Bailey steps down as head football coach at LCMR

Posted: February 12th 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Lower Cape May Regional High School will have a new head football coach in the fall.

Lance Bailey, who directed the program for the past five seasons and eight overall, has submitted his resignation to the school’s administration, he said.

“It was just a gut feeling, more or less,” he said. “I thought it was time. I think we accomplished a lot over the last five years and even in the three years I did it in my first stint. I just felt in my gut it was time to make a move.”

Lower was 2-8 in a rebuilding season last fall but two seasons ago went 8-2 and won the Royal Division title in the West Jersey Football League. It was Lower Cape May’s first division title of any kind since 1982.

Bailey’s first stint as coach was from 2004 through 2006, when his top player was eventual Villanova football standout Matt Szczur, who went on to play Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres.

Bailey finished 38-40 overall in his eight total seasons as head coach.

“I think we accomplished a lot,” he said. “I feel like we were able to implement a culture of selflessness, we over me, self sacrifice and self accountability. We may not always have been the most talented team on the field but we did have some very talented players. I think our mentality of we over me prevailed more often than not and I think that helped us establish a program that became very well respected.”

In addition to his eight years as head coach, Bailey was an assistant at Lower Cape May for five seasons, also coached the Richard M. Teitelman School team for a season and served quite a few seasons as a high school football referee in years he did not coach.

“I think I’m at about 20 years of being in high school football,” he said. “I kind of can’t believe that.”

Bailey, a health and physical education at Lower Cape May for 25 years as well as a high school basketball official, said he’s extremely appreciative of the help he’s received along the way as a head football coach.

“We don’t accomplish anything without other people helping,” Bailey said. “I was lucky to have tremendous coaches on the staff, and they played an important part in establishing my vision of the program and where the program needed to go and getting the kids to buy in. I couldn’t have done it without any of them.”