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No one deserved a state title more than John Willis.
No one needed a state title less to define their impact on a community than John Willis.
The Norwell High three-sport coach is more of a living legend with a booming voice that can be heard in the loudest of gyms.
“John Willis is Norwell,” said Norwell High athletic director JJ Niamkey. “He means so much to the community and to the kids. It’s just something truly special. You don’t really have that in too many places around here.”
On March 14, the Norwell High boys basketball team claimed its first state title with a thrilling overtime win over Old Rochester Regional in the Division 3 final.
Willis’ career will never be defined by wins (there have been plenty of them), state-tournament appearances (basically every year, no matter the sport), or league titles, but by the relationships he’s built with players, coaches and parents across the South Shore over the decades.
But anyone who knows Willis knows one of those relationships is just a little more special.
The John Willis story cannot be told without mentioning Andrew Lawson, and vice-versa.
Lawson was a Norwell native who had Down syndrome. Lawson was an integral piece of the Norwell community, playing three sports, including for Willis’ basketball team. After graduating, he returned to the school as an assistant coach for Willis on the boys basketball team (and for Jack Browne on the boys soccer team).
He died in 2018 at just 27 years old following a two-year battle with cancer.
Playing for and coaching with Willis was a key cog in how Lawson became such a massive figure in the Norwell and South Shore sports community. Playing sports allowed Lawson to not only be included in the community, but to be a driving force behind it.
"To take Andrew onto a varsity team, that is something nobody with Down syndrome ever gets to do,” said Andrew’s mother Regina Lawson. “(Willis) became not just coach, he became our friend. He gave Andrew an opportunity that most kids with Down syndrome would never get to do.”
Andrew Lawson’s presence was felt throughout the state final. Assistant coach Brady Murphy, whose time on the bench overlapped with Lawson’s, wore a shirt that had Andrew Lawson’s name and No. 25 on the back. Those shirts were made in 2018, shortly after his death. On the back of Willis’ chair was a No. 25 jersey.
Need more coincidences? The Clippers finished the season with 25 wins and the title, of course, came in 2025.
“The number 25 just keeps popping up,” said Regina Lawson.
No one on Norwell has worn Lawson's No. 25 since his passing.
"He is the most important player we’ve had in our program, there’s no doubt about that," said Willis.
When Andrew Lawson played for Willis, sometimes he would get upset about playing time. Willis always kept a Snickers bar on hand as a peace offering.
When Willis, who just finished his 31st season coaching basketball at Norwell, was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in November, Regina Lawson and her husband Jim were in attendance with Willis. They brought a Snickers bar to celebrate the occasion.
More: Biggest shot in school history: Norwell boys basketball captures first-ever title
And when the Clippers won the state title, Regina and Jim Lawson were waiting outside the gym with a box of Snickers for the victors.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we look like groupies,’” said Regina Lawson with a laugh.
Willis’ most cherished basketball memory was probably not the state final triumph. That honor belongs to an unforgettable moment in Andrew Lawson’s basketball career. During a 2008 state tournament game against Bellingham, Lawson came in for the closing seconds. He made an over-the-shoulder catch on a full-court pass before launching a shot from the elbow as time expired. Willis, and a jam-packed, Norwell High gymnasium watched as the shot hit back iron and caromed high in the air. The shot dropped in, sending the whole gym into a frenzy.
More: New England Free Jacks honoring Hingham native with brain tumor
“This moment, I don’t know what will top it, but the Andrew Lawson shot I would say is probably (Willis') favorite moment,” said Murphy moments after Norwell’s state-title win, “and having him by his side always created a joy to him.”
“John gave Andrew a great experience while he was at the high school and while he was on the basketball team, but what he gave us, after Andrew passed, was all these wonderful memories,” said Regina Lawson. “We have such great memories and we still talk about Andrew’s basketball experience and his teammates, his friends. That allowed Andrew to get so much closer to this friends at school.”
Whenever a coach opening comes up at Norwell, Willis is seemingly the first option.
In 2018, after nearly 30 years of coaching baseball, Willis, a history teacher at the school, took over as the softball team’s head coach. It was his first experience coaching girls.
Before taking over, the softball program had struggled to consistently make the tournament. During his tenure, the Clippers have made the state tournament in all six years a state tournament was held. Norwell also has won two state tournament games.
In 2022, the Norwell football team had an unexpected coaching search in the summer just before the season began when Mark Killinger accepted the head-coaching job at Silver Lake. With two months before the first day of tryouts, the school turned to Willis to accept the head coach job on an interim basis.
