About Coach Jarvis

Mike Jarvis played on Rindge Technical High School’s 1962 Class A Championship (East Massachusetts) team. Today, he’s a member of the Cambridge High School, Massachusetts Coaches, New England Coaches Association and George Washington University Hall of Fame. However, Mike’s storied life in basketball almost didn’t happen.

As a sophomore at Northeastern University, he quit the team – deciding to work for his father and brother’s fish-and-chip shop – before his brother convinced him to return to Northeastern and apologize to his coach, Dick Dukeshire. Given a second chance, it wasn’t long before Mike knew that his calling was as a basketball coach.

In the mid-1970s, a Jamaican teenager moved to Massachusetts. His name? Patrick Ewing. Mike and Patrick didn’t know it at the time, however, soon enough their lives would be linked forever. A few year later, Mike was appointed head coach of his (high school) alma mater (Cambridge Rindge and Latin School – renamed from Rindge Technical, following a merger). In a stunning run of success, Ewing led Cambridge to three-consecutive state championships (1979-1981), amassing a remarkable 77-1 record during that span. Mike was named Massachusetts HS Coach of the Year in each of those three seasons.

In 1985, he commenced what would be a 25-season run (between 1986 and 2014) as head coach at Division 1 NCAA schools; Boston University (1985-86 – 1989-90), George Washington (1990-91 – 1997-98), St. John’s (1998-99 – 2003-2004) and Florida Atlantic (2008-09 – 2013-14). Mike led 3 universities to the NCAA Tournament, making 9 appearances in all.

Coach Jarvis is the author of Everybody Needs a Head Coach and Skills for Life, as well as a highly sought after speaker.