Marc Narducci: Palladino notches her 500th victory

It's a familiar story of a coaching lifer.

Chris Palladino's long and successful career at Camden Catholic was originally supposed to be a brief experiment.

As a senior at St. Joseph's University, Palladino served as the assistant girls' basketball coach at Camden Catholic.

Once she earned her college degree, Palladino would presumably move on.

Except she caught the coaching bug and it has never left.

Winning has followed her throughout her storied career.

Last night, Palladino reached a milestone in earning her 500th win as Camden Catholic defeated Red Bank Catholic, 57-46, in a South Jersey Non-Public quarterfinal.

She is now 500-193 and this season's team (23-4) has all the characteristics of many of her previous 25 squads. The Irish are smart, unselfish, and skilled.

After that one year as an assistant to Deirdre Kane, who is now the head coach at West Chester University, Palladino was hooked.

She served two more years as an assistant and then became a head coach.

"I thought after college I wouldn't keep doing this but I loved it," Palladino said.

It has shown in her work.

When talking about her coaching ability, one shouldn't limit it to basketball.

Palladino has won state championships as a field hockey and basketball coach at Camden Catholic. She no longer coaches field hockey, but one could see her remaining in the basketball job for quite some time.

"When the fire goes out, then I'm done," she said.

Yet the flame still is burning brightly.

Palladino doesn't fit the stereotype of the crazed basketball coach who micromanages every move on the court. That said, she's not above raising her voice.

"I have my moments, but I pick my spots," she said. "If you yell all the time, the players tune you out."

She has established a tradition where the upperclassmen teach the younger players what is expected. Throughout the years, Palladino has been able to straddle the difficult line of being demanding but compassionate.

"She is like a second mother to me," said 6-foot senior Serifat Junaid, who had 16 points and eight rebounds last night.

"She has done so much for me both on and off the court."

Palladino credits her family with being a major reason for the success. She has raised three sons and her husband Dominic often scouts opponents for her and with her.

And as with most coaches, Palladino truly cherishes the relationships established with her players.

"It's great when former players come back and I see their kids," she said.

Most of all, Palladino feels truly blessed to be able to coach the game she loves.

"You are in the gym three hours a day with kids who want to play basketball," she said. "It doesn't get better than that."

And the coaches don't get much better than one who never saw this as a career and now can't envision doing anything else.

Red Bank Catholic 10 15 12 9 - 46

Camden Catholic 13 14 10 20 - 57

RBC: Mary Kate Byrnes 2, Cydney Mooney 6, Kacey Hobbie 3, Morgan Arnot 3, Jackie Cajical 4, Kayla Dunn 2, Samantha Guastella 26.

CC: Nicole Angelo 11, Kelsey Kilpatrick 10, Serifat Junaid 16, Addy Crenny 13, Teresa Corchado 1, Caitlyn Brostrand 6.