A former three-sport athlete and member of the Andover Hall of Fame, Perry (’83) taught fourth and fifth grade at West Elementary and Sanborn Elementary beginning in 1992, and started coaching at his alma mater in 2010.
Prior to his return to Andover, Perry guided Salem High in New Hampshire to two state titles in basketball and six state titles, with a 112-game win streak, in boys’ volleyball. He has coached football, girls’ basketball, and boys’ volleyball at Andover, and may very well be on the only Massachusetts coach to bring a team to a sectional final in all three sports.
The job was always on my mind for 24 hours, said Perry. I’ve never given my wife, or my family, much of a break. But I’ve loved it.
Perry will meet with his assistant coaches and some of his players Friday morning to begin the transition process, and he will continue to coach the boys’ volleyball team this spring.
The past two seasons, Perry snapped a 35-year drought by leading Andover football to consecutive Merrimack Valley Conference titles. He’s also served as an assistant coach for the Malden Catholic boys’ basketball program during the program’s three-peat as D2 state champions from 2022-2024.
For Perry, the decision to prioritize family became clearer this past fall when his daughter, Julia, gave birth to his grandson, Irijah, on Sept. 15, which happens to be Perry’s birthday. Irijah spent the first two weeks of his life in the ICU in Florida, and Perry finally got to see his grandson in December, after football season concluded.
It was probably two or three weeks ago that it occurred to me, Perry said, If I’m not teaching, where do I want to spend my days?
In addition to seeing his daughter and her family, Perry can watch his son, Will, play football at UMass Amherst, and follow his older son, EJ Perry IV, a legendary quarterback at Andover who is currently playing in the United Football League.
Over 1,000 student-athletes played have played for Perry at Andover, and he said he can remember all of them, but he cherished the opportunity to coach Julia to the state semifinals in 2015 along with the Andover girls’ basketball team, and to work with both sons on the gridiron.
When he was in high school, Perry remembers his coach lobbying to get him on the basketball team at Colby, and he’s been trying to pay it forward over the past few decades.
