Jerome Pannell
Episode 333
16 JUNE 2025
He has been coaching high school basketball for 15 years, including ten as Varsity Head Coach at La Salle Academy, an all-male private, independent college preparatory Catholic school in New York City, where he also serves as the Athletic Director. The survivor of a recent medical miracle, in 2017 he led La Salle basketball to their first-ever New York State Federation Championship, a team that saw one of its players eventually chosen in the NBA Draft. As a young adult he had organized a Friday Night Drop-In Center, where neighborhood youth could play basketball in the parish gym — provided they participated in prayer beforehand. Two of the highlights of his faith life include having discerned a possible call to the priesthood and having met Pope John Paul II.
Notable guest quotes:
“As a very young child, the faith was primary to our existence in our household. My grandmother ensured that everyone in our family practiced the faith actively and that was initially through the basic ways, the sacraments and attendance at Mass. After my grandmother passed my mom made sure to kind of take the baton and ensure that I not only knew how to show up for holy days of obligation or Sunday Mass, but not to just come and be an observer in parish life but to be an active participant in the life of the parish and sharing my faith.”
“I started playing (sports) at a young age, ironically all through Catholic organizations for the most part and I played in high school.”
“The intersection of my faith with sports is kind of a foundational piece for me because the two kind of go together in every step of my life.”
“Monsignor Howard Calkins is a inspirational and foundational piece of my life in terms of his support of my family and how I saw him minister to the people of our parish and the people of our community.”
“What we do for those on the fringes is amazing and can be so captivating.”
“I think that being able to teach where you are taught is one of the greatest blessings that you can receive. I love St Joseph and felt like it was an incredible foundation for me, and I was honored to be able to – by virtue of the principal, Simone Jackson, at the time and the pastor, Father Philip Kelly – to be invited back to teach.”
“It was shortly after my dad had passed away and it was in many ways a spiritual awakening because it allowed me to see that while I suffered a tremendous loss, God gave me so much in return.”
“My mom, in her infinite wisdom, called one of my best friends and told him to come get me and take me to the hospital and it took him a couple hours to convince me because I just thought I was fatigued and if he didn’t convince me I wouldn’t be here today.”
“There’s always time for prayer and it’s first. So, you can have a list of 20 things, but two through 20 are great, but it comes first.”
“When you are looking for the Lord, you don’t have to look very far. If you look you will find, and to find a Mass or a church that is open or an opportunity to worship or to serve Him. I get opportunities to serve him each and every day here at La Salle.”
“Here in New York at the Catholic High School Athletic Association we do a code of conduct and a prayer before every game in every sport because we want to lay the foundation for all of us (not) just as Catholic schools but just as human beings.”