By TOM WILLIAMS

Cape-Atlantic League boys basketball has lost two more veteran coaches.

Mainland’s Dan Williams and Hammonton’s Joe Martino – with 35 seasons and 458 wins between them – will not return for the 2004-05 season.

Williams, a 1,000-point scorer himself at Mainland, guided the Mustangs to the South Jersey Group 3 championship in a thrilling, three overtime game against Ocean City. His 204 career wins is the second most by a Mainland boys coach, 14 wins shy of Whitey Haak, and 23rd most in CAL history. He had five 20-win seasons, including the last two, more than any Mustangs coach. His 26 wins this past season breaks the school record of 24, set by his team the previous season. The South Jersey title this year was the first for the Mustangs since 1981. His teams played in three South Jersey finals and surprised many in 2022 by winning the CAL Tournament.

Martino’s 254 career wins is the most by a Hammonton coach and tied for 16th in CAL history. Martino took over Hammonton, not known as a basketball school, in 2001. The Blue Devils had not had a winning record in at least 36 years. It took him four years to get a .500 season, followed by three straight winning season and a CAL championship in 2007-08. He leaves with a resume that includes the 10 most successful seasons in school history and the only two 20-plus win seasons.

Williams and Martino will be missed, not only for their successes in the win column but because of their sportsmanlike demeanor and approach to the sport.

But they are just the most recent coaches to leave CAL boys basketball this decade, which is a little less than half over.

Gene Allen left Atlantic city with 377 wins, the most in school history.

Dave DeWeese left Wildwood Catholic with 324 wins, the most in school history.

And Jamie Gillespie left Holy Spirit with 254 wins, just 12 wins short of Bill Deibert’s school record.

Including Williams and Martino, the five departed coaches won 1,413 games, 11 South Jersey championships, three state titles, 10 CAL Tournament championships and 29 conference crowns.

They are gone for an assortment of reasons, that could include family obligations, frustration with NJSIAA and CAL schedule changes and increased stress over parental pressures.

Of course, coaching changes happen all the time in all sports. At Ocean City, for example, girls soccer coach Lisa Cuneo recently indicated she would not return after four seasons and a 68-3 record.

New coaches come along and programs continue down the road to success.

But losing five coaches with records like these five in such a short period of time certainly gets your attention.