Jennifer Judge new Del Oro varsity girls' basketball coach

The Del Oro Golden Eagles have a new head coach for their varsity girls' basketball team as 2010 Woodcreek High School graduate Jennifer Judge will take over the program from Shawn Huckaby. Huckaby was the Lady Eagles head coach since 2016, taking over the role from the legendary Mike Takayama who died earlier that year. Huckaby finished his six-year stint as head coach with a 121-50 record. "I feel like we are at a point in our program where we have had some success and things are stable and it's a good time to hand off the reins," Huckaby said. "The school did a great job in recruiting for the position and found the right person for the job. In speaking with Jennifer, she has much respect for our program and traditions, and a lot of great new ideas to move the program forward." Judge played four seasons of varsity basketball at Woodcreek High and averaged 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game over her high school career. The Timberwolves made the postseason in 2009 and finished second in the Sierra Foothill League in 2010 but lost in the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals to St. Francis. "She is probably the most competitive player I ever had and I'm proud that she earned this job," said Raymond Beck, former Woodcreek girls' basketball coach. "I believe she wants to have a positive impact on young women. I think she wants to help them grow as individuals, student-athletes, people; basically using basketball as a vehicle. She is such a good role model, such a good human, was an accomplished and learned player that has had many life and basketball experiences for a girl coming out of this area, so she has a lot to offer back." After high school, Judge played all four seasons of college basketball from 2011 to 2014 at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and went a combined 87-34, helping lead the Broncos to two conference regular season titles and one California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament title. She totaled 953 points, 405 rebounds and 74 steals and is currently third all-time for the Broncos with 149 three-pointers. "College in general is such an exciting point in life," Judge said. "I had great teammates and they were a pretty strong supporting role and I played around a lot of amazing athletes." Upon graduating college in 2014, Judge played professionally in Germany for the Velbert Baskets during the 2015-16 season and was also able to coach the women's second team, who went on to finish first-place in their conference. "I had made it my goal my whole life to play some type of pro basketball," Judge said. "I finally had an opportunity and was contacting agents and flew to Germany without having a team or contract and got a contract when I got there. It was an amazing experience and I was in a village in Germany living pretty much alone. I walked to practice in the snow and had a coach who didn't speak any English at all. I grew a lot as a person." Judge returned to the states and coached as a graduate assistant at Holy Names University in Oakland from 2016 to 2018 before returning to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona as an assistant coach under Danielle Bishop. Bishop also coached Judge during her tenure playing at the school. "JJ is a relationship builder and she invests in others which is what has made her so special at Pomona," Bishop said. "As a player and coach, she always gave 100 percent but also expected her teammates and players to give the same. She connected with her teammates and players in various ways. Her players at Del Oro will recognize that right away and her passion and love for the game is contagious. She has high character and integrity. She wants to give back and help others. She is a strong leader who will help empower her young student athletes to go and be whoever they want to be in life." During her time coaching with the Broncos, they made it to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in 2018-19 and in 2019-20. Judge learned about the opportunity to coach at Del Oro via word of mouth and is looking forward to returning to the area where she grew up. But it won't come without its challenges as the Golden Eagles are graduating their top five scorers, including Madison Butcher who averaged more than 17 points per game this last season. "We are going to hit the ground running and play a system of basketball where everyone is at their strengths," Judge said. "We are going to be working hard and doing a lot of conditioning while implementing a nutrition program. It's going to be the whole nine yards." For Judge, the most important part of the job goes beyond the world of basketball and circles back to life lessons. "It's not about us or winning, it's about the girls and them taking life lessons once they graduate," Judge said. "To me, struggles are them not passing a class or them going through something in their home life. I want to help the girls on and off the court." The 2022-23 season will begin in November. "I'm just super grateful and thankful for the strong community this school has and how helpful everyone has been," Judge said. "I'm excited to get to work and bring some championships back to Del Oro."