Hamilton Township police chief Jim Collins (2nd from left, standing) works as an assistant coach for the Notre Dame girls’ basketball team during a game at Steinert Feb. 7, 2014. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
Hamilton Township police chief coaches Notre Dame basketball team
Jim Collins will be the first to admit it.
The night of Feb. 7 was a little weird.
And it had nothing to do with crazy crimes or dealing with budget cuts or trying to keep order in town during yet another snow storm. Those are what the Hamilton Township police chief must deal with during his day job.
No, this was quite different.
Collins found himself sitting on the Notre Dame bench during its varsity girls’ basketball game at Steinert on the first Friday in February. The chief is in his first year as a Notre Dame volunteer assistant coach, and now he was on the opposing side in the same gym where his daughter Arielle became the all-time scorer in Steinert history before graduating in 2008.
“Yes, it was definitely strange sitting on the opposite bench from the Steinert coaches as an opposing coach instead of in the stands rooting for Steinert against Notre Dame and the rest of the CVC,” Collins said. “It was like visiting your old neighborhood, being in the gym and all the memories of the games I watched my kids play there were running through my head.”
It was equally strange for Arielle, who sat across the way in the bleachers.
“It was definitely weird,” said Arielle, who just completed a stellar career at Fordham University last spring. “I was trying not to cheer for either team so nobody would get mad. When I first got there, the Notre Dame coach (James Martinos) said ‘What are you doing sitting on Steinert side?’ I said ‘I’m not moving.’ He understands.”
When Collins first approached his daughter about applying for the job, Arielle’s reaction was the same as a lot of folks. Where does the police chief of a large municipality find time to coach?
As it turned out, he was still maintaining the same schedule he has had for a long time.
“He said ‘You’re not playing anymore, so I won’t be going to your games,” Arielle said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re right, my career is over.’”
It was a career that spanned nine years–four at Steinert, one at Hun as a post-graduate and four at Fordham, and Arielle said that her dad missed just one game during that time due to a snowstorm “and he was devastated.” Since Notre Dame plays the same schedule, it wasn’t that big of a change.
“Notre Dame had a position available for a volunteer assistant so I expressed my interest to the Athletic Director (Rich Roche),” Collins said. “When I met with (Martinos), I knew it was a perfect fit. He’s definitely a great coach to learn from. His experience and compassion for the game are impeccable and I appreciate the opportunity.”
In some ways, Collins was filling a sudden void in his life.
“All my children played sports, and my daughter just finished a successful college basketball career, and I saw my basketball days possibly fading. I thought I could apply all my experiences to helping others become the best student-athletes they can be.”
Collins ran track at Irvington High School in the Bronx, and jokes that if there were varsity stickball he would have been All-State.
He has helped supply Steinert with athletes for a long time. Before Arielle, there were Michael (football), Jimmy (soccer, football, basketball, track), Nicky (soccer, basketball, track) and Eddie (soccer, ice hockey, tennis, winter track). Arielle was also a top scorer on two Central Jersey champion soccer teams, and Jimmy was on Rider University’s track team.
Collins served as a head coach on several of his children’s teams in the Hamilton Little Lads and Hamilton YMCA basketball leagues, and was also an assistant for several of Arielle’s AAU teams and the Trenton recreation leagues. He wasn’t just given the job so the ND staff can get out of speeding tickets, as he impressed Martinos with his basketball knowledge.
“He knows the game really well,” Arielle said. “He’s a real quiet guy. He’s not gonna yell all game. He’s more of a coach who will pull you over to the side and give you tips.
“I’m really excited for him. He’s always wanted to be a coach at some point again. He was a little rusty but he’s picking it back up.”
Collins said his job is to assist Martinos with whatever needs to get done. Due to his position in the township, the head coach knows police work comes first.
“It’s important to realize that I am a volunteer coach and not a critical staff member, in case my regular job calls me away for an urgent matter,” Collins said. “Coach James has been very considerate of those responsibilities.”
Arielle, who now works as an assistant buyer for Burlington Coat Factory, also hopes to get into coaching. She helped out at a Notre Dame practice and also stopped in at a Steinert practice prior to the Mercer County Tournament. She offers another person for Collins to bounce ideas off of.
“He’ll call me and run through practice and ask for different drills for guards and things like that,” Arielle said. “He calls a lot to check in.”
Jim noted that this was not a sudden whim, but that the timing was never right while he had kids he wanted to go watch.
“I thought about coaching high school basketball or becoming a college scout but I spent the last four years going to all of Arielle’s games across the country, which made it impossible to give it any serious consideration until after she graduated,” he said. “I like being active and the upcoming winter was wide open for a new focus.
“Coach James did warn me that I was taking on a large commitment, so I was ready for the long hours that were ahead. The mechanics of the game have been the most challenging but Coach James is a great leader and is turning my weaknesses into strengths.”
It takes some leadership abilities to do what Collins does in his fulltime job as well, which has made his coaching transition a bit easier.
“As a police chief, I understand roles and responsibilities of an organizational structure so it’s easy to adapt,” he said. “Coach James and the assistants have made my rookie season a great learning experience and enjoyable too.”
It was especially enjoyable upon his return to Steinert, complete with the abuse he had to take. It wasn’t the first time he coached against his children’s alma mater, as the Irish met Steinert in a home game earlier in the season. But it was a little different going back as a “visitor” in his home court.
“At the end of the freshman game I went to shake hands with Jules (Steinert coach Jim Giglio) and he kidded me that I was a traitor, then wished me luck,” Collins said. “After the JV game the rest of the Steinert coaches welcomed me as a new adversary but not before some additional ribbing.
“I am used to being called Chief and now I’m enjoying the new title. Even some of the Hamilton cops call me Coach now, off duty of course. The team gets a kick out of it when people call me Chief; they know me as Coach Jim.”
Actually, not all the officers call him coach, because they aren’t really sure about it. Dave Barlow, a long-time member of the police force says he has always known Collins to have the nickname “Phantom” and apparently he is living up to it with some of his officers when it comes to coaching.
“I’m sure half the force doesn’t even know he does that on his own time,” Barlow said with a laugh. “This is a true story … a few weeks ago Officer (Anne) Babecki, who is the school resource officer at Nottingham, comes up to me and says ‘Dave, that coach on Notre Dame looks like our chief.’ I said ‘It is.’”
“She was like ‘Holy cow, I thought he had a twin!’”
