Joe Pennell

By: Kristin Caldwell 10-23-06

At Caravel Academy, a few weeks before my 10^th grade basketball season, we were without a head coach. We were all very nervous about the type of coach we could get on such short notice. One weekend, my dad and I were at a CYO volleyball tournament where we saw Joe Pennell’s wife Hummy. Mr. Pennell had just resigned from Ursuline and the first thing his wife said to us was, "I need to get Joe coaching again and out of the house! He’s driving me crazy!" As soon as she said that, my dad and I knew we had a chance to get the best coach in the state!

While Mr. Pennell was interviewing at Caravel, it was kept pretty secret. The team and I knew he drove a Jeep Cherokee, and we were so excited every time we saw it in the parking lot. At the meeting where Mr. Pennell was announced as coach, it was hard to contain our excitement. Caravel basketball was about to appear on the map!

As a coach, Mr. Pennell was tough. If you did something wrong, you knew you would hear about it! He ran a discipline-oriented program that was exactly what we needed. Coach Pennell did have a softer side as well. He was the most caring coach that I have ever had! After each loss we were both heartbroken and often shared time together going over the game. In a short time, he developed a loyalty to Caravel Academy that matches mine today.

I played three years for Coach Pennell. In that time Caravel evolved into one of the most powerful programs in the state. Coach Pennell taught us how to expect to win, how to work hard, and how to earn success. He was a coach that I would do anything for on the court, because I believed so much in everything he taught us.

Now I am the head coach at Caravel, in no small part because of Coach Pennell. I want to have the type of positive influence on kids that he had on me. I want to continue to build the program that we started with Coach Pennell years ago. I know when we win a state championship one day, the only person happier than me will be him, smiling down on Caravel.

Kristin Caldwell

Caravel Academy

Class of 1999