In the past 31 years, WJ has seen eight principals, two mascots, thousands of students and, every now and then, a football victory. Through all these events, one thing has remained constant: P.E. teacher Kim Ahearn was coaching.
Whether it was golf, basketball (boys and girls), football, soccer or baseball, Ahearn has been on the sidelines throughout his entire 31-year tenure at WJ. A 1963 graduate of WJ, Ahearn played baseball and football for the Spartans (WJ’s mascot until 1987), and is self-described as a “mediocre” player. Still, when an assistant football coaching position became vacant, Ahearn, who was teaching in the county, was contacted to take over.
Ahearn would go on to coach a myriad of teams for WJ, and this season will mark his 27th as baseball coach. When he first took over the baseball team 31 years ago, Ahearn knew that he would hold the position for a long time.
“I’ve always said that I’d die with my cleats on,” he said.
The multiple coaching jobs Ahearn has held automatically integrated his two children with WJ sports at an early age. Though both children go on to become student athletes at Sherwood, WJ athletics are important to the Ahearn family.
“My whole family is such a part of it all,” said Ahearn’s daughter Jamie, who now coaches softball for WJ. “We always were made part of his teams. When I was old enough I even started keeping the score book for his baseball team. It has just been a part of my life and still is.”
The senior Ahearn sees some of himself in his daughter.
“She’s laid back like myself; I think she’s hard on herself like I am on myself,” he said. “And she’s willing to take the blame when her team doesn’t win.”
Athletic Director Sue Amos, who has been at WJ for 15 years, also sees the similarities.
“They’re both very hard workers,” she said. “They’re both very dedicated to the sport.”
Not only is Ahearn an experienced coach, he’s also a successful one. He was an assistant coach on the boys basketball team that won the state title in 1987. In 1991, his baseball team defeated two-time defending state champion Paint Branch to end their 30 game winning streak.
With each year that Ahearn coaches, however, the age difference widens between him and his players. Ahearn counts on his team to keep him in the loop so he can relate to the modern teenager.
“They let me into their own world a little bit, and they keep me in tune to what’s going on,” he said. “They keep me young.”
Though Ahearn is forced to bridge a wide generation gap, each passing year that he remains coach is a testament to his perseverance, as well as his love for coaching.
“[His career is] amazing and impressive,” said Jamie. “He always says he bleeds green. His love for this school and the love he has for what he does everyday is commendable.”
Jamie, who played softball in college, credits her father with guiding her into coaching.
“If it were not for my father’s dedication and the love I see he has for his players and the game, I may not have [gone into coaching],” she said.
Though these qualities set Ahearn apart from other coaches, he does not see why his efforts are applauded.
“I feel uncomfortable getting a pat on the back for doing something I like so much,” he said. “After 37 years of teaching and 31 years of coaching, there’s only one reason I’m still doing it: I like it. And you do what you like to do. And one of these days I’m sure the kids are going to say ‘Ahearn, you’re too old,’ or I’ll lose any credibility I had with the kids, and hopefully I’ll know it and I’ll get out before it gets bad.”
Until that day comes, however, Ahearn will remain a mainstay in the WJ baseball dugout. He has left an impressive mark on Jamie, who may follow her father’s footsteps to a lengthy coaching career.
“I am very impressed to see what my father has done over the years,” she said. “Every time I witness more and more of my father I know I am so very proud to have him as my dad.”
As far as Ahearn is concerned, he was meant to coach.
“What else would I have done?” he asked. “I guess I would’ve been a good garbage collector.”
