NBHS Future Looks Bright
By Donald King | Fire Marshall at August 11, 2023 | 6:45 pm | Print
The future looks bright for the staff and students at New Britain High School. This summer the Consolidated School District of New Britain named Joe Pinchera as the school’s new principal. Joe is a natural leader with a tireless work ethic who is dedicated towards a team approach when it comes to getting things accomplished. How do I know? I experienced his leadership qualities firsthand almost 25 years ago just over the city line.
Prior to the winter of 1993, my teammates and I had high expectations for the upcoming basketball season. The Newington High School Boys Varsity basketball team was comprised of juniors and seniors, so we figured our experience playing together would give us a solid edge against our opponents. It did not take long for reality to set in. By the half way point of the season, our record was 1 win and 8 losses—with many of these losses coming in the double digits. The blame game began in earnest, and the season appeared to be on the brink of collapse. It was at this time that the team’s 17 year old Captain—Joe Pinchera—called a players’ only meeting and got us all back on track and focused again. I wish I could tell you that we went on a winning streak and made the state tournament, but that would be reinventing history.
Two weeks and four losses later we were mathematically eliminated from post season play. At this point, a group of talented underclassmen were called up to Varsity, and the upperclassmen were relegated to the bench for the remainder of the season. Embarrassed, many members of the team were ready to quit. Joe would not allow this to happen. Based on the power of his personality, not one player left the team. Joe’s leadership skills and his ability to share his vision resulted in the team reinventing themselves. Joe told us to hold our heads high and to push our younger teammates to be the best they could possibly be. During practice we went after the underclassmen relentlessly, and during games we were their loudest, most supportive fans. What was the end result? We recorded 2 wins and 16 losses for the 1993 basketball season, but two seasons later the Newington High School Varsity team made it all the way to the State Quarterfinals. This team’s core group of players was comprised of the same underclassmen that were called up just after the midpoint of our last season as high school basketball players.
The two major takeaways from my experience as a high school basketball player can be summed up in the following ways. Number 1: if losing really built character then my teammates and I would have had reoccurring roles on Seinfeld. On a serious note Number 2: Joe Pinchera is a visionary and a world class leader who at the age of 17 kept a group of his peers focused during difficult times while simultaneously building the future of the program from which he was on the verge of graduating. If Joe had such strong leadership qualities at 17, I can only imagine how much they must have increased with the decades of experience he has acquired as teacher, administrator and parent. I urge the staff and students at New Britain High School to wear sunglasses on the first day of school because once again with Joe Pinchera at the helm the future looks bright!
