St. Mary’s Ryken (SMR) announces the hiring of Jamal Hulum as Head Boys Basketball Coach. Coach Hulum takes over the program effective immediately.
For the past five years, Coach Hulum was the Assistant Boys Basketball Coach at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. From 2015-2017, he was the Head Boys JV Basketball Coach at SMR, and he has also coached several AAU teams including DC Premier 17UAA, DC Premier 16 UAA, DC Premier 15U Black among others.
“I am thrilled to be back at SMR. As a relationship-oriented person, my immediate goals are to reintroduce myself to the SMR community and start building bonds with the players, families, and school community,” said Coach Hulum.
“Coach Hulum impressed us with his prior experiences building a community of athletes and their parents, his attention to the importance of building an individual relationship with each athlete, his tirelessness in assuring his athletes maximized their opportunity for athletic college scholarships, and most importantly, his ultimate goal to build good young men ready to lead and serve their communities,” said SMR Principal, Catherine Bowes.
Coach Hulum will be a full-time SMR employee working in the Student Life Office as an Assistant to the Dean of Student Life.
“We are blessed to have Coach Hulum lead our boy’s basketball program as the head coach, said Athletic Director Jon Lombardo. “Jamal stood out from my first interaction with him because of his zeal for SMR. He separated himself with his student-centered holistic vision for the boy’s basketball program, his passion for SMR, our community, and his commitment to fulfilling our mission as a school. Jamal has succeeded at SMR in his previous coaching stops before moving on to St. John’s College High School. He has firsthand experience of what is required for success as a student-athlete and program in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. He also has experience working in education and school systems and will be an invaluable leader to all our students.”
Coach Hulum considers himself a player’s coach. “I am a coach who relates to my players based on my own experiences as a player. I am a very open-minded coach, and I tend to spend a lot of time having collaborative conversations with my players and staff.”
During his college years, Coach Hulum played NCAA Division III basketball at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, for four years. While there, he was a 3-time NECC Champion, made two NCAA Tournament appearances, and earned 1st Team All NECC Tournament. Coach Hulum has a bachelor of arts degree in Business Management and Marketing from Elms College.
Coach Hulum plans to hit the ground running: “In my first year, I plan to start by creating a culture that focuses on academics and high expectations in the classroom. We will have a strong presence in the community on and off the basketball court. These steps will help build a strong foundation for years.”
“Jamal is a transformational leader because his work is centered around relationships,” said Coach Lombardo. “He will bring great energy and communication skills and strengthen our community through relationships. It is with utmost confidence I believe he will lead in building a transformational community experience through a championship culture at SMR as our Head Boys Basketball Coach and Assistant to the Dean of Student Life.”