By Cary Shuman
Joe Conlon
Classical director of athletics Bill Devin tried to get Lynn Jets hockey coach Joe Conlon to reconsider.
Conlon notified Devin and other Lynn school administrators last week that he had decided to step down from his head coaching position after nine successful seasons.
Conlon also sent an email to the Lynn Jets parent boosters thanking them for their support of the boys hockey program that has brought athletes together from Classical, English, and Tech together under the Lynn Jets cooperative team’s banner. He also lauded the support of the boosters at the team’s April 4 breakup banquet.
Bill Devin said he had the joy of watching three of his sons, Kyle, Brandon, and Sean (a junior at Classical) play ice hockey for Joe Conlon and he was looking forward to next season when a fourth son, Matthew, was set to begin his varsity hockey career for the Jets and play under Conlon’s leadership.
“I’m going to miss Joe’s presence a great deal,” said Devin. “I’ve been an AD for ten years and he was one of my all-time favorite coaches. From an AD’s perspective, he gets the most out of our kids and he’s been so successful in taking a co-op program and getting the kids ready to play every single game. We’ve been very competitive against some of the better teams in the league.”
Devin described Conlon, a teacher at Lynn Tech, as a consummate professional. Conlon is the son of Lynn District Court Justice, the Honorable Albert Conlon and former Winthrop High School principal Gail Conlon. He is the nephew of Winthrop’s Hall of Fame football coach Tony Fucillo.
“Joe gets the kids involved in summer hockey, weight training, and fall hockey – you’re not going to meet a better guy that’s more dedicated to building a program than Joe Conlon. He’s a schoolteacher and a role model. He’s a gentleman on and off the ice. He’s well respected around the league.”
Devin said he will keep the door open for Conlon if he decides he would like to return to the program in any capacity.
Joe Conlon did return a phone call from the Lynn Journal and respectfully chose not to comment at this time.