Abington boys’ basketball coach Dan Marsh recently reached the 500-win milestone. (Photos provided by Gregory Lindsay)
By Mary Jane Souder
It was, in many ways, a case of being in the right place at the right time.
Dan Marsh was coaching the eighth grade boys’ middle school team at then Akiba Hebrew Academy, when the girls’ varsity coach stepped down two weeks prior to the start of the season. Asked if he knew of anyone who might be interested, Marsh had an immediate answer.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, me,’ and he said, ‘You would coach girls?’ I’m like, ‘Absolutely,’” Marsh recalled.
That was 27 years ago, but Shira Kaiserman – then a sophomore at Akiba Hebrew (now Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy) - can still vividly recall her very first conversation with Marsh.
“We had a coach that had been there many years, and I remember right before (Marsh) started, he came into the building and I heard whispers, ‘Oh, that’s the new basketball coach,’” Kaiserman said. “I went up to him and I asked him, ‘Are you going to play your best players or are you going to play seniors?’
“He said, ‘I’m going to play the best players,’ and I’m like ‘Great, see you at tryouts.’ It’s my favorite story about him because up until then, the previous coach only played by seniority. And the year (Marsh) started, he started freshmen and sophomores.”
Talk to Marsh, and coming as no surprise, it’s one of his favorite stories as well, and he remembers it exactly as Kaiserman recalled it.
“Shira introduced herself, and she said, ‘I only have one question – will you start seniors or the five best players?’ I said, ‘The five best players, of course.’ She high fived me and said, ‘I’ll see you at tryouts,’ and she ran off,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She ended up being a three-year starter for me. She was amazing.”
Marsh’s philosophy has never changed, and he’s reaped the benefits, notching the 500th win of a stellar career on Jan. 13 with his team's 52-38 win over Pennsbury. One hundred of his wins came at Akiba Hebrew.
“His first year he started freshmen and sophomores, and he elevated the team and made us all want to be better because that’s what he was pushing for,” Kaiserman said. “We became a real team. He professionalized it, and he developed us as athletes. He made the women’s basketball program infinitely better because he took it seriously, and we took it seriously. It wasn’t like a club sport anymore. He cared about each and every one of us as people.”
Kaiserman goes on to recount the story of a player who was so nervous she couldn’t eat before games.
“He was checking in with all of us, and he got her to eat at least a banana,” she said. “He cared about the whole package, making sure we got our homework done and we weren’t too stressed out. He brought structure to everything we did.”
Shortly after receiving the award in recognition of his 100 wins, Marsh heard about a job opening at Abington from Sheldon Per, the father of his fellow teacher, Stephanie Per. Marsh applied, and the rest is history.
“It’s crazy how you like to think you have a free choice, but some things just work out,” Marsh said. “It’s just really worked out. I’ve been coaching here almost 22 years.
“I grew up out west, and my immediate family lives in the Seattle suburbs, and Abington just became my home, my community, and I became in love with it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
During his stint as the girls’ coach, the Ghosts won four SOL titles as well as two District 1 championships and regularly earned coveted berths in the PIAA State Tournament, advancing to states eight of nine years (minus COVID seasons) prior to accepting the head coaching position of the boys’ team.
“That’s great, but I feel bad that he’s not teaching girls basketball right now because I think he’s such a great coach for girls too,” Kaiserman said. “He was such a positive influence on his girls’ team, and that is not an easy thing for a man to do.”
*****
While Marsh loves to win as much as anyone, that’s not what has kept him in coaching.
“Really it’s just developing the rapport and seeing kids grow,” he said. “One of my favorite examples is Gabby Nolan.
“When she was in high school, she was quiet. We had to beg her to shoot the ball. She had no confidence in herself. I would have never thought she would have become this strong, independent, now educator. It blows my mind, and I like to think we had a little bit of a part in that maturation.”
Nolan – now a teacher in the Abington School district - acknowledged that Marsh was a rare breed when it came to coaching.
