Former Shawsheen Polytechnic Institute men's hockey coach Bill Gordon (left) shakes hands with Tyngsboro coach Brian Ronayne after the game. (Photo provided)
William “Bill” Gordon, a respected and beloved teacher and coach at Shawsheen Technical College, passed away unexpectedly last Wednesday.
Gordon held a variety of positions during his nearly 30-year tenure, but is best known as the head coach of the ST men's varsity hockey team, where he coached the Rams for 27 years.
He leaves behind a great legacy and powerful work that has had an immeasurable impact on the school he loved.
“My heart is broken,” said Al Costabile, athletic director at Shawsheen Technical College. “Honestly, Coach Gordon was a pillar of everything that was right about coaching, why you should coach and how much passion you should put into it. It made sense. He's a role model for coaches when it comes to doing what you do.”
Gordon's coaching history speaks for itself. He has 373 career wins, 15 conference championships, two sectional championships, two state final appearances, and the 1984 state championship.
In the 1983-84 season, the Rams went 21-0-1 and won the Division III state championship with a victory over Dartmouth at Boston Garden. The following year, in the 1984-85 season, they had an excellent record with a record of 19 wins, 4 losses, and 2 losses, and once again advanced to the state championship, but lost to Westwood in double overtime.
These heroic acts left a lasting legacy that will stand the test of time.
“When the 1984 team returned for induction into the Hall of Fame, we realized just how much of an impact Coach Gordon had on the student-athletes he coached,” Costabile said. “And every time I saw him he would smile and give me a hug. He was a wonderful, wonderful man.”
In March 2006, after Shawsheen Technical College's 5-4 loss to Savio Prep in the Division 3 North semifinals at the Chelmsford Forum, ending a remarkable 27-year run, Gordon He said this was the end of his career.
Savio Prep led 3-0 in the third period. But the Rams didn't quit. They were taught by Gordon not to do that.
After the game, Gordon told the late sportswriter Mike Ippolito, “This season with these kids has been a storybook season for me.” “And they were able to send me out in the best way possible. We didn't win the championship, but the best they gave me all season, including last period. The gift was the never-say-die attitude they always showed me.
“That (third period) was a gift for me. It was all about all the great teams we had here at Shawsheen and all the great comebacks we had over the years here. It was a gift from me, and I
How they played in the third period, that's what we stand for, so we'll continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards for the rest of our lives. ”
Afterwards, he told Ippolito: I kept it a secret for as long as I could, but without knowing it, these kids gave me an incredibly successful final year. I was hoping for this year to be as successful as possible, but this far exceeded my expectations. ”
When Mr. Costabile joined Shawsheen Technical College as head football coach and social studies teacher, he first noticed Mr. Gordon's relentless work ethic.
“I was immediately impressed with the way Bill taught and coached,” Costabile said. He worked for then-athletic director Ron Nowakowski for two years before taking over full-time in 2005-2006. “When I became AD, I knew we had just acquired him at the end of his career, but what a great situation to have a Hall of Fame coach as our men's hockey coach. He was really happy.”
A physics and earth science teacher at Shawsheen for 30 years, Gordon's teaching style mirrored his coaching. He wanted his athletes to strive to be the best they can be on and off the ice. Gordon, an assistant football, baseball and track and field coach at Shawsheen High School, was one of those special teachers who wanted to challenge his students. And while they knew he was strict, they also knew he was consistently fair.
“He was always prepared,” Costabile said. “He's always organized, passionate and doing it for the right reasons. I can't say enough about him. He had a lot of good qualities.”
Gordon's hockey coaching career began in 1974 at St. Mary's in Cambridge before joining Shawsheen Technical College as an assistant under head coach Don Eyre. In 1979, he was handed the reins as head coach of the Rams.
The tradition of Shawsheen's 1984 hockey team was further cemented by its selection to Shawsheen Technical High School's first Hall of Fame class.
“I'm sad, but I'm glad he accomplished something that his family can be proud of,” Costabile said. “He put a lot of people in a better situation knowing him. He must have taught them something along the way because he was always teaching something while coaching.”
