The 37-year legacy of former Eastern Regional High School wrestling coach John Sanders will now live on at Eastern beyond the hearts and minds of the athletes he coached for decades.
On Feb. 17 the Eastern Camden County Regional School District Board of Education held a ceremony to officially rename the school’s auxiliary Gym №3 to the John P. Sanders Gymnasium to honor Sanders for his nearly four decades of dedication to the students at Eastern.
Sanders, who retired in 2002, was one of the Eastern’s original staff members when school first opened in 1965 and that same year he founded the school’s wrestling and cross country teams.
Upon his retirement, Sanders left Eastern with 24 winning seasons and a career record of 423–210–6.
Under Sanders’ leadership the Eastern wrestling team won seven Olympic Conference Championships in 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991 and 1998, six District Championships in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001 and 2002 and two South Jersey Group 3 Sectional Championships in 1983 and 1985.
During his career Sanders also coached three state champions, 15 state finalists, 27 regional champions, 44 regional finalists and 87 district champions.
Yet despite the winning record and years of accomplishments, it was the emotional connections Sanders forged with those he coached that lead to the gym being renamed in his honor.
Early last year Sanders fell one morning outside his home and suffered bleeding in his brain.
After several surgeries Sanders was able to return to his daily routines, but not without an outpouring of support from those whose lives he had impacted over the years.
Although Sanders’ health scare eventually passed, several of his former students and longtime supporters began work to ensure that Sanders’ would get his due sooner rather than later.
Those supporters started a petition to get the district to rename Eastern’s Gym №3 (the wrestling gym) in honor of Sanders, and after the request worked its way through the BOE’s committees and procedures, the board finally approved the request at its October meeting.
Superintendent Harold Melleby Jr. said he wanted to thank Sanders not just for the numerous athletic achievements he helped Eastern’s wrestling program achieve, but also for the work Sanders had done to serve many of the needs of the young men who have passed through Eastern over the years.
“We had some students who were down and out and we dealt with some very difficult issues, and I got to tell you, John Sanders was the first person to reach out and say ‘How can I help.’ For that John I thank you for your service to Eastern and all that you’ve done here,” Melleby said.
Eastern athletic director Phil Smart also echoed Melleby when he said Sanders’ legacy was one of excellence, but it went beyond his 37 years of coaching.
“I think that pales into comparison to the contribution he made in the growth of young men into gentlemen, leaders, fathers and some future wrestling coaches,” Smart said.
Upon seeing his name painted on the wall above the entrance to the gym now named in his honor, Sanders said he humbled and grateful for tribute.
“I told a lot of people that this was like having my funeral before I die because I got to see an awful lot of people I hadn’t seen in years and an awful lot of nice things said to me that I would not have heard the other way,” Sanders said.