“He’s old school,” Nolan said. “What stood was his passion for basketball and for us as players and how much he invested in us and cared about us as people as much as he did about basketball itself.
“I feel like he just got so much buy-in from us because we knew how much he cared about the sport and us as people. “
Nolan has had a front row seat to observe Marsh as both a player and coach, serving as his assistant for several years for the girls’ team.
“Seeing him from the coaching perspective, you see how much it actually takes out of you to invest in every single kid on the team,” she said. “As player, you kind of just think, ‘Oh, this is cool. My coach cares about us,’ but seeing how much it takes, how one player needs this but the other needs that and the other needs this and you’re supposed to balance everything.
“It was eye opening to see what actually went into it behind the scenes and what it takes out of you to build a program. I think his biggest thing is he explicitly teaches everybody what they bring to the table in terms of how each person is valued.”
Marsh played a pivotal role in teaching Nolan her value.
“I didn’t have to score every single point,” she said. “There were games where maybe I didn’t play as much because they needed something else that I didn’t have, but it never made me feel less than because he did such a good job of teaching us our value ahead of time.
“It all comes together, and everyone has a different piece, almost like it’s a puzzle. He’s able to recognize each person’s value and make each player feel as important as the other. Playing for him and coaching with him– he values players who don’t play much as much as the players on the court. He always used to say to us – you’re only as good as your weakest player. Even if you’re at the end of the bench, you’re still contributing.”
Paul Glants played for Marsh for one year and this year served as the nineth grade coach.
“What stands out about Marsh is his passion towards winning basketball and his care for his former and current players,” Glants said. “Marsh played a big role in my basketball career, helping me get through hard times and struggles with the game.
“I always appreciated how he made all his players feel heard and never turned down a player or coach opinion. He also gives his players the ability to play the game more freely.
“Marsh is a great coach but an even better person. He helped me in so many ways. He’s very easy to talk to, he’s understanding and has a good heart.”
Family ties
Marsh could not celebrate his accomplishment without sharing the significance of his family.
Basketball – it turns out - was a family affair. His mother, RoseMarie Marsh, had had played basketball and was a motivating force in the Marsh family.
“She loved it, and my mom was one of those moms that when she was not at a game, my teammates would be like, ‘Where’s your mom?’” Marsh recalled. “She was loud. She one time got into an argument with the cheerleading coach because they weren’t cheering enough. We were a very competitive family.”
Marsh’s older brother, Joe, was his mentor.
“He was 6-5, and he ended up going to the University of Washington,” Marsh said. “He only played a year there, but he was good enough to get a scholarship to go to UW.”
Although Joe resided in Washigton, the siblings remained close. Joe – like Dan – ended up coaching high school girls’ basketball, and twice led his Arlington High School team to the state championship. He is in the Washington Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“We would talk basketball all the time,” Marsh said.
Four years ago, Joe was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. At the age of 57, he lost his courageous battle this past May. A week later, Marsh’s mother passed away.
“Going through last year’s basketball season – the whole time not know if I’m going to get that phone call was really tough,” Marsh said. “Fortunately, I was able to get out there and spend some time with him.”
The influence of his family as well as his basketball family at Abington has been profound.
“I was just proud of being able to coach for 20-plus years,” he said. “I told my players – ‘This is a players’ award,’ and I’ve been extremely lucky to be blessed with so many great players.
“A couple of my players have written my brother’s initial on their shoes. I wrote his initials on my shoes, so I’m kind of dedicating this year to him. Basketball is a big part of my life, and when they both passed, it took a chunk out of me.”
That’s when Marsh’s Abington family stepped in to show support.
“Abington is my family, this place is my life,” Marsh said. “It changed my life. It’s been good to me, and hopefully, they feel the same way.”
“To stick around for 500 wins, it’s crazy - it really is when you put it in perspective,” Nolan said. “To see how long he stuck around, it just shows how much he cares and how invested he is. How he’s really there for the right reasons.”
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