Fenlon closing in on win No. 600 for Terps—not himself

Posted Jan 5, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 5, 2012 at 02:39 PM

As someone who constantly stresses the importance of teamwork, Joe Fenlon says he’s not fond of looking back at his individual accomplishments as the boys basketball coach at Tampa Prep.

But tonight against Seffner Christian, Fenlon is approaching yet another milestone in his 29-year career with the Terrapins. This time, he’s on the verge of his 600th victory. If his squad can get past the Crusaders and improve to 15-0, Fenlon will reach that impressive mark. He’ll likely get the game ball, which will join the ones he has for No. 250 and 500.

Still, there’s more important things on Fenlon’s mind entering the game.

“It’s a district game and will keep us as the top seed if we can win,” Fenlon said. “Really, in a sport where I preach over and over about what we do as a team, where I talk about making that extra pass, the extra look and that extra effort for the team, it’s uncomfortable to talk my 600th win.”

Fenlon believes there will be plenty of time to reminisce about his coaching days after he retires. To date, his Terps have made seven appearances in the state tournament as he and the school try to earn that elusive first championship crown.

But when you ask Fenlon what he remembers about some of those milestone wins, he says he tends to remember the people who were there to share it with him. At 500—four years ago at almost the same date as tonight’s game—it was his son, Conner, who was a player for him at the time. His parents were in the stands.

The early achievements? Fenlon says he doesn’t remember much about those. He puts it down to the fact he never planned to coach high school hoops this long.

“I had always envisioned myself coaching in college one day,” Fenlon said. “So I guess those early days don’t register as strongly. But now, they’re all part of the numbers and an important part of it. But to me as a coach, I’m always focusing on the game we’re playing and the immediate goal of wining that one game.”