Local grammar school dedicates basketball court to popular longtime former coach and teacher

Posted: February 7th 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Andy Ridgway spent countless days inside the tiny gymnasium at Crest Memorial Elementary School while he was a physical education teacher and basketball coach there.

Last Wednesday, Ridgway returned to that place and was joined by more people than he’d ever seen crammed into it.

“I was astonished that many people were there,” he said.

Ridgway was summoned to return because the school community decided to dedicate the basketball floor as “Andy Ridgway Court” in between games of a Crest Memorial girl-boy doubleheader against the Richard M. Teitelman School.

More than 250 people somehow jammed themselves into the room to support the event held in honor of a longtime popular teacher and coach.

Ridgway taught and coached various sports in the Wildwood Crest School District for 34 years until his retirement in 2006. He first started at the now-defunct Philip Baker School before moving to Crest Memorial.

Wildwood Crest School District superintendent David Del Conte said the idea to dedicate the floor in Ridgway’s honor was first broached by Scott Abbott, a physical education teacher who retired earlier this year after succeeding Ridgway, about five years ago.

“We would talk about it from time to time and wanted to do something, but then COVID hit,” Del Conte said.

Del Conte said the idea was then reintroduced by current Wildwood Crest Commissioner Joe Franco, who had previously served as a member of the district’s Board of Education.

“Joe reached out and asked if we still wanted to do this and that started getting people excited about it,” Del Conte said. “It gave us another shot in the arm to get this done and honor someone that truly deserved it.”

Crest Memorial students enjoyed an extended Christmas break this scholastic year as work was done to paint the floor, which now has “Andy Ridgway Court” emblazoned across midcourt near the bench areas. That led to the ceremony held on Wednesday, which was attended by current students and parents, past students and parents and nearly two dozen members of the extended Ridgway family, including his wife, Brenda; sons Joe, Mark and Scott; his grandchildren; and his siblings, Jim, Bobby and Shelly and their families.

“I think there were around 24 Ridgways there, and they usually don’t let that many Ridgways in the same place at the same time,” Ridgway joked.

Ridgway said the short ceremony stirred his emotions.

“I haven’t been that nervous since I got married back in 1976,” he said with a laugh. “I was so nervous my hands were shaking.”

Rumors of the court being named in Ridgway’s honor had spread rather quietly through the Wildwood Crest and local basketball community for close to a year. But Ridgway said those rumors never reached him. He said he didn’t know of the school’s plans until he received a formal letter from Del Conte in late December.

“I had no idea this was coming until I got the letter,” he said.

When it came to physical education and athletics in the Wildwood Crest School District, Ridgway was a jack of all trades. For a long period of time, he coached soccer, boys basketball and baseball all during the same scholastic year. He also helped out with girls basketball and softball at different times during his career as well.

“One of the great things about Crest Memorial, as a physical education teacher they let me do whatever I wanted to do as far as curriculum goes,” Ridgway said. “The most important thing at Crest Memorial was that the kids were students first and athletes second. And the administration always backed us up and supported that. I think there are so many kids from Crest Memorial who have made us proud.”

Ridgway was quick to thank the support of the three superintendents under whom he worked during his career – Keith Harper, Gene Whelan and Dennis Anderson – as well as countless other teachers, administrators, support staff and fellow coaches.

“I was thrilled to be able to work there,” Ridgway said. “There were so many great, great people at that school and if there’s one thing I regret it’s that maybe at the time you didn’t realize how important they all were.”

The court dedication helped Ridgway recall a story related to his college days. He was captain of the basketball team at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), and, as was tradition for a long time, the names of the captains were once painted on a board at the entrance of the school’s basketball facility.

“So I go up there with my wife one time, all proud to show her my name on the board, and it turns out they tore it down to make a new entrance,” Ridgway said with a laugh. He paused before adding with a typical Ridgway joke, “So I’m hoping Crest Memorial doesn’t ever rip the floor out.”

Ridgway also left his coaching mark at the high school level, serving as an assistant boys basketball coach at Middle Township, Wildwood and Cape May Tech and as an assistant girls basketball coach at Cape May Tech at various times over the years.

“With him being the first gym teacher ever at Crest Memorial and to be in the school district for 34 years, that alone is impressive enough,” Del Conte said. “But everyone you talk to about him, they just love him. You can talk to guys that went to school here in the ‘70s, all the way through the 80s and 90s, and even the people he coached at the high school level, they all have great stories about him and they all tell you how much they learned from him. So when you have somebody like that who did so many great things for your school and your community, you have to celebrate him. We had to do whatever it took to make sure his name is somewhere in our school so he’s never forgotten.”

Del Conte introduced Ridgway at the ceremony. Part of his speech included: “We honor not just a coach but a man whose lessons transcended sports, whose integrity and kindness set the bar for all of us. This court will be more than just a place for games; it will be a space where Andy’s legacy lives on, inspiring future generations to play with heart, to respect one another, and to strive for greatness on and off the court.”

For Ridgway, it is a day he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.

“I am deeply humbled,” he said.

The new-look basketball court at Crest Memorial Elementary School, now named in Andy Ridgway's honor.

Andy Ridgway is joined by his wife, Brenda, as Wildwood Crest School District superintendent David Del Conte speaks to the audience.

Andy Ridgway speaks during the ceremony dedicating the basketball court at Crest Memorial Elementary School in his honor.

Andy Ridgway is joined by members of the Wildwood High School girls basketball team.

Andy Ridgway with former longtime Wildwood High School athletic trainer Fran McAlarnen (left) and current Crest Memorial boys basketball coach Jared DeGroff.

Andy Ridgway is greeted at the ceremony by Anthony Samartino, with whom he coached basketball and softball at Crest Memorial and basketball at Cape May Tech.