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Tony Martin was one of the most successful coaches in Harford County history. He spent 11 years as head basketball coach at John Carroll School. That stop was only part of an ongoing coaching career that included 4 major head coaching positions at the high school level. Today, Coach Martin has led Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middle River to an “A” Conference Basketball Championship (the school’s first “A” Conference crown). Our Keith Watson had a chance to sit down with Coach Martin, chronicle his career, and learn about the opportunities that led to his success.
Here is that interview.
1) Where’d you grow up…what was your family like and what sports were you and your siblings involved in… middle school, HS, college?
I grew up in Catonsville, baseball was my first love. Collected over 30,000 cards. I created a mini-league in my neighborhood at the age of 12 for football. A high school football coach was my neighbor, and he was a great help. I lined the field, did stats, mom dyed white t-shirts in NFL team colors, and we held an end-of-season awards pizza party. We did something similar with baseball and basketball, but we just kept stats. Eventually, we would take our group of neighborhood kids and challenge surrounding neighborhoods to games. Fun memories of when kids played outside without the structure we see today. My brother decided to coach, and I joined Edreco basketball and baseball playing rec and travel. My brother was sharp, and we won a lot of championships. We were raised by an awesome mom, had two sisters and a brother. Very humble beginnings.
2) What prompted you to consider coaching? Did you ever think you’d make it such a big part of your life?
I had a very eclectic group of childhood friends, and we have remained close to this day. A couple went on to be top in their field, and a couple had very workmanlike careers. My best friend growing up and I were college roommates at UMD. One night close to graduation, we were sitting at the kitchen table and just talking about what is next in life. He suggested coaching as sports was my only true passion. I always knew something involving sports would be my chosen career choice.
3) Can you talk about your career as a coach- parks and rec, HS asst, etc- the whole journey?
During my senior year of college, I coached a 13-14 travel basketball team. From there, a longtime Cardinal Gibbons assistant asked if I was interested in joining Gibbons at the Frosh-Soph level. Little did I know that this would become the perfect learning ground under the late great HoF coach Ray Mullis. He was the winningest coach in Baltimore City at the time and I saw what an elite level program looked like in my early 20’s. I coached for four years at Gibbons, winning multiple championships at the FS and JV levels. I would literally sit on the FS, JV and varsity benches during games as well as attend all three practices. I was hooked! From there, I became friends with Pat Clatchey, who was about to take over at rival Mount Saint Joseph, my alma mater. Pat asked me to come on board to be his right-hand man on the varsity and coach the JV. That created quite a stir as the CG vs MSJ rivalry was heated. I stayed four years, winning several championships and finishing with an awesome group of kids that went 26-0 at the JV level, led by future MLB all-star Mark Teixeira. We had future McDonald’s All-American and UVA star, Norman Nolan, on my FS team as an 8th grader. It was a very different time when the FS and JV levels were loaded with talent to coach.
The Archbishop Spalding job opened up. They were in the MIAA C Conference and not in the Baltimore Catholic League, coming off a 3-17 record with no real history of athletic success in the school. Many told me not to take the job, but I was hungry and ready to lead my program. We won the MIAA C Conference in year one and petitioned to move up to the MIAA A and into the BCL in year two. The BCL had an odd number of teams, so they immediately accepted us. By year three, we won the BCL tournament and were set to enter year four preseason ranked #19 in the country by USA Today. I had just been named Baltimore Sun All-Met coach of the year, and we were set to return four four-year starters with a loaded incoming class, including to-be 7-footer Will Bowers (UMD). A myriad of things happened, from my mom’s health issues to the birth of two children, and I thought I wanted to coach at the DI level. While working in the private sector, I was offered an assistant job at Towson University. As crazy as it seemed to everyone, I left a powerhouse built from the ground up to dip my toe in college while also working a full-time job. It became apparent that juggling life, job, and coaching at that level was not conducive to raising a family. So, to everyone’s amazement, I stopped coaching competitive basketball. I never had a father in my life, and I was determined to be there for everything for my wife and children. So, over the next six years, I was 100% engaged in family life. No regrets; the greatest years of my life!
Out of the blue, a friend mentioned my name to the AD at John Carroll. We met and agreed that I would come on as an observing consultant. JC went 0-25, continuing a 35-game losing streak. There was a need for change, and I began to work tirelessly to build a program over the next 11 years that reached the highest heights playing on ESPN, multiple national rankings, compete in the best events all over the country, attracting student-athletes from around the globe, sending over 40 student-athletes to the college and/or pro levels. I found a good work-life balance as it was easier with the kids reaching middle school age. It was a wonderful time in my life to have my children attend the same school where I coached. Forever grateful to our athletic director Larry Dukes, who spearheaded positive change in both athletics and the school community. Our visions aligned, and the rest is history, as they say.
The South has always called us. In the Jimmy Buffet song “A pirate at 40” there is a line that resonates. So, instead of taking several annual vacations south, now that the kids had graduated high school, we decided on a new chapter at the beach. Cape Fear Academy in North Carolina is a high-academic private school with very little previous athletic success. Over our seven years, we led them to five straight conference titles and four straight final fours, developing many student-athletes for the next level.
