Tom Burns never figured that he would be coaching a new soccer team this fall. After all, he was well established as the girls’ soccer coach at Kearny High School, winning 90 games in six years, including three conference titles, three Hudson County tournament championships and a state sectional crown.
Burns was content, coaching at the school where he has taught English for nearly 30 years, coaching in the town that he has called home for even longer.
However, the powers-that-be in the Kearny Board of Education didn’t see it that way. For some reason, they decided not to rehire the popular coach, maybe taking the word of a Board of Education member who alleged that Burns snubbed her daughter in a state All-Star game, costing her a chance to earn a college scholarship.
So when the time came last month to re-appoint the high school coaches at Kearny High, all of the coaches received another year – except Burns.
The long-time soccer mentor, who carved his niche coaching the boys in the famed Kearny Thistle youth program, doesn’t want to talk about what happened at Kearny. Apparently, there’s pending litigation against the Board of Education regarding his dismissal.
"I was disappointed in the Board’s decision," Burns said. "But I can’t comment on anything else."
Burns just assumed that he would not be coaching this season.
"I always assumed that I would be back coaching somewhere, but I thought it would happen next year," Burns said. "I didn’t expect it to happen this year, because I thought that all of the schools would have had their coaching positions filled."
However, the day that the Kearny board decided not to rehire Burns, Hudson Catholic athletic director Chipper Benway reached out to call him, to see if he was interested in taking over the coaching job left vacant when veteran coach John Cruitt resigned at the end of last season to take a new position as the director of development at Staten Island Academy.
"I didn’t know Chip, but he said that he was interested to talk to me," Burns said. "I didn’t know much about their program, because I was always so busy with my team. I knew they were very good, but beyond that, I couldn’t tell you."
Hudson Catholic’s soccer program was beyond just good. The Hawks won 11 HCIAA championships in Cruitt’s 18-year tenure at the school, including last year.
It didn’t take long for Benway to realize that he had the right guy. After Burns interviewed for the position, he was offered the job.
However, there was one obstacle that Burns had to clear before he accepted the job.
The first thing Burns did was ask his son, Tom, Jr., if there would be any problem with him taking the position. The younger Burns played soccer at St. Peter’s Prep, which is, of course, Hudson Catholic’s fiercest rival. In fact, Hudson Catholic defeated St. Peter’s, 1-0, in last year’s HCIAA finale in a very heated contest.
"His first reaction was to step back a little," the elder Burns said. "I wouldn’t have taken the job if he had a problem with it. Family is always much more important than soccer. But then he said, ‘Dad, I want to see you coach again.’ That was it for me."
Burns said that he feels no apprehension about coaching boys after working with girls for the last six years. In fact, Burns’ first coaching position was with the boys at Raritan High School and he coached boys for nine years with the famed Kearny Thistle program.
"It’s not a new experience for me," Burns said. "You have to expect them to be athletes first. Whether they’re boys or girls doesn’t make a difference. The only slight difference is that boys have more strength. But it’s the same game."
Burns said that he hasn’t given much thought to taking over an established program, one with a long-time respected coach.
"I had my own personal considerations involved before I took the job," Burns said. "I didn’t want to feel like I was taking a job for the sake of having a job. I wanted to give it the full attention it deserved. It had nothing to do with whom I was replacing. I knew they had a good program, but beyond that, I was more concerned with the team that I was coaching."
In the first few workouts, Burns has been impressed with what he’s seen at Hudson Catholic.
"There’s definitely talent there," Burns said. "I think we’ve been receptive toward each other. There’s a bond already and I feel good about it. They graduated nine key players, so the challenge will be to keep them on the same level that they’ve been on."
The Hawks open the season with a huge challenge, facing perennial HCIAA favorite Emerson of Union City Sept. 16.
"At the time the job was offered to me, I wasn’t mentally thinking that I could get back in the saddle coaching so quickly," Burns said. "I spent a lot of time contemplating it, asking myself, ‘Do I want to coach?’ But after I thought about it, I figured that I’d like to give it a try. It’s going to be a nice challenge."
Added Burns, "We have some talented players. It’s just up to me to try to find the right pegs to put in the right holes. And we don’t have a lot of time to find those pegs. We’re getting thrown right into the fire, so what the heck? We might as well know right away."
Hudson Catholic knows right away that they were fortunate to get an accomplished coach like Tom Burns to take over the established and respected program. – Jim Hague