More: Stars all over the diamond: 51 South Shore baseball players to watch this season
The Clippers proceeded to start 0-6 and scored just seven points in their first four games. But since then, Norwell has turned a perennial contender on the gridiron, going 21-5 with three playoff wins. Norwell was the No. 1 seed in 2023 and reached the Div. 6 semifinals in November.
“He just does it right,” said Hingham High athletic director Jim Quatromoni, who used to coach against Willis when he was the boys basketball coach at Hull. “He’s a passionate guy. He’s a born coach. I don’t even know how he survives coaching three seasons, including football and boys basketball.”
Willis credits his wife, Kim, with allowing to devote the time needed to coach three sports.
Following the state-title win, emotions were high for Norwell. Part of that was due to a high-stress game that saw heart rates spike. With the Clippers down by three, sophomore Charlie Williams collected a rebound in the closing seconds of regulation and kicked it out to senior captain Ronan Coffey. As time expired, Coffey drained the tying 3-pointer to extend the Clippers’ season.
Maybe the shot had a little help going in.
“I think (Willis) thinks of (Andrew Lawson) as this little angel on his shoulder that we all turn to and go, ‘Andrew, we need a little help now,’” said Regina Lawson.
In overtime, Coffey scored eight of Norwell’s 10 points to secure the program’s first state championship despite many deep tournament runs over the years.
“It’s really special,” said sophomore Jack Luccarelli, who spent the fall quarterbacking the football team. “We wanted it for (Willis). He’s one of the … he’s the best coach in the state. He’s a great guy, great coach, great person. He believes in all of us.”
As the team posed for a picture with the state trophy, Willis was overcome with emotion.
He wasn’t the only one.
“The kids really look forward to play high school basketball for him,” said Murphy. “To finally have the culmination of this moment, I think the whole community has been rallying around it. Because he’s been here so long, it means that much more to the community, to him and to the players.”
Willis had the weekend to celebrate the championship, but two days later marked the start of softball tryouts.
“It doesn’t define a career,” said Willis of the crowning achievement. “It really doesn’t. You don’t coach for state titles, you coach to work with kids and hopefully create great memories for kids. If we hadn’t won this, it wouldn’t have lessened my career or anything like that. It’s about the kids.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norwell High three-sport coach John Willis a living legend
Continue reading...
No one needed a state title less to define their impact on a community than John Willis.
The Norwell High three-sport coach is more of a living legend with a booming voice that can be heard in the loudest of gyms.
“John Willis is Norwell,” said Norwell High athletic director JJ Niamkey. “He means so much to the community and to the kids. It’s just something truly special. You don’t really have that in too many places around here.”
On March 14, the Norwell High boys basketball team claimed its first state title with a thrilling overtime win over Old Rochester Regional in the Division 3 final.
Willis’ career will never be defined by wins (there have been plenty of them), state-tournament appearances (basically every year, no matter the sport), or league titles, but by the relationships he’s built with players, coaches and parents across the South Shore over the decades.
But anyone who knows Willis knows one of those relationships is just a little more special.
'Not just coach'
The John Willis story cannot be told without mentioning Andrew Lawson, and vice-versa.
Lawson was a Norwell native who had Down syndrome. Lawson was an integral piece of the Norwell community, playing three sports, including for Willis’ basketball team. After graduating, he returned to the school as an assistant coach for Willis on the boys basketball team (and for Jack Browne on the boys soccer team).
He died in 2018 at just 27 years old following a two-year battle with cancer.
Playing for and coaching with Willis was a key cog in how Lawson became such a massive figure in the Norwell and South Shore sports community. Playing sports allowed Lawson to not only be included in the community, but to be a driving force behind it.
"To take Andrew onto a varsity team, that is something nobody with Down syndrome ever gets to do,” said Andrew’s mother Regina Lawson. “(Willis) became not just coach, he became our friend. He gave Andrew an opportunity that most kids with Down syndrome would never get to do.”
Andrew Lawson’s presence was felt throughout the state final. Assistant coach Brady Murphy, whose time on the bench overlapped with Lawson’s, wore a shirt that had Andrew Lawson’s name and No. 25 on the back. Those shirts were made in 2018, shortly after his death. On the back of Willis’ chair was a No. 25 jersey.
Need more coincidences? The Clippers finished the season with 25 wins and the title, of course, came in 2025.
“The number 25 just keeps popping up,” said Regina Lawson.
No one on Norwell has worn Lawson's No. 25 since his passing.
"He is the most important player we’ve had in our program, there’s no doubt about that," said Willis.
