My Letter of Resignation

This letter is to inform you that I am resigning from my position as the head girl’s basketball coach. I enjoyed my time while at Emerson and feel grateful for the knowledge and friendships that I have gained. Four years ago you took a chance and hired me to be part of your staff, I came into the high school as an enthusiastic young coach and it was a dream come true for me. That dream came true thanks to you! I’ve wanted to be a coach since my last high school game when I was 17 years old. I have spent almost every waking moment since spring 2008, when you hired me, doing everything I can to make the school proud of our program. I have tried my best to have an impact on the young women who came through the doors every day and put in the work to be a part of our program.

I am resigning from my current position as head coach from Emerson High School because I do not think I can pursue my position here to my fullest potential. I think the limitations and external factors have been too big of a distraction to continue a successful program. I do not think it is fair to anyone if I stayed just to be a “stipend” coach. I could never just show up and perform a task with out putting duties in that go above and beyond the job description. I have been offered and accepted a position at St. Thomas Aquinas College where I will pursue my qualifications and anticipate growing the game.

I will miss working with you very much as you have provided me with many opportunities to both learn and contribute. The appreciation that I have for CAVO NATION is immeasurable. I have been blessed to work with the finest administration and student body. Your mentoring and support have been invaluable to my progress. I will also miss many of my coworkers and take many positive memories with me to my new position.

I offer best wishes for a positive future. Please call on me if there is anything I can do to help ease the transition for the new coach. Again, I am excited about my new opportunity, but sad to leave. You are a wonderful subordinate and I will always be grateful.

Sincerely,

Jenny Jurjevic

Head Girls Basketball Coach

2008 - 2012

Best Compliment Ever!

Girls basketball roundtable

POSTED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012 3:11 PM

BY MARK CZERWINSKI

MARK: There are teams that have impressed me more than individual players, which is a little different. I find Emerson fascinating. The Group 1 Cavos are 11-0 without a lot of depth and they have already beaten two Group 4 teams (Fair Lawn and Bloomfield) and two Group 3’s (Bergenfield and Old Tappan). Most of their games are close, so they are working hard for everything they have. Deanna Eyerkuss, their top player, fits her role there perfectly and is one those “best player nobody knows” types. I wasn’t covering girl’s basketball during coach Jenn Jurjevic’s high school career at Pascack Valley and don’t remember seeing her play, but several people have told me that this team is such a reflection of her. I can see that just by her personality. This is going to be a fun team to watch in the County tournament.

Playing With Energy, Practicing with Energy....

Well coached teams are motivated. Great teams play with energy and a visible passion that proves they are engaged in the process that the coach has established. I've always made it clear that I COACH with my HEART on my SLEEVE. I coach the same way I played, even though the roles are totally different. There have been several times this past season I made references to "ROBOTS". I struggled with the "robots" of the team.

I felt as though players got into a routine and robotic-al in their motions, especially during their 15 minutes of pre-practice skill work. I got into a habit of implementing 15 minutes of practice (at the beginning) to warm up. By warm up, I do not mean sit on the floor and chit chat while stretching or step onto the floor to chuck three's up. I gave the kids a regiment to work on their own personal skill work: form shooting, foot work, free throws, shooting, ball handling and attacking the rim. BAM, the clock sounds, we sprint our butts to the baseline for a little pre practice talk (I only allow myself, or try to at least, to speak for 5 minutes) and then we roll into our practice plan.

Worst feeling in the world was walking into the gym to see the kids just going through the motions, not taking pride in their free throws or shooting. I felt like that carried over and bit us in the you know what what when the state championship game came along. Well coached teams have little or no game slippage from practice. They are able to execute and play at high intensity levels. When I realized their was a serious drop in the line up, some kids just made it look too easy in their execution, I brought boys in to scrimmage against. Practice should be competitive, you should get knocked to the ground a few times, you should be pushed and kept humble but no matter who you play against or what the score is you play with ENERGY. There is no room for card board cut outs, your not just there to be there. Make a difference. Don't bore me. Do Something! And do it with emotion!