Hornet Alum Whelan Named Head Coach
After sifting through 33 applicants for the job, Herndon High School announced recently the hiring of head boy's basketball coach, Chris Whelan, who succeeds Gary Hall, who retired after 18 successful seasons.
Whelan, a 1996 Herndon grad, played basketball for three years under coach Hall, all of which saw the Hornets as Concorde District champions. Whelan has spent the last two years as the head boys basketball coach at Darien High School, in Darien, CN, where he led the school to its winningest season in 20 years in 2006-07, utilizing many of the same tactics he learned from Hall. Whelan was quoted as saying he plans to continue to use many of the coaching methods he learned from Hall, but he will add his own twists as well.
After graduating from Herndon, Whelan attended Lynchburg College from 1996-2000 and was a graduate assistant coach with the men's basketball program in 2000-01 and 2001-02. Even though Whelan maintains a "connection" to Herndon High School, it was his experience coaching, both at the high school and collegiate level, that made him the right choice. Whelan admits some timidness going into the position, knowing he has some expectations of success to uphold at Herndon. Hall had an impressive record of 319-146 while coaching the Hornets. He won six district titles and led the team to its first ever Northern Region title in 2006 before falling to Booker T. Washington in the state title game.
"I'd be crazy to tell you that I'm not feeling some pressure," admits Whelan, in a recent Fairfax Connection interview. "It's a great tradition. But it's a good thing to be nervous. If you're not nervous, you're not excited."
