Tennis Courts At Gregg-Bayonne County Park Dedicated to Bill Broderick

A special dedication ceremony was held at the tennis courts in Bayonne’s Stephen Gregg County Park on October 24th, as Hudson County and city officials named the courts in honor of Bill Broderick.  A member of the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame, Broderick served as the tennis coach for both boys’ and girls’ high school teams and was a physical education teacher for the Bayonne Board of Education. 

Broderick initiated the girls’ high school tennis program in Bayonne and led them to four Hudson County Championships, with an overall record of 201-50.  He led boys’ tennis teams to twenty-one county championships and a sixty-nine-match winning streak against county competition.  Coach Broderick guided the only Hudson County boys’ team that ever won thirty-two matches in a single season.   He was named Teacher of the Year at Robinson School in 1990 and at Bayonne High School in 2000.

A press release from the city said, “Speaking at the ceremony, County Commissioner and Deputy Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Kopacz explained that the tennis courts in the county park were being named for Coach Broderick, because the former tennis courts on the Bayonne High School campus have been replaced by the new county vocational school.  Mr. Kopacz pointed out that most Bayonne students are introduced to tennis at the high school level.  He said to Coach Broderick, “Thank you for all you have done for thousands of children.” “

Mayor Jimmy Davis referred to Broderick with the words of the legendary football coach, Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says you are.”  City Council Member At-Large Loyad Booker, who served in the Cops in Schools Program at Bayonne High School, thanked Coach Broderick for working “with the youth of this town.”

During his remarks, Broderick spoke about the county park’s tennis facilities, “I love these courts.”  He recalled the tennis teams he coached in the past, notably the winning team of 1998.  Overall, his boys’ teams had a record of 732-169.  Coach Broderick thanked the County Board of Commissioners and everyone who came to the ceremony.  

The ceremony ended with the unveiling of a plaque that honors Coach Broderick and the accomplishments of his teaching and coaching career.