heart on Wednesday. |
DOVER TWP. -- With 723 wins and four state championships in a 32-year career, Jeff Jasper has experienced just about everything a high school basketball coach could imagine. Well, almost everything.
The winningest girls basketball coach in New Jersey history, Jasper got to taste something new at the Ritacco Center in Toms River on Tuesday night -- his first-ever Tournament of Champions victory.
What makes the 54-34 win over Sacred Heart of Vineland so memorable are the circumstances that surrounded his only other appearance in the T of C, way back in the inaugural event in 1989. His Indians came in with a 33-0 record that year, the last time the school had won a state championship before this year. They were the second seed and earned a bye before facing Hoffman, the sixth seed.
It was March 16, exactly 16 years ago to the day that PV would play this year, but in many ways it seemed like yesterday to Jasper. On that day in 1989, with everything so positive and a chance to make history, his life was forever changed.
Around noon, with the team getting ready to play, Walt Jasper, Jeff's father, passed away. Walt had been a strong influence in sports in Midland Park, where Jeff, his brother Bruce and sister Lynn had all graduated high school. A businessman in town and a member of the MP Booster Club, he was well known and well liked.
Emotionally weary, Jeff Jasper still coached his team in the T of C game because that's what Walt would not only have wanted, but also expected of him. The Indians dropped a heart-breaking 45-43 game, but for Jasper, it paled in comparison to the real life loss.
"He was such a tremendous influence on me," the son remembers. "He was so supportive."
Flash forward 16 years as Valley was wrapping up its Group 2 championship game win over Rumson on Sunday.
"It hit me right then and there," Jasper recalled. "The idea of going to the Tournament of Champions brought all of the memories back. Then, at the TOC luncheon, the MC says Pascack Valley, making its first appearance since 1989, and its right there again."
The memories aren't bad, though. Time will always heal the hurt of the moment, and Jasper now reflects on the positives, the lessons he learned from a hard-working father who was as much a friend as a provider.
"When he said that," Jasper continued, "I just smiled. It's great to be able to have all of the memories and thoughts. It's what being alive is all about. I don't get down or sad, he wasn't that kind of person."
Maybe that's the drive that keeps the coach going after all of the records and achievements. Here, he has just won career game No. 724, experienced his first-ever TOC win, and the last thing he's thinking of is whether or not this team can win the tournament.
"I'm just so thrilled that we can get back in the gym tomorrow," he said. "It's St. Patrick's Day, and we're still going. How great is that? I get to continue the coach/player relationship for a little bit longer.
"That's the most satisfying thing. When it's all over, which is inevitable, the relationship with the three seniors (Heather Zurich, Erin Thames and Justine Miras) goes from coach/player to coach/friend. I like the coach/player better."
Somewhere, there's a very proud father looking down knowing he did his job and that his son is still doing his.
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