Heavy hearts: Colonels remember Pollack's influence

View larger image The James Wood girls basketball team hold hands and observe a moment of silence to honor assistant coach Tom Pollack, who passed away this week. Pollack, who had cancer, was 51. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image James Wood girls basketball coach Rhonda Slider, standing, and assistant Jamie Carr react to a play against Skyline on Friday night. The empty chair honors Tom Pollack, who died Thursday. Pollack's family — daughter Jillian, wife Patty and son Craig — watch from the front row behind the coaches. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Craig Pollack, the son of the late Tom Pollack, acknowleges the crowd after he was announced before Friday's game against Skyline. Tom Pollack, an assistant coach for the James Wood girls team, passed away Thursday and his family attended the game. An empty chair with flowers and a T-shirt signed by the team sits in Pollock's chair. Dennis Grundman/Daily

By Tommy Keeler Jr. - tkeeler@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- The outcome of James Wood's 82-50 girls basketball loss to Skyline on Friday night wasn't important.

James Wood assistant girls basketball coach Tom Pollack passed away Thursday after a two-year battle with cancer. James Wood girls basketball coach Rhonda Slider gave her team a simple message before the game.

"I told them that, 'Coach Pollack is watching, and he would want nothing less than for us to go out and hustle,'" Slider said. "And that's all we can ask for. We asked them to put everything they had into playing tonight."

"We were playing for Pollack first and foremost," James Wood senior Sarah Callaham said. "We miss him a lot. We came out here and played pretty well, I thought."

Pollack began coaching in the James Wood program in 2003. He was the JV girls basketball coach for at least six years, and served as an assistant varsity coach under-then head coach Jamie Carr before Slider took over in 2009.

He was an important part of James Wood athletics. His son, Craig, played on the James Wood baseball team. His daughter, Jillian, was a standout runner at Millbrook who went on to run at Columbia University.

"They were very much a part of the James Wood community," James Wood athletic director Craig Woshner said. "He was always very pleasant, worked very well with colleagues. Nobody's ever had a bad thing to say about him."

Pollack continued to help coach the team this season, until a few weeks ago when it became too much for him. Slider said he coached the same way, all the way up to his final practices with the team.

Pollack had no problem letting players know if they were doing something wrong, but they always knew how much he cared about them.

"I just miss him a lot, and I miss having him there at practice all the time," Callaham said. "He was very subtle. He would be sitting down or just walking around watching us. And then all of a sudden you would know when you were in trouble, and he was going to tell you what you were doing wrong.

"But, he was always our biggest fan. He was always there for us, inside of basketball and outside of it."

The Colonels came out sluggish against the Hawks on Friday, and Skyline was able to build a 17-9 lead after the first quarter.

James Wood made a run at Skyline in the second quarter. Callaham hit two jumpers and a 3-pointer by Brooke Nesselrodt closed the Colonels to within 31-26 with 1:47 left in the half.

Skyline responded with a 10-0 run to close the half, and didn't look back in picking up its first Northwestern District win of the season. Taylor Henry had a career-high 38 points to lead the Hawks. Oshene Kelly, who was out with an injury the last time the two teams met, had 24 points and 15 rebounds. Jenny Norman also had nine points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks.

"Oshene's [Kelly] really a difference-maker for us. She's just a rebounding machine," Skyline coach Jim Kenney said. "Taylor [Henry] really had the hot hand tonight. She played a great game."

Whitney Dick led the Colonels with 11 points, while Callaham added 10.

If Pollack were still alive, there's no doubt he would have come up with a game plan for the Colonels at halftime. Carr said that's one of the things he remembers most.

"I always called him the king of the halftime adjustment," Carr said. "Every time at halftime, if we were down, he would always have something ready to go for us. You know, that's what you like out of your assistants. He was always ready with a play, or a different defense to switch up."

Carr said sometimes the adjustments were sometimes a little too complex for the players.

"I'd joke with him, 'Tom, that was great, but man, those girls had no idea what you were talking about,'" Carr said. "It was just too complex for them. So, sometimes with that, we got a laugh out of that after the game."

James Wood had a moment of silence before the game, and after the game the players gave the game ball to his family -- wife Patty, and Craig and Jillian -- who were all there. Woshner also said that the school hopes to have a boys and girls basketball tournament starting next year in his name, and to have a scholarship in his name.

Even though the Colonels didn't win the game Friday night, the players were proud of how they performed in honor of Pollack.

"On our shirts that we had on senior night we had the colon cancer symbol," Callaham said. "He was with us when we were warming up, and we were just thinking about him.

"Somehow we just needed to play well tonight, and I think I think he would've been proud."