The basketball court at Lansdale Catholic High School is no longer an ordinary court; it now bears the name of an extraordinary athletic legend.
On Sunday, Coach Paul Jefferis, the leader of the boys’ basketball team for 29 years and a former administrator who dedicated 37 years to the school as a math teacher and athletic director, was honored with a celebration and special dedication for the court that now bears his name.
Jefferis coached the boys’ team from 1965 to 1994. Surprisingly, he did not stop with basketball coaching at LC: Jefferis coached cross country from 1967 to 1972, and coached baseball from 1965 to 1968.
According to the school’s Facebook post, the event, organized by the Jefferis family and Director of Institutional Advancement and 1997 graduate Jen Huber, "gave (Lansdale Catholic) the opportunity to welcome back decades of alumni, family, and friends to celebrate a man who left a beautiful legacy at Lansdale Catholic.”
"It was a great reminder of the unbreakable bond of the LC family, and it was a memorable day from start to finish,” stated the post.
"My heart is full,” Huber told Jefferis’ son Joe the day after the dedication. "I saw how meaningful yesterday was for your family and especially your dad. When the speeches were happening, I just watched his reaction, and it was magical. I’m glad we worked through this process together because it was a win-win for everyone.”
Family members, coaches past and present, including girls’ basketball coach Eric Gigney and boys’ basketball coach Joe Corbett, and even current players, like captains Jack Trzeciak, Rowan Romero and Anthony Wack, shared sentiments with Jefferis at a Cannoneers Club-catered free reception after the school’s basketball game.
Jefferis’ two sons and former basketball players, Dave and Joe, also spoke fondly about their father at the reception, alongside Pete Bederak.
"My father is very moved today by such an honor and grateful to have this dedication. Lansdale Catholic High was a big part of his life for so many years. He has so many happy memories here, with the faculty, students, and parents. It’s always been like a second family to him,” said Dave Jefferis at the reception.
By the time Principal Msgr. William J.J. O’Donnell hired Jefferis as head basketball coach and athletic director in 1964, the 1952 Allentown Central High School grad and Lehigh University-educated industrial engineer Jefferis had numerous basketball successes to his credit.
Jefferis not only played college basketball, baseball, and served four years in the United States Army, but he had already served as head basketball coach for St. John’s High School for two years until 1959.
Even a marriage to Pat Heckman in 1959 – they celebrate 65 years this August – and a move to Pittsburgh did not hiccup Jefferis’s love of the game, as he soon took a coaching job at St. Mark’s High School and even worked as a MAC Truck engineer.
Coach Jefferis, speaking through his sons, told the crowd at the reception that he was grateful to God and his family, especially his wife, Pat, "who stood by his side while he put in countless hours on the court.”
"(He is grateful to) all the alumni for the opportunity he was given to teach, coach, and direct athletics at Lansdale Catholic for all those memorable years,” Jefferis said. "But, most importantly, it was an honor and privilege to coach every player that ever played for him here at LC.”
Jefferis’ love of coaching and teaching began with his career as an industrial engineer for U.S. Steel Co. in Pittsburgh, following his Army stint at Ft. Detrick in Maryland.
"He wasn’t at the Steel Company long, before he knew this was not the direction he wanted his life to go,” Jefferis said. "Coaching was calling his name. So, with his math background, he decided that if he wanted to coach, he would need to teach.”
By 1961, Jefferis had a calling for education, and took a job teaching math at St. Matt’s aka Archbishop Kennedy in Conshohocken until 1964. Of course, he coached basketball the whole time too.
Jefferis would continue to coach and teach at LC from 1965 until 2002, even heading up the math department for about nine years beginning in 1978. He eventually landed the role of LC Director of Pupil Personnel from 1973 to 1980.
Coach Jefferis never looked back and loved doing both.
"Being able to touch so many young lives was so fulfilling,” Jefferis said of his father. "He always believed in his players and hoped he was able to give them the confidence they needed to succeed, not only on the court, but also off the court.”
Courage was at the heart of his teaching and coaching. Courage, Jefferis said, was what his players needed to do their best in each game, which would transition, eventually, to the big game of life.
All four of Jefferis’s children – Patty, Ed (1960-2023), Dave, and Joe – are LC graduates. And, yes, all three sons played basketball for him at LC, with Joe coaching alongside his dad from 1990 to 1994.
"As Coach John Wooden once said, ‘Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It’s the courage that counts.’ His life has been truly blessed,” he said. "He thanks everyone who came here today. Your dedication to LC is inspiring.”
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