As the students returned from an always-too-brief holiday break, it was a very hectic week in the Kearny High School athletic office, with one athletic director packing up more than a decade of memories and heading for the door and another arriving _ albeit not officially until next month.
Still, John Millar is now unofficially the former director of athletics at Kearny with former girls’ soccer coach Vin Almeida unofficially, yet officially taking over as Millar’s replacement.
For now, there is no replacement yet for Almeida with the girls’ soccer team. That will take place later on down the road. But Almeida has been approved as the new athletic director, effective immediately.
First things first.
Millar, who for the past 40 years has been part of the fabric of the Kearny athletic department as a head soccer coach and for the last 12 years as the athletic director, officially retired as the Kearny AD and leaves four decades of memories and a lifetime of winning. That much is certain.
And Almeida, who has spent the last nine years as the head coach of the girls’ soccer team, was named last month as Millar’s replacement. That part is also official.
But Almeida has his responsibilities as a history teacher at the high school to deal with and will do so until a replacement has been found for that role.
It means that Almeida is currently juggling two positions _ his teaching job and his administrative job. That sure could lead to long, sleepless nights.
Luckily for Almeida, the AD responsibilities have been cleared for the months of January and February. Not that there isn’t always a last minute cancellation here and a weather postponement there _ because there always are those unforeseen changes _ but Millar did a perfect job of scheduling knowing that his retirement beckoned.
“Whatever help he needs, he’ll get,” Millar promised. “We already started on the fall schedules, so whatever help he needs, he can ask me.”
When Millar was promoted from boys’ soccer coach to athletic director almost 12 full years ago, he took over from Al Somma, who was a strict disciple of detail and remained that way until his retirement as principal a few years ago.
Millar learned quickly how to handle the department and he’s confident that the 40-year-old Almeida will do the same.
“I think he’ll do an excellent job,” Millar said. “He’s well prepared for the job. He’s done a great job with the girls’ program and he’s highly respected throughout the school, throughout our opponents. I think the transition will go smoothly. I think he ran a class operation with the girls and that’s something he’ll bring to the athletic office. He’s going to help the program rise to a place of greater prominence.”
Almeida said that he has been working with Barbara Brooks and Charlotte Haines getting to know the intricacies of the athletic office. Unfortunately, Brooks, who has been Millar’s right-hand woman as the athletic secretary for the last 12 years, has elected to move on to another position within the district.
Almeida knows that he has a tough chore, trying to replace Millar, who just recently gained admission to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame for his stellar coaching career.
“He was one of the first people in the building on a daily basis and one of the last to leave,” Almeida said. “Not seeing him in the athletic office is going to be strange. I didn’t even know he was retiring. He built this program up so much that I’m excited and motivated to keep it moving forward. I really enjoyed coaching very much, but this opportunity presented itself and I had to take it. Instead of being involved with just one sport and one small group of kids, I’m involved with everyone. I’m very excited about that.”
Almeida, who guided the Kardinals to eight Hudson County Tournament championships in his nine years as head coach, is ready for the new challenges that lie ahead.
“I really enjoyed coaching,” Almeida said. “In my mind, I’ll love this job, because I love all sports. I love working with the kids. I love being with the coaches. It’s a great spot to be in. I’m lucky to be there. I’m going to give every ounce of my being to keep the Kearny programs successful.”
Almeida said that there was no truth to the circulating rumors that there is a groundswell to drop football from the athletic department.
“There is no talk of dropping football,” Almeida said, despite the Kardinals’ 1-9 record, including losing their last nine straight contests, the last two by scores of 57-0 and 49-0. “We have to design ways to make the programs we have more successful. Football has been very challenging, no question. But we have to attack the situation instead of just dropping it.”
Almeida said that he has also not addressed the obvious vacancy in his coaching staff _ namely the head girls’ soccer coach. As per a rule conceived when Millar was named athletic director, Kearny coaches cannot serve as administrators at the same time. Almeida had to resign as the soccer coach to become the AD.
“I’ve spent the last nine years preparing for this job,” Almeida said. “I have other pieces to the puzzle to address. The spring coaches have all been appointed and approved, so that’s the first step. I think it’s going to take a couple of weeks to get acclimated to the new position. We want to keep every program moving forward.”
CAPTION
Former Kearny athletic director John Millar (right) welcomes the new AD Vin Almeida (left) with open arms. Photo by Jim Hague
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”