Dick Meader’s legacy will last for generations, and all the young men he coached for the past 44 years will still be talking about the positive influence he had on their lives.
Meader made the hard decision to step down as the University of Maine at Farmington’s men’s basketball coach after 27 years at the helm on Thursday.
Tony Blasi
He collected 513 victories over the past 44 years as a collegiate coach. Meader was the skipper at Thomas College for 17 seasons and earned 160 victories before he moved on to coach UMF, where added another 353 wins.
So what is next for the gentlemanly coach, who dedicated nearly three decades of his rewarding life to UMF?
“Nothing,” Meader, who daily made the long commute from Waterville, said. “Having done that for 27 years, it is time to get done. I just look forward to it.”
He said he will spend his time watching his grandchildren’s games because that’s “what an old person would normally do.”
He also said that being affected by Parkinson’s disease also played into his decision to leave UMF.
“I don’t want to be an anchor to any program,” Meader said. “It is time to enjoy some other things and not feel guilty when you are not doing something, basketball-wise, or not seeing a summer league game your kid is playing in. In the summer, you spend a lot of time recruiting. It is time.”
University of Maine at Farmington head coach Dick Meader speaks with assistant coach Jim Bessey before the start of the North Atlantic Conference men’s basketball championship game at Dearborn Gymnasium in Farmington last Saturday. Tony Blasi/ Sun Journal Buy this Photo
But his coaching resume aside, what really makes Meader genuine is that he’s a nice guy who finished first with his players and earned him respect from coaches inside and outside the North Atlantic Conference.
Dr. Troy Norton, who is the Mt. Blue boys basketball coach, played for Dick Meader and has his own amusing tale to tell.
“He just convinced you that you could reach your potential as a player,” Norton said. “The story I always tell of when I started at UMF, is I considered myself a poor defensive player. I always guarded weaker players, and then coach Meader convinced me that I was a great defensive player.
“I was the same kid, physically, but mentally I believed that I could guard anyone, all because of him. He kept it fun, which in Division III, it is not Division I, it needs to be fun and he completely understands that.”
Meader’s integrity as a coach speaks volumes of his character. I will miss the rapport we shared the past four years. Win or lose, he gave the guys and gals with the tape recorders and notebooks the rundown of the game without an attitude. That alone made him a true professional.
Whenever opposing coaches were asked what they thought about the UMF Beavers after a hard-fought game, they usually answered: “That’s a well-coached team.”
“I think he is the perfect Division III basketball coach,” Norton said. “He is competitive. He motivates his players. But yet, he does everything with integrity, and sportsmanship is important. Academics are important. I think he is an all-around, universally respected coach. I can’t ever remember anyone having a bad word to say about him.”
Former longtime Colby College men’s basketball coach Dick Whitmore praised Meader for his work ethic.
“His contributions have been felt throughout the state and beyond,” Whitmore said in a UMF news release. “His teammates and players have loved and respected him for five decades. No coach has prepared his teams better.”
Meader and his Beavers came this close to winning an NAC title this past Saturday, but SUNY Canton prevailed with a 72-71 victory.
There were sad faces and tears outside the Beavers’ locker room, but Meader, the consummate professional, made time to speak with me despite the heartbreaking loss.
His first concern was for his seniors, who had a pretty good idea their coach was stepping down at the end of the season and wanted so much to deliver the NAC crown to their beloved coach.
“It was tough,” Meader said after Saturday’s game. “I feel bad for our seniors, who played their hearts out. It is just tough. It was great year — 22 wins — and you look at that as a positive. It is tough any way you look at it….so onto other things, I guess.”
But you can bet Meader knows his next play is being a doting grandfather — and he’s OK with that.
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