Jake Kinney ( ’17)
Jake Kinney was the best ice hockey player in the history of Glen Rock High School. In his senior year, Jake led the 2016-17 team to the most successful ice hockey season in the history of Glen Rock High School and was named North Jersey Player of the Year. Jake was recently named to the First Team, All-North Jersey, All-Quarter Century.
After years of efforts by Glen Rock’s parents, Glen Rock High School began having a varsity ice hockey team in the 2001-02 school year. At the beginning, Glen Rock’s team was placed in the lowest division of the Northern Conference. However, over the next decade, with Sergio Fernandez as the team’s Head Coach, Glen Rock earned promotion to the most competitive division and began competing in the State Tournament.
Jake Kinney began his four-year varsity career as a member of Glen Rock’s 2013-14 Team. Playing as a forward, Jake scored 12 goals and had 23 assists, all of which helped the team win the Big North Silver regular season and Cup championships, and then reach the Public B, State Quarterfinal. The team’s final record was 23-3.
As a sophomore, Jake scored 16 goals and had 30 assists and helped the 2014-15 Team win the Big North Silver Cup championship, and then reach the Public B, State Semifinal. Its final record was 21-4-3. At the end of the season, Jake was named to the Second Team, All-North Jersey and the Second Team, All-County, and was named All-Suburban, Sophomore of the Year.
As a junior, Jake led the 2015-16 team to a repeat Big North Silver Cup championship, and then to the Public B, State Championship Final. Its final record was 23-3-3. Jake scored 19 goals and had 38 assists in that season. He was named to the Second Team, Public B, All-State; the First Team, All-North Jersey; the First Team, All-County; and the First Team, All-Suburban.
In his senior year, as Co-Captain, Jake led the 2016-17 Team to the most successful ice hockey season in Glen Rock High School history. The team won the Big North Gold league title, reached the Bergen County Tournament Final, and then won the school’s first Group, State Championship, defeating Wall High School by a score of 8-1 (with Jake scoring 2 goals and assisting on 2 other goals). It ended being ranked #2 of all North Jersey Ice Hockey teams. Its final record was 22-3-4 with its only losses being to: Lakeland (in an early season game), to Bergen Catholic – a school that Glen Rock subsequently defeated in a rematch – and to Don Bosco in the Bergen County Championship final. In addition to that emphatic victory over Bergen Catholic, it also had a mid-season 5-2 victory over Ridge High School, the ultimate Group A, State Champion.
At the end of the season, The Record declared that the 2016-17 team was North Jersey’s Team of the Year. In 2020, NJ.com selected Glen Rock’s Ice Hockey program as the 2010-19 Top Public School Program of Bergen County.
Jake led all North Jersey players with 59 points (29 goals and 30 assists) and was named North Jersey Player of the Year. He also received Second Team, All-State; First Team, Public B, All-State; First Team, All-North Jersey; and First Team, All-County honors.
Jake ended his Glen Rock career with a total of 199 points (77 goals and 122 assists), 50 more points (and more goals and more assists) than any previous or subsequent Glen Rock player.
In December 2017, the Bergen County YMCA honored Jake for Outstanding Achievement in High School Sports during the 2016-17 school year.
In 2020, Jake was named to the First Team, All-Decade (2010-19), All-North Jersey. In 2025, he was named to the First Team, All-Quarter Century, All-North Jersey.