When Andrew Lawson played for Willis, sometimes he would get upset about playing time. Willis always kept a Snickers bar on hand as a peace offering.
When Willis, who just finished his 31st season coaching basketball at Norwell, was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in November, Regina Lawson and her husband Jim were in attendance with Willis. They brought a Snickers bar to celebrate the occasion.
More: Biggest shot in school history: Norwell boys basketball captures first-ever title
And when the Clippers won the state title, Regina and Jim Lawson were waiting outside the gym with a box of Snickers for the victors.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we look like groupies,’” said Regina Lawson with a laugh.
Willis’ most cherished basketball memory was probably not the state final triumph. That honor belongs to an unforgettable moment in Andrew Lawson’s basketball career. During a 2008 state tournament game against Bellingham, Lawson came in for the closing seconds. He made an over-the-shoulder catch on a full-court pass before launching a shot from the elbow as time expired. Willis, and a jam-packed, Norwell High gymnasium watched as the shot hit back iron and caromed high in the air. The shot dropped in, sending the whole gym into a frenzy.
More: New England Free Jacks honoring Hingham native with brain tumor
“This moment, I don’t know what will top it, but the Andrew Lawson shot I would say is probably (Willis') favorite moment,” said Murphy moments after Norwell’s state-title win, “and having him by his side always created a joy to him.”
“John gave Andrew a great experience while he was at the high school and while he was on the basketball team, but what he gave us, after Andrew passed, was all these wonderful memories,” said Regina Lawson. “We have such great memories and we still talk about Andrew’s basketball experience and his teammates, his friends. That allowed Andrew to get so much closer to this friends at school.”
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A three-season coach
Whenever a coach opening comes up at Norwell, Willis is seemingly the first option.
In 2018, after nearly 30 years of coaching baseball, Willis, a history teacher at the school, took over as the softball team’s head coach. It was his first experience coaching girls.
Before taking over, the softball program had struggled to consistently make the tournament. During his tenure, the Clippers have made the state tournament in all six years a state tournament was held. Norwell also has won two state tournament games.
In 2022, the Norwell football team had an unexpected coaching search in the summer just before the season began when Mark Killinger accepted the head-coaching job at Silver Lake. With two months before the first day of tryouts, the school turned to Willis to accept the head coach job on an interim basis.
More: Stars all over the diamond: 51 South Shore baseball players to watch this season
The Clippers proceeded to start 0-6 and scored just seven points in their first four games. But since then, Norwell has turned a perennial contender on the gridiron, going 21-5 with three playoff wins. Norwell was the No. 1 seed in 2023 and reached the Div. 6 semifinals in November.
“He just does it right,” said Hingham High athletic director Jim Quatromoni, who used to coach against Willis when he was the boys basketball coach at Hull. “He’s a passionate guy. He’s a born coach. I don’t even know how he survives coaching three seasons, including football and boys basketball.”
Willis credits his wife, Kim, with allowing to devote the time needed to coach three sports.
An emotional celebration
Following the state-title win, emotions were high for Norwell. Part of that was due to a high-stress game that saw heart rates spike. With the Clippers down by three, sophomore Charlie Williams collected a rebound in the closing seconds of regulation and kicked it out to senior captain Ronan Coffey. As time expired, Coffey drained the tying 3-pointer to extend the Clippers’ season.
Maybe the shot had a little help going in.
“I think (Willis) thinks of (Andrew Lawson) as this little angel on his shoulder that we all turn to and go, ‘Andrew, we need a little help now,’” said Regina Lawson.
In overtime, Coffey scored eight of Norwell’s 10 points to secure the program’s first state championship despite many deep tournament runs over the years.
“It’s really special,” said sophomore Jack Luccarelli, who spent the fall quarterbacking the football team. “We wanted it for (Willis). He’s one of the … he’s the best coach in the state. He’s a great guy, great coach, great person. He believes in all of us.”
As the team posed for a picture with the state trophy, Willis was overcome with emotion.
He wasn’t the only one.
“The kids really look forward to play high school basketball for him,” said Murphy. “To finally have the culmination of this moment, I think the whole community has been rallying around it. Because he’s been here so long, it means that much more to the community, to him and to the players.”
Willis had the weekend to celebrate the championship, but two days later marked the start of softball tryouts.
“It doesn’t define a career,” said Willis of the crowning achievement. “It really doesn’t. You don’t coach for state titles, you coach to work with kids and hopefully create great memories for kids. If we hadn’t won this, it wouldn’t have lessened my career or anything like that. It’s about the kids.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norwell High three-sport coach John Willis a living legend
Continue reading...
