In 2020, Whitman girls basketball coach Peter Kenah hit his 300th win. This season, his team made it 350, and now they’re poised for another deep playoff run starting tonight.
To those who know Kenah and know how he runs his program, his and his team’s success is no surprise.
“You have 150 students as a teacher, and that’s tremendous,” he told The Black & White in 2020, “but when you have 10-12 girls for basketball, and you’re in these highly stressful and fun situations, you get to know them on a different level — it’s just been really great to bring the community together.”
Mr. Kenah is a coach, government teacher and parent to two teenage daughters, one of whom attends Whitman.
Kenah played basketball in high school, and after a year off at Ohio State University, he transferred and played at Towson as well. Education runs in the family — while he studied and played, he watched his father’s teaching career blossom. Putting basketball on hold, Kenah transferred once more to Johns Hopkins to focus on teaching. JHU and other in-state universities at the time offered a free two-year education degree to students if they were able to commit to teaching in Montgomery County Public Schools.
After graduating, Kenah quickly began his teaching career as a long-term substitute at Winston Churchill for the 2000-01 school year. Churchill was also the start of his coaching career, where he coached the JV boys’ basketball team. The Whitman principal at the time, Dr. Jerome Marco soon offered Kenah a coaching position for the varsity girls’ basketball team at Whitman, and Kenah immediately accepted the offer, he said. He began coaching and teaching at Whitman as the Honors U.S. History teacher starting in the 2001-02 school year.
Kenah continues to maintain a full workload and has to be careful managing it all, he said.
“With hard work and a patient wife, it becomes a lot easier,” Kenah said. For Kenah, a day in life looks something like this:
“Up at 5:00 a.m.; work out at 6:00; then teach till 12:00; and work on lesson plans for tomorrow during lunch,” Kenah said. “1:30, down at the gym get the gym set up practice starts at 3:00; done by 5:00; film [reviewing games] from 5:00 to 6:00 say ‘Hi’ to the kids have some dinner, and then plan out the next practice and grade papers from 7:00 to 9:00.”
Kenah’s daughter Kiki is now a senior at Whitman. He feels he’s been given a great opportunity to watch her grow as a student, he said.
“I spent way too much time at Whitman — I just think it’s actually the best part of my career right now having daughters that are the same age as the kids that I coach,” he said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’m the same age as their parents, so I really feel like I kind of understand it much better than what I did when I was 25.”
Kiki also feels grateful and said there are perks to having him nearby.
“The best part is if there is ever drama, I can always go to his room,” she said. “It also made freshman year a lot less nerve-wracking knowing he was there.”
Kiki said that it has always been a fulfilling experience to watch him interact with her friends and peers in such a caring way, similar to how he is at home.
Kenah brings a family-style approach to his student-athletes. During the winter season, the team spends hours together in practice and classes. The consistency allows for a strong relationship on the court and in the classroom, he said.
“It’s great because you get to know the academic side of them, they get to know you better and then you get to see the competitive side of them as well — so I really enjoy it,” he said. “I think it certainly enriches the experience,”
Senior Faith Garder-Johnston, a former student of Kenah’s in AP government sophomore year, is now in her third year of playing on his team. Kenah has been a guide to her throughout high school, she said.
“He definitely teaches similarly to the way he coaches, but he still was able to balance our relationship well. He taught me like any other student and always made sure I understood the material,” Gardner-Johnston said. “I never have had a coach who shows he loves a sport so much and wants the best for everyone on the team. He shows intensity, passion, and love for his players, which I think is all you can really ask from a coach.”
Former Whitman girls basketball star Abby Meyers (’17) went on to play in both the WNBA and an Israeli professional league after her time with Kenah.
“Coach Kenah taught me how to lead by example and work hard to reach my potential,” she told Israeli media in 2023. “I had a great system around me to help each other realize our goals.”
Even as a coach, teacher and parent, Kenah has found a healthy balance to play all these positions in the Whitman community. He wouldn’t change a thing, he said.
Kenah feels that his career is at its peak as he ends this season and marks his 23 years of coaching and teaching. He hopes his career path can inspire others, too.
“Go for it,” Kenah said. “It’s the most rewarding thing that you could possibly imagine just and absolutely go for it.”
Girls basketball (14–6) plays Quince Orchard (8–11) in the 4A West II Regional Girls Basketball Quarterfinals tonight, 6:00 at Whitman.
