Chatham girls basketball coach Joe Gaba 'super proud of consistency,' 500th win
Joe Gaba can still remember his first victory as head coach of the Chatham girls basketball team. It was at Verona, and he knows the names of every player on the roster.
It's the same for other milestone victories, and he ran through the list: 100 against Hopewell Valley, 200 at home versus Morris Hills, 300 at Dover in 2012, and 400 in 2018 against his alma mater, Pope John.
The Cougars gave Gaba a new addition on Thursday, 68-39 over Montville for No. 500.
"When I set out to do this 27 years ago, I just wanted to bring stability to the program and start building something," said Gaba, who teaches chemistry and biology at Chatham.
"I'm proud of 500 (wins), but I'm more proud of ... the consistency, all at a public school. We take who comes through our doors, and have really committed players and committed families. We've been able to build this to where it is: one of the best public schools in New Jersey."
Coaching career close to home
Gaba grew up in Franklin Borough, and was a distance runner and basketball player at Pope John. After graduating from Mount St. Mary in Maryland as a biochemistry major, he returned to his alma mater as a substitute teacher while pondering applying to graduate school.
Gaba was asked to stay on at Pope John full time, and he also spent four years as an assistant to his own coach, Tom Fox, who also earned more than 500 wins. Gaba moved to Chatham Middle School as a science teacher in 1997, and then to Chatham High School the following year, also becoming the girls basketball coach.
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The Cougars won 13 games that first season. But Gaba thinks the current successful tradition really began around 2001, or maybe when Chatham reached its first sectional final in 2003.
Gaba has a 500-198 record in 27 seasons, all at Chatham. But he is already focused on the next win, and hoping for many more this winter – both for his girls' basketball team and the Chatham swim team, where his son Andrew is a senior distance specialist.
"It's more nerve-wracking being a parent than a coach because it's out of my control," Gaba said. "It's my child, and you want him to do well. At least in basketball, I had a hand in prepping them, and I have a hand, once the game starts, in play calling."
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With just two seniors, the Cougars are led by a veteran junior class including 5-foot-11 guards Ella Kreuzer and Mia Semioli. Gaba hopes they can get back to County College of Morris for the Morris County Tournament final four, and possibly win the Group title that has eluded the program.
Utilizing Gaba's tight man-to-man defense, Chatham has played in six MCT finals, won six sectional titles, and been in four Group finals: 2002, 2009, 2010 and 2019.
"There's no denying he has had an incredible career," said Chatham Day School kindergarten teacher and longtime assistant coach Lindsay Atchison, a 6-foot Chatham guard in the late 2000s. "This is truly the cherry on top. He has incredible respect within the county and the state. This just validates it."
Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ girls basketball: Chatham coach Joe Gaba 500th win
