Notre Dame turns to former Peddie boss O’Reilly

LAWRENCE >> When Tim O’Reilly stepped down as the Peddie School softball coach last June, there was immediate conjecture over where he might end up next.

The answer was provided on Friday as O’Reilly was officially named the new head coach at Notre Dame.

“Absolutely,” replied O’Reilly when asked if he was excited to take over one of the top programs in the state. “I know I have big steps to follow, but they have a lot of talented young girls. I just want to keep the winning tradition going.”

O’Reilly is replacing Artie Kearns, who was with the Notre Dame program for 31 years, including the last 15 as the head coach.

By far one of the most successful coaches in the history of Notre Dame in any sport, Kearns guided the Irish to two state championships and a host league and tourney titles. Notre Dame consistently won over 20 games a year with Kearns in charge.

“Artie did a tremendous job with that team,” said O’Reilly. “A lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is to be that successful and win all of those games year after year.”

O’Reilly, meanwhile, was also very successful at Peddie. During his 14 years at the Peddie helm, O’Reilly compiled a record of 17466 and won six state Prep A titles. O’Reilly is known for an aggressive style on the bases and has been heavily involved coaching summer teams as well.

O’Reilly made no secret one of the reasons he left Peddie was the frustration he felt with the lack of support for the softball program from the school’s administration. Last year the Falcons were down to nine players by the end and were forced to use an injured player in the state championship game.

Numbers will not be an issue at Notre Dame, which has had its own problems because of parental interference with the program.

“It will be different in some ways, but there are also a lot of similarities between Notre Dame and Peddie,” said O’Reilly. “I feel comfortable with the school’s emphasis on education first and playing softball for fun. I wasn’t sure I would coach again, but this is a good fit for me.

“It’s also a step up. We had some very good players and teams at Peddie, but Notre Dame plays a more demanding schedule with 25 to 30 games. There are a lot of great programs in Mercer County. It will be exciting to compete against them on a regular basis.”