Trenton native and Pennington grad Dockery finds success coaching hoops
William Dockery has taken the words on the bridge and made them the motto for his life.
Trenton Makes World Takes.
That’s how the Trenton native and former standout on the Pennington School boys basketball team in the late 1970s has made a career in the sport.
“Do what the bridge says,” Dockery said. “Go where opportunity is and achieve.”
Most recently Dockery guided the Cecil College (Md.) women’s basketball team to the NJCAA Division II national after he was appointed the interim coach in January. The Seahawks went 11-4 under Dockery’s leadership and finished the season 23-7 overall after two tight losses in the national tournament held in Harrison, Arkansas.
Dockery was named the NJCAA Division II Region The XX Coach of the Year. His team won eight of its final nine regular season games and captured the Region XX championship with a 74-48 victory over Chesapeake College.
“You learn to make the most of what you have,” Dockery said. “Give me a crumb and I get a slice. Get a slice and I get a loaf.”
Dockery said his upbringing in Trenton and time as a player at Pennington helped prepare him for opportunities like this. He credits former Tornadoes girls coach Reggie Murray and former Mercer County College men’s coach Howie Landa as mentors.
Landa, Dockery said, helped him find a home at Houghton College (N.Y.) after he was cut from the team at Rider following an all-prep and all-county career at Pennington.
Dockery later returned to the capital city to teach in the Trenton school system before moving on to the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area where he’s made stops at Glasgow High, Northern High and Chesapeake High while also working as a program director for the Heroes Helping Heroes program in the beltway area.
Whatever comes next, Dockery’s going to follow the bridge.
“Trenton teaches you to strive to survive,” Dockery said. “You take pride in what you’re doing and you can achieve.”