Amsterdam coach Jones always there for his kids

PHOTOGRAPHER: Kate Bunster

Amsterdam varsity basketball coach Tim Jones

Tim Jones thought briefly about coaching his Amsterdam boys’ basketball team late last month in its pivotal Foothills Council game at Scotia-Glenville.

“My clothes were in the car,” Jones said. “The moment got too real.”

Family trumped hoops that day, just like it had once before.

Instead of making a road trip to Scotia, Jones spent Jan. 26 at Albany Medical Center with his wife, Kim, who at 2:45 p.m. delivered a healthy baby boy. Timothy Jr. entered the world at 10.3 pounds, and tall like his dad, at 21 1⁄2 inches.

“I felt like the guy from ‘Hoosiers’ who followed the big game on the radio,” Jones said. “I was getting texts and Tweets. It was odd.”

But not a first. The only other time Jones missed a game as a player or coach was two years ago when his daughter Skylar was born. He regrets neither decision,

“When my second child was born, we had a JV game against Albany at home,” the 33-year-old middle school physical education teacher said. “We didn’t win.”

Amsterdam did win at Scotia-Glenville a few weeks back, though, to complete a regular season sweep of the reigning state champions. That 57-46 win was the Running Rams 10th in a row. Three consecutive losses followed, against Broadalbin-Perth, Green Tech and Schuylerville, before Amsterdam got back on the plus side against Bishop Maginn earlier this week.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” the father of three said of his first season as Amsterdam’s varsity coach. “It started with the football team going deep and trying to negotiate through that. We had some close wins [early in the season]. Glens Falls comes in here and the kid [Joe Girard III] scores 52 points on us. We go on the streak. I have a baby.”

Varsity assistant Scott Beatty directed Amsterdam that Tuesday night.

“A couple weeks before he told me, ‘Scott, you’re on deck,’ ” Beatty said. “That Monday, he said the baby is close, and I told him, ‘We’ll run the game plan you put in place.’ ”

Amsterdam played that night for a first place tie in the South Division standings, and achieved it behind Kory Bergh’s 19 points and a shut down third quarter when it surrendered six.

“Kim is in the hospital room,” Jones said. “I have my stuff just in case, and I’m thinking, ‘They’re ready to go. They’ll be fine without me.’ Me being there could have been a distraction.”

Amsterdam outlasted Scotia-Glenville in overtime 58-52 in the first meeting between the teams before completing the regular season sweep. That overtime setback was Scotia-Glenville’s first loss to a Section II opponents since the 2011-12 season.

“The boys have a lot of respect for Tim Jones,” Beatty said of the Johnstown graduate who also coaches varsity golf at Amsterdam and is the school’s aquatics director. “When they found out about the baby boy, they didn’t want to let him down.”

Amsterdam’s hopes for the South Division title and a spot in the overall Foothills Council championship game ended with a 74-56 loss to Broadalbin-Perth, coupled with Scotia-Glenville’s 73-50 victory that same night over Johnstown.

“Let’s not lose sight of what we’ve done,” Jones said of his 14-6 team, the No. 4 Class A seed for the Section II tournament. “We’ve done some great things. We can do great things.”

Amsterdam has a rematch with Bishop Maginn, the team is just beat 92-67, Wednesday in a sectional first-round game. With a win, Averill Park or Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons would be next.

“I think we’re all right where we are,” Jones said. And Jones plans to be on the bench for that one.