Growth spurt: The athletic program at John Paul II High School (NC) has exploded in the last four years
When Sean Murphy arrived at John Paul II High School in Greenville, North Carolina to become the school’s new head football coach, in 2018, and serve as Assistant Athletic Director, he had no idea how quickly the school’s athletic program, as well as his role in it, would grow.
In just four years, John Paul II has grown from eight sports with limited participation to 19 thriving programs with several competing for championships. The school has also experienced the addition of a wealth of state-of-the-art athletic facilities, including a new gym with seating for 700, a new weight room, a new baseball stadium, a new softball stadium and a new 1,200 seat outdoor stadium for soccer, football and lacrosse. There is also a new field house with concessions, an athletic training room, locker rooms and indoor batting cages for both baseball and softball, two new outdoor beach volleyball courts and new tennis courts.
The baseball stadium has seating for home and away fans, step down dugouts, a sound system and LED lights. The softball stadium also has dugouts and a sound system, while the outdoor stadium boasts the only synthetic turf field in Eastern, North Carolina, as well LED lights, and a state-of-the-art sound system.
Academics have not been neglected during this time of growth. A new science lab and an art room were added to the school building. Smart TVs were installed in all classrooms, new carpeting was installed, and a stage and chairs were added to the performing arts center. In addition, the parking areas were resurface and new LED signs were added to the campus.
The cost of the new facilities was estimated at more than $12.5 million.
Murphy, a native of New Jersey who put down roots in Maryland during an All-American college football career at Towson University, spent 20 years as the head football coach at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore. At Curley, he won 127 games and five Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championships. He left as the school’s all-time winningest coach and was inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020.
Near the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Murphy announced that he would be headed south with his wife, Lynne, who accepted a tenured track teaching position at East Carolina University. In 2017, he was the head football coach at East Wake High School in Wendell, North Carolina but was inspired to pursue an opportunity at JPII because he desired to return to a Catholic educational setting.
“I was working at a public high school and wanted to get back into Catholic Education,” said Murphy. “I met the JPII swim coach who was doing a fundraiser at our local Church. She suggested that I send my resume to Katie Stanley, then the Director of Student Life at John Paul II who is now the school’s Principal. I was hired in May of 2018 and began working at the school in June of 2018.”
Murphy came on board to be the head football coach of the Saints newly formed football team and serve as an assistant to then athletic director Roger Barefoot, who was nearing retirement, with the understanding that he would eventually move into Barefoot’s role.
“I was originally hired to work with Roger for the school year under his guidance,” Murphy explained. “Having worked as the Assistant A.D. at Archbishop Curley for 14 years, I had a pretty good grasp for the A.D. duties. At Curley, I formed search committees for new hires, handled scheduling, equipment orders, worked with the booster club and handled parent issues and concerns. After a month of working together, Roger was confident enough in my ability to take over his position immediately and decided to retire full time. I was named A.D. in early July of 2018.”
The 12-year old school, however, was at a cross roads and needed a shot in the arm. It got just that.
Benefactors Rich and Colleen Balot, who were also parents of JPII students, provided the vision and funding that have spurred the school’s transformation.
Over the last four years the school has grown to 245 students and is trending towards an enrollment of 350-380. Balot, a very successful businessman in the cellular industry, has become the school’s President and John Paul II has moved from under the stewardship of the Archdiocese of Raleigh to being a fully independent Catholic high school.
“Rich and Colleen Balot have played a huge role in transforming our school and making it what it is today,” Murphy explained. “My belief, without their generous support and sincere interest in our school, there would be no John Paul II Cathoic High School. In all honesty, I wouldn't have a job as the school’s A.D. or be the football coach without their vision and support.”
In addition to his duties on the gridiron and in the athletic office, Murphy became part project manager, giving input on designs, helping with the selection of materials and helping keep the numerous simultaneous projects on schedule.
Sean Murphy got the obligatory Gatorade shower after leading the Saints to their first state playoff win in football in 2020. (Photo courtesy of John Paul II High School)
The Saints have enjoyed the fruits of all these efforts.
Murphy’s football team, which is in the process of transitioning from 8-man football to the traditional 11-man game (by 2023), was a state runner-up in both 2020 and 2021. Last fall it won the Big 8 Conference with a 7-0 record and was the top-ranked 8-man team in the state for most of the year.
The girls volleyball team, another new sport at the school, has won back-to-back Coastal Plain Independent Conference (CPIC) regular season and tournament finals, and has reached the state semifinals two straight years. Baseball is another new sport and it finished with a 15-8 record in 2022 and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Sean Murphy (left) celebrates his volleyball team after it won the first of two consecutive CPIC championships. (Photo of John Paul II High School)
Last winter the Saints’ girls basketball team had its first ever 20 win season and was seeded third in the East region of the state playoffs. In addition, the girls soccer team won the CPIC title and hosted a first round state playoff game while the swimming program produced an individual state champion in 2021 as well as the boys and girls conference Swimmers of the Year.
In June of 2018, JPII had boys soccer, volleyball and cross country in the fall; boys and girls basketball and swimming in the winter; and girls soccer in the spring.
Since then boys and girls tennis, boys and girls golf, wrestling, boys lacrosse, baseball and softball have joined football and volleyball as new sports, as the Saints have grown from 1A to 2A and are poised to move to 3A this fall. To meet the demand of the growing school more growth is planned. Work has begun on an addition to the current school building to add 16 additional classrooms, a fine arts area and a cafeteria.
John Paul II's state of the art baseball field was part of a $12.5 million renovation to the school's athletic facilities, allowing the school to more than double the number of athletic teams it offers, including the addition of baseball. (Photo courtesy of John Paul II School)
Murphy vowed, however, the school will not trade its focus and values for the pursuit of being an athletic power.
“We will not become a sports mill,” Murphy proclaimed. “Our growth and success has drawn attention and there is growing interest in our school, but we will not take students just because they are good athletes. They must be good students and, most importantly, they must fit our culture. It is important to me that students coming out of our feeder schools still have the opportunity to participate in high school athletics at John Paul II.”
Regardless of how many championships the Saints win under Murphy, all of them will pale compared to his greatest victory, which came in 2014. Shortly after winning his fifth championship at Curley, Murphy was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 50.
Murphy had been on the lookout for the disease since his mid-thirties. He has a family history of prostate cancer, with the disease claiming the life of his grandfather, Patrick Kennedy, and afflicting his father James Murphy, Sr. and brother Jimmy.
His grandfather was not diagnosed until his late 70’s and battled the disease into his early 80’s, before succumbing. Murphy’s father and brother, however, had successful recoveries, giving him hope that he too would have success with his battle.
“I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late November of 2014 after having a biopsy done in mid November,” said Murphy. “I was originally encouraged by my general practitioner to see a specialist when my blood work came back with an elevated PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen).”
On the advice of Curley trainer Marty McGinty, Murphy saw Dr. Brad Lerner of Chesapeake Urology and Chief of Urology at Union Memorial Hospital. Because of his family history and elevated PSA, Dr. Lerner recommended a prostate biopsy, which proved positive.
Once he got the news, Murphy set a plan for treatment, electing to have robotic surgery performed. The treatment was successful and Murphy made a full recovery. He then became an advocate for early screenings and even told his story in a video profile produced by Varsity Sports Network (below).
