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Dennis Caron
Now, 36 years later, Coach Caron is still involved. He continues to coach basketball, although at the junior varsity level, along with JV baseball and, as he has from the beginning, JV football. He may, in fact, just be the winningest JV football coach in Massachusetts history. "Oh, I don't know about that," the ever-genial Caron says. "People say that because I've been doing it for so long. To be a JV coach for 30 years . . . usually people move on to different things." Fortunately for Nantucket, Caron has decided to stay. He has brought not only unparalleled consistency to the island's junior varsity programs, but also an impressive success record as well. It's not that winning is the only thing, but that Caron's counsel is enlightened by experience and tempered by his own talents.
He was hired by Vito Capizzo and even lived with Vito on Quince St. before finding a rental of his own. Besides coaching, he taught English at the old Cyrus Peirce School. His first year was marked by Glen DaSilva breaking the 1,000 point mark, just the second player in Nantucket history to do so (see box). Another highlight during his 13-year tenure as head coach included the 1977-'78 squad winning 13 games in a row. That run helped put the team into the state tournament, a tough achievement in those days. "Besides the old Cape and Islands League being a tough league, you needed to win 70 percent of your games to make the tournament," Caron recalled. There were also the perennial powerhouse teams and notable coaches to face like Glenn Rose at Harwich, Leo Miller at Nauset and Jay Schofield at Martha's Vineyard. "It was not a cakewalk league at all. There were some great coaches that you had to go up against every night." In the fall, of course, his assignment was as football assistant coach with fellow teacher Dick Herman. "Dick was already here," Caron said. "He was one of the first people I met." Because Herman was already on hand, Caron was tapped to coach the JVs. "I was the junior guy, so I was slotted in to work with the junior varsity - and I never left." Although he retired from teaching in June, 2001, Caron has remained involved, not only coaching, but continuing on as the schools' driver education instructor, teaching island students the rules of the road as he has since 1985. He'll also get behind a microphone from time to time, either calling games or adding color commentary for Whaler sports. "I'm busy," he happily admits. "I like to get up in the morning (at 5 a.m. usually) and have a lot of different things to do." His years teaching, and his continued work as coach, offer their own rewards. "Being a JV coach has been a wonderful experience," he says. "Who would want to leave? Now that I'm retired from the classroom, I love having the opportunity to continue coaching. I'm living a dream and doing what I love." He's especially pleased to be coaching alongside former students Beau Almodobar, Tom Ferreira, Greg Moore and Elvis Butler. "I get the greatest pleasure from that," he says. "It's so rewarding for me." His influence extends to his own family. Both his sons played football beyond NHS. Dennis played four years at Tufts, and Robby played three years at Hobart College. Daughter Monique works at the Cyrus Peirce School. Looking back, he says, "it all sort of goes together.
"I've had a great career." I |
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