When Nancy and I found out we were about to become grandparents, our hearts were already missing Maryland, but I felt it might take a year to make the transition back home. By happenstance, I was connected with the new Mount Carmel AD. I told him I was hoping to wait one more year, but as we spoke, I knew this was a guy I could work with to build something special. So, within weeks, I flew up to meet with the OLMC powers that be, flew back to let my CFA administration know, found a home, and got to work. Mount Carmel needed a culture change and only had three returning basketball players between the V and JV, but unlike the prior programs, they had built some obvious momentum. I have much respect for coaches Rose, Hibbert, and Quinn, each of whom put their stamp on the climb to the top. Leadership from AD Jesse Thomas, longtime former AD and current assistant principal Mike Naunton, and outgoing head of school Larry Callahan were tremendously supportive. Right time, right school, I felt at home. In two years, we reached the #1 ranking in the state, top 40 in the country, and made history with the school’s first ever MIAA “A” Conference and BCL titles. With new head of school Mindi Imes and principal Jim Nemeth leading the way, the future is bright. I am thrilled to be back home with family and coaching in the BCL!
4) From where I sit, you are a program builder. I heard about your effect on Spalding…I witnessed firsthand how you transformed John Carroll and read about Mt Carmel’s rise. What would you consider your greatest accomplishments in basketball in terms of championships, overcoming adversity, and/or program building?
It’s interesting because I never saw myself as someone who would stay at one school for 30-40 years. That would have been a much easier path, but the communities our family has been blessed to be a part of, the relationships we have built have far outweighed the hefty challenges. Archbishop Spalding, John Carroll, and Cape Fear Academy each needed a change agent and, with that, created a divisiveness between the forward thinkers and those very reluctant to change. It is something our society, in the bigger picture, still faces today. That said, the question arises. Did those program changes stand the test of time? The answer. A resounded, yes! Years after the upfront bumps smoothed out in boys’ basketball programs, Spalding and John Carroll would go on to rise in many other sports, building new gyms and fields, increasing school diversity, and opening doors that had been closed for decades. Watty, you did the same things and know the drill! Those hard-fought battles and the full story will be in my retirement book. As my former head of school at JC used to say, “I admire you for always taking the high road.” It’s very important to be on the right side of history and we have made history!
5) How many players have you had play in college? Pros?
I’ve been blessed to coach well over a hundred former student-athletes who have continued their athletic careers in college and professionally.
6) Your ability to attract (and retain) student-athletes from around the world has always amazed me. Can you describe the evolution of that process? Was there something already in place that you tapped into, or did you develop it?
With a rock-solid eight-year foundation coaching at CG and MSJ, I left no stone unturned on the ascent. Having swept the floors after long 14-hour workdays for years, I had an unyielding passion to build the best programs possible. In order to take a non-existing program and in short measure sit at the table with the bluebloods, it required thinking outside the box. Spalding and John Carroll are the only Catholic high schools in their respective counties. Cape Fear Academy was a school 15 minutes from the beach. None of these were hotbeds for athletic talents like Baltimore. Given the opportunity to work at Nike All-America Camp at IUPUI in Indianapolis created a laundry list of college coaching contacts. I still remember the exclusive feel of having the top high school and college coaches and players in the country at these invite-only camps. Naismith Hall of Famers John Thompson (Georgetown & U.S. Olympic team) and George Raveling (Iowa & U.S. Olympic team) held a meeting to alert us, handing out rules for the proper protocol prior to Yao Ming’s arrival to the U.S. for the first time as a teenager. Yao would go on to become a global superstar and the most famous Chinese person on earth. Fast forward to my meeting with Craig Esherick, who took over as head coach at Georgetown after John Thompson retired, in the Spalding parking lot. He connected me with a student-athlete in Cameroon, Africa, which would become my first experience with an international student-athlete. He told me, Max Yokono would be the best player in the BCL immediately. What we didn’t know was that this young man had been seriously injured before his arrival. Over the next two years, Max would only be able to play in his last three games of his senior year. He had become one of the most popular and respected students in the school, speaking four languages. The student body and faculty rallied behind his struggle. I met with two orthopedics, and after much collaboration, Max was blessed to have two different surgeries performed gratis. This was long before procedures and processes were in place for internationals. So, we all were truly flying by the seat of our collective pants. I would drive Max to his ESOL and SAT prep classes, doctor and PT appointments. In a world where some treat athletes as disposable commodities, relationships are what mattered to me. I worked tirelessly to help Max obtain a full basketball scholarship to Sacred Heart University based on his potential to improve his health in the future. Max would later earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, get married, have children, and become a U.S. citizen. He is the kindest and wisest gentle giant anyone could ever meet. It was not God’s plan for him to become a pro basketball player. He found value in contributing to this world in other ways.
Upon my arrival at Mount Carmel, I reconnected with one of the main Cameroon contacts, who played at Georgetown and had a court built in his name in his native country. He told me about a wonderful young man who would be a great addition to our program. So, I reached out to my former student, Max, and asked him to speak with our potential new prospect. Max called me and said, “Coach, you will never believe this, but my sister is this young man’s coach in Cameroon!” Talk about a full circle moment and an unveiling of God’s greater plan. 25 years after Max comes Junior Mancho. Well, this student-athlete is a straight-A student and one the most liked/respected students in the school.
In between, I have had the pleasure of attracting student-athletes from several continents and dozens of countries around the world. This grew organically out of treating the first student athlete the way you would treat your child. The laughs, experiences, and successes of working with so many different student athletes are enough to fill your glass and keep you warm at night. Having a student body at many of these schools that operate in a neighborhood bubble, being allowed to be around and grow with students with differing backgrounds has been a win-win for everyone involved. As with any choice, there will be differing opinions. Yet, I have found if you simply do the right things for the right reasons, everything works out for the best.
7) I’m sure there have been college coaching opportunities. What’s next for Coach Martin?
Over the years, opportunities are always there. The reality is that many DI assistant coaches have come in to recruit and envy being a high school coach who gets to work with players that can reach the highest level of their profession, run summer camps, raise a family with a work-life balance, and be the decision maker. I always say not everything shiny is gold. I am very happy where I am and believe God opens the doors where he needs me to be a servant leader.
