When I heard the news that Bob Lockhart was hired to be Warren Hills' new athletic director, two things came to mind.
Good for Bob Lockhart. Great for Warren Hills.
Lockhart, after being passed over a year ago for the same position, was unanimously approved by the nine-member school board on Tuesday. The same board that shot him down at the end of 2010 when Nick Holgash retired. Rarely do we get a second chance to do the right thing. And make no mistake, this is as right as it gets.
Lockhart beams with pride for the school he graduated from in 1977. The former star quarterback also served as the Blue Streaks' head football coach, guiding the 2000 team to the program's first and only sectional championship and retiring with the most wins in school history. His teams won three conference titles and qualified for the state playoffs in five of his final six seasons.
Bottom line: Lockhart was a winner on the field and Warren Hills is the big winner today with him heading up its athletic program. Check out what he told me during our phone conversation on Wednesday afternoon and see if you agree.
"I just have so much pride in Warren Hills and the kids are going to see that," he said. "I take pride in the Blue and White. The expectations [with me as AD] will come from us working hard together. I want to see all of our programs be champions. We have a lot of great coaches. The people I've been in contact with make all the work we've done worthwhile."
Lockhart, a 2006 inductee into the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, knows winning and he expects all of the sports programs to compete at a high level. Another one of his goals is to get students, parents and other athletes to come out and support all of the teams.
"Our girls basketball coach Meghan Ruppert came up with a great slogan, I think it's from Maryland: 'Twenty-four sports, one team,'" Lockhart said. "I'm full of energy and I want it to be infectious."
Lockhart certainly had a groundswell of support. I've heard from hundreds of current teachers, coaches, parents and former athletes who always supported his hiring and are extremely happy he's finally getting his due. He taught health and physical education at Warren Hills for 25 years and also coached basketball, baseball and track. During his playing days, Lockhart was an All-Conference quarterback at Trenton State (now The College of New Jersey).
It's refreshing to see a school that has seemed to go out of its way not to hire its own people make the right call.
The man known as "Lock" is also the father of two former standout athletes at Warren Hills. A son, Rob, was a star quarterback following in his father's footsteps and led that 2000 team to the championship. A daughter, Stephanie, was a standout defender on three field hockey teams that won sectional titles and played in the Group 3 finals under coach Laurie Kerr.
Still a young man in his early 50s, Lockhart recently became a grandfather. Rob Lockhart's son, Luke, is four months old. In typical fashion, Bob is already grooming the third generation QB.
"I've already got him throwing [a football]," said a proud grandfather.
Luke Lockhart sure sounds like a quarterback's name to me. Bob Lockhart as Warren Hills' athletic director has a nice ring to it as well.
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