Special to MySportsResults from Gerry Chester, former Griswold coach
The athletes, coaches, and fans of cross country and track in Connecticut have lost a true legend and a pillar of unconditional support, kindness, and generosity. Coach Douglas Sharples passed away on November 7, 2024, just days before the New England Cross Country championships held at Wickham Park. He was 82 years old.
I first met Coach Doug Sharples during the summer before my final high school cross country season. He and his wife, Helene, had just moved into my neighborhood, and little did I know that they would both ultimately have such a positive influence on my life.
Running past their house on a daily basis, I would soon find out that he was the new cross country coach at St. Bernard High School in Uncasville, Connecticut – a school that the year before had ended their season after their conference meet and hadn’t even sent a team to the state competitions. That year, however, St. Bernard did take part in the state championships and dramatically went on to win the State Open. Then when they won it again the following year in 1969, I knew 2 things. He was a very good coach and I lived in a very good neighborhood.
Even before I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to coach. At first, Doug was just another coach I could ask questions of and learn from about the aspects of coaching the sports of cross country and track. But, quite fortuitously, our relationship quickly turned into much more than that. He became a wonderful and loyal friend, a mentor, a business partner, a co-presenter at running clinics, and the best man at my wedding. I even babysat his two sons, David and Brian, from time to time.
When I first began coaching at St. Bernard in 1974, I was quickly immersed in what I would later refer to as “The Golden Age of Coaching” in Connecticut in the sports of cross country and track. Coaches like Bob Haddad, Bill Baron, Lindy Remigino, Irv Black, Dick Brimley, George Suitor, Bob Michalski, and Doug were all part of a group that Donn Friedman, the current CIAC Chair of cross country and track, stated, “Were the founding fathers of cross country and track in Connecticut.”
Not surprisingly, I learned that these coaches all wanted their teams to be successful, and just as importantly, they wanted to improve both cross country and track throughout the state and were always willing to share their knowledge and experiences to enhance both…
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