Former Herndon Coach Hall Returns to the Hornets as Assistant

Former Herndon coach Gary Hall will return to the school this season to be an assistant under head coach Chris Whelan.

Whelan, in his fifth year as Hornets coach, was Hall's star player in the mid-1990s, leading them to a third-straight Concorde title under Hall in 1996.

 “Gary and I are close in general and we were having dinner. I threw it on the table, ‘If you want to comeback to Herndon and help me out?’" said Whelan, whose team was 23-3 and won the Concorde District in 2010-11.

"To be honest, this could just be a one-year or two-year breather for him and then he gets back [head coaching] somewhere. It’s whatever he wants. If he wants to be my assistant for as long as I coach, then that’s great. But if it’s just a breather, then he’s welcome to that as well.”

Whelan took over 2007 when Hall stepped down after coaching the Hornets’ varsity basketball team for 17 seasons.

Hall was head coach at Middleburg Academy last year.

 “We played in the state championship game and we probably had 10 fans there," said Hall. "That’s not necessarily Middleburg’s fault, it’s just the nature of that particular private school. The kids were great and the parents were great… but we didn’t play in a real conference, so there were no rivalries."

 Hall said he missed developing young players and getting to truly know the kids. He added that many teams may brag about their “family-type relationships” at their schools but Herndon’s family atmosphere is “the real deal” and something he cherishes even more after his time at Middleburg.

Whelan said his staff is already talented and the addition of Hall, who holds the same values and coaching strategies, will only better the team for the 2011-12 season.

“Our staff is still the same guys I’ve had since day-one and we have a great current staff. With Coach Hall coming on, it’s another sounding board,” Whelan said. “He built the program to what it is today. Some people understand that like the Herndon alumni and guys that played for him. I tend to think that a lot of people will be like ‘Oh my gosh, this is awesome.’”

 Yet with two successful, proven coaches on one staff, a question arises. “Are there too many cooks in the kitchen?” Whelan does not think so.

“There are only a couple people in this world that I could be an assistant coach for, and Gary is one of them. I’ve built my reputation from coaching college and this job,” he said. “I think I have proven myself to where I’m comfortable bringing on a figure like Gary. We have such a good relationship that we’re going to counter-balance each other really well.”