Joan Lopardo (’73)
Joan Lopardo was a trailblazing multi-sport athlete who excelled at Glen Rock High School in the formative days of NJSIAA sanctioned girls’ sports. Joan could “do it all” with her diverse athletic skills.
Joan was the basketball team captain and an outstanding point guard who averaged 15 points per game before the introduction of the three-point field goal. She also excelled at soccer, softball and skiing, participating in several activities outside of school because they weren’t yet offered for girls at Glen Rock.
Joan‘s opportunity set expanded at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire where she was a three sport athlete in gymnastics, nordic skiing and lacrosse. She had her greatest success on the lacrosse field and was named team captain in her senior year.
Since college, Joan has been an enormously successful coach. For 42 years, she coached basketball, softball and volleyball in New Hampshire high schools, amassing over 1,000 varsity wins. She was particularly extremely successful coaching volleyball, and holds numerous state records for volleyball coaches, including most wins, longest win streak (92 games), most Group State Championships (fifteen – including nine in a row) and most trips to the semifinals (thirty).
The New Hampshire Coaches Association named Joan Coach of the Year eight times for volleyball and three times for softball; the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) inducted her into the Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 and into its Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 2002, Joan was inducted into the Plymouth State Athletic Hall of Fame..
Beginning in 2019, Joan became Head Volleyball Coach at Plymouth State where she immediately guided the team to multiple league championships and post season success.