SJR

Frank and Barbara Horan coached the SJR hockey team from 1977-78 through 1984-85 season. They are the only husband and wife coaching tandem in school history.

The Horans established youth hockey programs in the Seventies and Eighties at Sport-O-Rama, the Low Tor Ice Arena, and Englewood Field Club and the Mackey Ice Arena. After 38 years in youth hockey, Frank and Barbara retired to North Carolina, where Frank spent 12 years working with the Carolina Hurricanes, including their 2005 Stanley Cup win. He was also a well-respected referee at both the high school and college level.

During their seven year tenure at SJR, the Horan’s teams posted a 124-29-5 record, making them the winningest coaches in the 44 year history of the hockey program. Their .801 winning percentage places them among any top three SJR coaches with at least seven seasons behind the bench. They won four league titles in those seven years, and led the Green Knights to back-to-back state championships in 1984 and 1985.

They coached two players who would eventually be drafted by NHL teams, including Max Middendorf who went on to a fifteen year professional hockey career that included NHL stints with the Quebec Nordiques and Edmonton Oilers and defenseman Eric Reisman, who was drafted by the Boston Bruins, but suffered an injury cut that short his professional career.

Current SJR hockey coach Larry Mahurter, who played for the Horans, says, “Now that I have the privilege of coaching at SJR, my admiration for Frank and Barbara has grown even deeper. Their passion for the sport and their players was immeasurable. Their patience, commitment and ability to make each individual better could only be witnessed by the success we all experienced on the ice. I don’t think we will ever see a tandem like them again. Their relationship and admiration for each other set a strong foundation for all of us.”

In 2018, Frank was inducted into the New Jersey High School Hockey Hall of Fame.