A new coach has joined the Bronx Science community! Coaching the Girls’ Varsity Swimming team, the Girls’ Junior Varsity Basketball team, and the Boys’ Varsity Tennis team, Mark Maraj has fully immersed himself in our school athletics department. As a former coach at Roosevelt Educational Campus, Coach Maraj has brought over years of experience with him.

Maraj began coaching to fill in for a coach who had recently retired. A player himself, he soon fell in love passing on his passion for sports to his players. “My favorite part of coaching is to see my players accomplish goals that they thought were too tough for them to reach,” said Coach Maraj. “Helping someone see that they have much more potential than they initially thought makes me proud to be a coach.” He also finds that that coaching at Bronx Science has been a new and refreshing experience. “I am honored, privileged, and blessed to work with a staff that cares, a supportive parent community, and of course the amazing student-athletes that give 110% every time,” said Coach Maraj.

His players feel just as lucky. 

“I am really fortunate to have Coach Maraj this season, and I’m definitely looking forward to future seasons with him,” said Michelle Zhao ’22, captain of the girls’ Junior Varsity Basketball team. “He believes in every single one of his players and will help them in any way that he can.”  Zhao also said that she has grown tremendously under his guidance. “I feel that I had improved a lot as a basketball player through this season with coach Maraj. He made me feel much more confident than before. He helped me with my shots, dribbling, passing and ways to become a better teammate,” said Zhao. 

His passion as a player is a testament to his coaching ability. “Coach Maraj was really passionate about swimming. He always used to tell us that he swam in high school, and it shows: he is able to coach the other girls and guide them so that they can improve their technique, and he totally understands the spirit that goes into the sport!” said one of the captains of the Girls’ Varsity Swimming team, Joanna Zhao ’20. 

Though he misses the earlier parts of his career, Coach Maraj finds his current position to be fulfilling. “I was able to play the sport that I loved my entire life with incredible athletes whom I was lucky enough to call my teammates,” said Maraj. “[However] as a coach, I get to witness my teams’ constant improvement every day, and I get to have new highlights every day.” 

Coach Maraj is looking forward to seeing the improvements that he and his players make next season as he continues to take courses and attend professional development programs to improve his skills as an educator. “I’m excited about the upcoming challenges and opportunities that the next season will bring to us,” said Coach Maraj. “We will meet those challenges together.”

“Coach Maraj was really passionate about swimming. He always used to tell us that he swam in high school, and it shows: he is able to coach the other girls and guide them so that they can improve their technique, and he totally understands the spirit that goes into the sport!” said one of the captains of the Girls’ Varsity Swimming team, Joanna Zhao ’20.