Success is nothing new to Kevin Boyle, the longtime boy’s basketball coach at St. Patrick High School Academy in Elizabeth. Last season, Boyle’s Celtics ran up a record of 25-5. At deadline, they are ranked number two in the East and number four nationally this season by ESPN Rise and USA Today Super 25 High School Index.
Boyle, 45, has been at the helm at St. Pat’s for 20 years and has sent numerous players to the NBA, including current stars Samuel Dalembert of the 76ers and Orange native Al Harrington of the Knicks. More than 75 percent of his players have gone on to play for NCAA Division I teams. “College basketball has enabled these kids to make a better life for themselves,” he says.
One of Boyle’s favorite success stories is Corey Fisher, nephew of convicted New York drug lord Guy Fisher. The younger Fisher, a native of the Bronx, played for Boyle until his graduation in 2007. Fisher is now a sophomore at Villanova University, where he is a starting guard for the Wildcats, maintaining his grades, and majoring in sociology.
Boyle, who was born in Clark and now lives in Rahway, graduated from St. Peter’s College in Jersey City. He started his career coaching middle-school boys at St. Joseph’s in Roselle, and in 1989 made the move to St. Patrick. Boyle built St. Pat’s into a hoops powerhouse, leading the team to four state championships and an overall record of 529-96. His current stars include seniors Dexter Strickland and Paris Bennett (who are committed for next year to University of North Carolina and George Mason University, respectively); highly rated sophomore Michael Gilchrist; senior Dean Kowalski; and Boyle’s son, junior Kevin Boyle Jr., a 5-foot-10-inch guard. “They’re a great defensive team,” says the senior Boyle. “Offensively, we look for fast breaks; we’re a motion offense.”
Boyle says “intense” is the best way to describe his coaching style. “I try to get the guys to compete in every play, every practice, and every game.”
While the current schedule is barely underway, Boyle is looking ahead to the 2009-10 season, when his team will move to the Watchung Conference, a league that includes big public schools such as Union, Elizabeth, Plainfield, and Linden, and will offer, says Boyle, “some of the best basketball in the state.”
Boyle also runs a summer camp for kids who dream big. For details, visit coachboylecamps.com.