Clayton's Moore, GCIT's Holland left their marks on South Jersey scholastic softball

Two head coaches who helped put their respective programs on the South Jersey softball map, Joe Moore and John Hollard, recently stepped down.

Moore guided Clayton to unfathomable heights over his 12 seasons, commanding the Clippers to one of the greatest runs in the region’s history, one that included a pair of state titles and South Jersey’s first-ever win at the softball Tournament of Champions.

Holland took a relatively unknown program at Gloucester County Tech and led the Cheetahs to school’s first-ever sectional crown in any sport.

Moore righted the ship, turning the Clippers from a bottom-of-the-division dweller into a champion during his tenure. After winning just three games in his debut in 2011, Moore led Clayton to 146 victories.

Moore, who said he wanted to spend more time with his family including his grandchildren, said there were plenty of things he would miss about coaching, but one ranked above all others.

“Just going to practice and being around the team,” said Moore, whose coaching career spanned over two decades between high school and travel ball. “It was an extremely tough decision for me. You always feel like you let someone down. But it’s got to end sometime and now was the time for me.”

Moore said the first sectional and state title teams (2021) would be one of his most cherished memories as the Clippers knocked off nemeses Pennsville and Gloucester en route to the South Jersey crown. However, it was a heart-wrenching 3-2 loss against a loaded Donovan Catholic team later that spring that made huge statement, too.

“It was a tough moment because we lost, but it showed everyone on the big state, that we were here. We arrived,” he said.

Over the last three years, Moore guided the Clippers to a 76-8 record which included three straight South Jersey Group 1 titles, two New Jersey titles and a state runner-up finish. The team finished No. 1 in South Jersey in 2021, earning Moore the Courier-Post's Coach of the Year honor.

“Coach Joe now has two beautiful grandchildren and he has given so much time, energy and money into our softball program and the school that he absolutely deserves a relaxing retirement,” said Gianna “Gigi” Muhaw, a two-time South Jersey Player of the Year who is playing in her first season at St. Joseph’s University.

“Playing for Coach Joe was the best experience. I can name countless memories, good and bad, that have shaped me into the woman I am today.”

Muhaw said one of her best memories was winning the program’s first state championship in 2021.

“(It) proved that all of his and the team’s hard work went to something historic,” Muhaw said.

Moore’s teams played an aggressive brand of softball, attacking the game in all phases, especially on the basepaths, where the coach says the Clippers won a lot of games simply with their baserunning.

“(Moore) achieved what we all strive for – winning a state title,” Holland said about his fellow Tri-County Conference coach. “He was able to take his program to new heights. He had a group of girls who played his kind of softball.”

Across Gloucester County over in Deptford, Holland enjoyed similar success at GCIT, where he won 294 games in 20 years.

“As success built in the early years, people found out what GCIT was all about the school and the softball team was all about,” said Holland. “It was a great run for me here, but it’s the kids who did all the hard work.”

GCIT captured the South Jersey Group 3 title in 2013, knocking off perennial power Hammonton in the sectional final. Holland calls that magical run one of his greatest moments of his coaching career.

“When the machine is working, it just works,” he said. “Things just started to gel early with that group. Even in some of the early losses, we found the mistakes and were able to correct them quickly. They just took off from there.”

Holland isn’t leaving the coaching ranks. He said he has been hired as an assistant softball coach at Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester under Steve DePasquale.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Clayton's Moore, GCIT's Holland led teams to great heights in S. Jersey