David “DJ” Jordan, a long-time junior varsity basketball coach at Scituate High School, has coached basketball for 22 years. Although he is a great basketball coach, he is an even greater–and more unique–person off the court.
Jordan grew up in Stoughton, Massachusetts, with his twin brother Darin, his older sister Danette, and his older brother Deene. He attended Stoughton High School and participated in multiple sports, including basketball and track. Following high school, he was recruited to play basketball at Saint Anselm’s College; however, there was a change in the head coaching position, and the new head coach told Jordan he probably wouldn’t make the team because he couldn’t shoot.
Jordan decided not to try out for the team, and to this day, it is the biggest regret of his life. Instead of basketball, Jordan ran cross country for all four years of college, serving as a captain during his senior year.
While he was a college student, Jordan gained experience as a deejay when he went to parties with his friend, who was a deejay. When his friend wanted to take breaks, Jordan would take over. He quickly made a name for himself around campus because of his talent and skill. To this day, he continues to pursue this interest. In fact, Jordan enjoys being a deejay at weddings and other events. He is also known for remembering his former players’ birthdays, typically calling them to wish them well. Beyond basketball and music, Jordan works as a health educator for Harbor Pilgrim Health Care.
SHS varsity basketball coach Matthew Poirier has known Jordan for a long time. Their first meeting was at Championship Basketball School at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1982, when they were in high school. Much later, Coach Poirier saw DJ coaching at Weymouth High School and noticed that his team was down by a lot, but the players were still paying attention and listening to him. Poirier took a liking to Jordan’s coaching style and skill. The next time the two met, Jordan was officiating a high school game, and Coach Poirier offered him a job for an open freshman coaching position at Scituate. Jordan took the job and has been coaching the freshman team and junior varsity teams for 17 years.
In addition to his role as the SHS junior varsity coach, Jordan is a crucial member of the varsity coaching staff, working closely with head coaches Poirier and Mike Eromin. According to Poirier, “Coach Jordan makes everyone in the program–from coaches to players alike–recognize that they’re either going to make an effort or not make an effort. To give a half effort is the equivalent of not making an effort.”
Poirier added, “I ask Coach Jordan to run box-out and rebound drills. We call them Northeastern drills because Coach and I watched Northeastern University conduct these drills. Boxing out and rebounding are not glamorous—they are not fun—but they have to take place in order to be successful, and Coach Jordan is an expert at running those drills outside of basketball.”
When asked about his time with Jordan, SHS senior Nick Mutter commented, “Playing for DJ has been one of the most fun–but also one of the most difficult–experiences in my life. He pushes his JV teams to their full potential and prioritizes his players learning to play basketball the right way.” Senior Maxwell Carr stated, “DJ made JV basketball extremely fun. Even though he is no longer my primary coach, I enjoyed spending time with him at the varsity level and value his wisdom.”
Elaborating on Jordan’s notable contribution to SHS athletics, Poirier shared his perspective: “I think the greatest strength and the most valuable lesson he teaches our players is in life–and in basketball–in all that you do–if you claim to have a goal and objective, which you again claim you want to reach, you either act on it, or you don’t. You pursue it, or you don’t. You work to achieve that objective every day with passion, with acceptance of the process, and with a daily sense of urgency. And if you don’t pursue it in that way, all of your talk means nothing.”
SHS junior Trevor Carreira shared his perspective as he described how Jordan has influenced his high school experience: “He taught me what it means to play Scituate basketball. It’s a lot of running, talking, and clapping, but Coach Jordan taught me what it means to be a good teammate and to be part of a family.” Carreira said he and his teammates will never forget their favorite team motto: “Don’t be a child. Be a young man.”