Former Northwest Basketball Coach Named Seneca Valley Athletic Director

Less than two months after making the decision to step down as head boys basketball coach at Northwest High School, Jesse Irvin has been named Athletic Director at Seneca Valley, a school just two miles up the road and a place where he once served as Assistant Athletic Director and assistant basketball coach for three years.

"I am thrilled to welcome Jesse Irvin back to Seneca Valley in this new, important role," Seneca Valley Principal Marc Cohen told Patch. "Jesse is a true advocate for scholar athletes. He comes to us with a wide range of experiences that have prepared him to continue the legacy of success that is Seneca Valley sports."

Irvin, who announced  in March, takes over for Ray Sacramo, who will be retiring following the school year.  The new role is effective July 1. 

Irvin said his decision to leave Northwest as its basketball coach had nothing to do with his decision to apply for the AD job at Seneca Valley and that he didn't even know for sure the position would be open until after his resignation became official earlier this spring.

"Honestly, I didn't resign from Northwest just to take this job," he said. "When I resigned from Northwest, I was very serious when I said it was to spend more time with my family. But Seneca Valley was the one place where I wanted to be Athletic Director and my wife and I sat down and weighed the pros and cons. I might never get this opportunity again. I will have to make some sacrifices with my family the first couple of years or so, but ultimately, this is what I really want to do and I couldn't pass it up."

Prior to joining the Northwest staff in 2008, Irvin spent three years on staff at Seneca and said that on some level, he always had a feeling he'd be returning to the school at some point and even joked with then-principal Suzanne Maxey that he'd one day come back as its AD. Three years later, that's exactly what happened for Irvin, who said Seneca is a place where he has always felt comfortable. 

Irvin said he sought advice from Northwest AD Jim Tapley, as well as current coaches at Seneca Valley before deciding to apply for the job. 

Fred Kim, Seneca's football coach, said he is very pleased with the decision to hire Irvin.

"He's an excellent choice in my mind to take this position," said Kim. "He's obviously got experience as a coach so he'll be able to see things from a coach's perspective and he's had some assistant [AD] experience as well. I thought he was the perfect fit for it."

Irvin, who currently teaches at Northwest, will return to Seneca as a faculty member as well when his AD role becomes official this summer and envisions that he will teach two U.S. History courses at the school in addition to his responsibilities as AD. 

While Irvin doesn't officially take the job until July, he said he has already started to get acclimated by meeting with different coaches, players and boosters.