You don’t have to think too long or too hard to come up with a long list of names of legendary coaches that have captured multiple titles at Bridgeport High School. You’ve got Wayne Jamison, Hugh Gainer, Jon Griffith, Robert Shields, Shelley Mazzie, Jan Grisso and Josh Nicewarner on the sports side and then you’ve got Alice Rowe on the academic side.

 

Yes, I know I’ve probably left someone out. That happens when your school does a whole lot of winning across a whole lot of genres so please don’t feel slighted; and if you do or if you just want to acknowledge who I've left out just add them to the comment section below. As long as I’m not personally insulted in those comments,  we’ll approve them.

 

I digress.

 

I’ve purposely left one name off the list. In fact, I left a person’s name off the list that is arguably the most successful coach of multiple teams than any other in the history of Bridgeport High School. And after nearly a quarter of century of coaching, she’s completing her victory lap this year.

For those who don’t know who I’m talking about, you should. You’ve seen her name on this Web site since it began and it’s usually equated with successful academic teams, including many that have captured state titles. Of course, I’m talking about my good friend Barbara Judy. And when the end of the school year is at hand, so too is her academic coaching career. When she does leave, she leaves a boatload of championships and one HUGE pair of shoes to fill.

 

Judy has actually coached various academic teams for so long at the high school she wasn’t 100 percent certain when she started when I first asked her. However, like any good member of academia she found the date and it goes back to the 1992-1993 school year.

 

Back then, Judy was already dabbling in academic competition with Virginia Graham on a team that was called JETS (Junior Engineering Technology Society). Things weren’t exactly promising in those early 1990s' events.

 

“I remember that early on when we got there no one knew what we were doing … I knew if we were going to compete in this we’d need some help,” she said.

 

While she was thinking about help for that particular team, Barbara Judy was also thinking about getting involved in other academic competition. She looked at an event that was called the “Academic Decathlon” and decided that it wasn’t the right fit for BHS. For starters, the cost was too much and, for finishers, that meant only a few kids could participate.

 

“I was trying to find something where we could get a lot of kids involved and I found it while reading my hometown newspaper in St. Mary’s,” said Judy. “There was something called Quiz Bowl that was in the line of Jeopardy so I figured we’d give it a try.”

 

Barbara Judy and the first BHS team gave it a try in that 1992-93 year. And it’s a good thing she didn’t let initial results sway her future involvement.

 

“That first meet … Yes I remember it,” she said with a laugh. “We got one question right. We truly had no clue.”

 

Eventually, they would get a clue. Eventually, Judy would raise money and do things like local competitions against groups from the Bridgeport American Legion, the Kiwanis Club and the Lion’s Club to raise funds for things like buzzers. Eventually, wins came. Eventually, state championships came – lots of them.

 

In Quiz Bowl alone, Judy’s Quiz Bowl teams have six Class AA titles to their credit. The team has four Class AAA titles to their credit including one in 2012-13 when the squad – competing as Class AA – was the top team regardless of classification.

 

Judy has also helped lead the school’s science bowl team to two state championships. The JETS, which is now the TEAMS competition, has get this – 17 state championships since 1993-94. For good measure, her jayvee group in the TEAMS has 11 state championships. She also managed to coach the 2007-08 engineering-based team to a third place finish in the nation.

 

Want more?

 

Judy’s Science Bowl teams have two state titles since 1995-96. They also have a national win in the “Fuel Cell King of the Hill” event and also “ISD-Biology” in 2006-07.

 

In 2010-11, Judy also began to coach History Bowl and Bee. Although the school has not captured a state championship, they’ve had multiple second place finishes and have also competed strongly in national competition.

 

That’s not just one team doing all of that over the better part of the last two decades – that four. What’s worse, I  may not even have all the titles reported as the list is vast, long and since I would have never qualified to compete for one of her squads a little too complex for this middle-of-the-road academic .

 

So why the investment in time, even after retiring full time from teaching in 2006?

 

“I’ve always enjoyed seeing kids learn and succeed. If they do well, that’s more than enough for me,” she said. “There are some other benefits. Watching their confidence grow as they learn how to interact with adults, having parents tell me about scholarships and just the camaraderie I’ve had with the students, the parents and the other academic coaches is something I truly enjoy. That's plenty for me to keep on doing it.”

 

Judy said another reason was that she realized that not everyone wanted to compete in sports or be part of other extracurricular groups such as bands or the arts. Although she said she has plenty that are involved in those ventures, she said some of her students are strictly academic competitors.

 

“I just felt there was a need,” said Judy.

 

This morning, Barbara Judy and the BHS TEAMS club was supposed to be competing in Morgantown. The students and the engineers from various companies that have volunteered their time since 1993-94 to help out will now compete Feb. 28 in Morgantown due to the weather issues.

 

After that, she’ll be competing one last time in the regional Quiz Bowl in Ravenswood in mid-March and the State Quiz Bowl March 28 in Charleston.  That will put a bow on a teaching career that began in Taylor County in 1972 before coming to Bridgeport and becoming a counselor two years later and staying until her retirement.

 

“I know I’m going to miss the kids because you get to know them so well. Even though you get new groups every few years, they all have similarities. We wouldn’t have had all the success without their hard work,” she said. “I know I’ll miss the parents and the volunteers and everyone else associated with it.”

 

At the same time, she won’t be going completely away. You may still see her next year substituting at BHS. And there’s an even better chance if the Indians field academic teams they’ll see Barbara Judy at a few of those events too.

 

“I think I’ll probably volunteer and help out at some of these tournaments,” said Judy. “Hopefully, I can help out.”

 

I’m pretty sure they’ll find a spot for her. After all, when you’ve got nearly 30 varsity titles to your credit, you can probably run things if you want.

 

Editor's Note: Top photos, all by www.benqueenphotography.com, show Coach Barbara Judy during an academic competition, while three of her teams are shown below from recent years.