WOODBRIDGE, Va. — New Gar-Field High School Boy’s Varsity Basketball Head Coach Jason Bell will take over for Andy Gray, the same coach Bell played for during his senior year of high school in 1994.
Two weeks ago, Gray announced he would retire as a high school head coach after spending 20 years at the high school in Woodbridge.
Bell, a Gar-Field alum, has a long history at the high school as his father, Larry Bell, was the head coach of the team prior to Andy Gray.
While Bell says he is eager to take the helm of the team, he admits Gray will be a tough act to follow, as It often takes a community time to get adjusted to a new face when they have been used to one for so long. Bell recognizes this and is eager to show Gar-Field fans that the excellence will continue as he excitedly takes his new seat at the head of the Gar-Field bench.
How ironic is it to you that when you were playing your final season as a basketball player at Gar-Field, Andy Gray was coming on as the Head Coach, and now after his term, you are beginning your legacy as the new Head Coach for the Boy’s Varsity team?
“It is indeed ironic. Prior to Andy Gray coming on as Head Coach, he replaced my father, Larry Bell who was the then Head Coach for the team. I’m just extremely happy to have the opportunity to be the head coach and, in addition, be the head coach at the place I graduated from. I was with Coach Gray 14 of the 20 years he spent coaching at Gar-Field and excited for this opportunity. Having played there, being coached by my father, assisting alongside Coach Gray and now being the Head Coach, it almost seems like a natural fit for me.”
It seems you have an elite group in your coaching staff; Jemel Perkins and Chris Vann who are returning. Like you, they were former standouts at Gar-Field as well and all of you have come back to your school; coaching the kids from the same community you came from. What talents do they bring to compliment your coaching style?
“As you know, Chris played Division I basketball and I did as well at VMI (Virginia Military Institute). Chris also played professionally in Korea. His freshman year was my first year on the staff. I had the great opportunity to coach him for all four of his years at Gar-Field and he was a phenomenal player. This will also be Jemel Perkin’s 20th year on staff as an assistant and he too played Division I basketball. So, collectively, we bring a great deal of experience an insight for this program and I am excited to be working with each of them.”
Your team has been used to Andy Gray’s coaching style. In addition, you have lost seven of your seniors too. What skill sets do you bring to the boy’s program to continue to build on it’s success?
“With the seven seniors, we probably had four that consistently started each game. Now that they have moved on, those positions will need to be filled. One of the things that is great, moving forward, is that each player will have the opportunity to compete for those positions; and not just compete, but I will be able to show them how to compete and then take that skill and apply it off the court as well. That’s how life is; competition exists with job opportunities and even at the collegiate level. Hopefully, this will help them be prepared for the next level. I’m really looking to maintain an already successful program. I feel blessed to be able to carry on the torch and be a part of this community.”
What stands out to you about your team as you prepare for the 2013-2014 season?
“One of the things we have coming back this year and even with the group of guys that left, are great kids on and off the court. They are really just great kids to be around, coachable and up to the challenge of competing. They are all the type of kids that I would be proud to have my own little ones around.”
What game are you looking forward to the most in your in your upcoming season as you begin your position as Head Coach?
“For this program and where we are at this moment, I would probably say the first game of the season. This will give us an opportunity to really make a statement as a team and show everyone what we are all about. After Coach Gray’s 20 year legacy, it will be a defining moment for Gar-Field, the team and the community. It’s a moment I am looking forward to be being a part of.”
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