Meet coach jay
Jose Paulino, also known as Coach Jay, is a youth basketball coach who specializes in player development. As a player or as a coach, basketball has been a part of his life for over 30 years. Having played for legendary CYO Coach Clayton Morrell, he quickly learned the value of mastering fundamentals. His hard work and dedication to the game throughout his High School and Division I career, in addition to these fundamentals, has prepared Coach Jay to become the coach he is today.
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Coach Jay is a 1991 Union Hill High School alum and played during the golden age of Hudson County Basketball. He played for the Hillers and went on to play Division I basketball at the Borough of Manhattan College. While there, he was a two-year captain, 2-time most valuable player, the conference player of the week, and selected twice to the All-Conference Team.
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After his college playing days, he took his Business Administration Degree and went to work on Wall Street, where the pressure to perform at a high level was met. But the hunger to get involved in the game of basketball resurfaced years later and he began to coach youth basketball for a local AAU team.
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After coaching for other AAU basketball programs, Coach Jay had his own vision of what a youth basketball program should be offering. In 2017 he launched the Lions of Essex basketball club. Coach Jay offers a wide range of training programs and services for all ages, with an emphasis on footwork and basketball IQ. As the head coach of the program, Lions of Essex has quickly achieved 10 tournament championships in a short period of time.
Coach Jay’s coaching philosophy:
"I firmly believe that every player can be successful simply by making them understand that hard work separates great players from average players. I never sacrifice a player’s development for wins on the basketball court. In my view, two things will turn any child into a winner no matter what any scoreboard reads; Dedication to working hard and basketball IQ. Smart players who work hard and carry themselves the right way are tough to beat. "