Dick Meader’s humanity and humility are what I admired most in the beloved coach.

I had the privilege of extensively covering the University of Maine at Farmington men’s basketball team for four remarkable seasons and I got to know Meader — the program’s longtime coach — well. He was 76 when he died on Sunday.

I knew he had a storied past as a respected coach, who had great success overseeing the men’s basketball programs at Thomas College and the University of Maine at Farmington, but this soft-spoken man was a genuine gentleman and his dedication was reflected in his players every time they stepped onto a court.

Meader’s love of basketball, compassion and high regard for his athletes was his trademark approach to the game and life as well.

In a season preview about the Beavers that I wrote in November of 2019, Meader’s last season, the UMF coach had the privilege of mentoring four seniors — guard Isaac Witham, forwards Riley Robinson and Bill Ruby and center Anthony Owens.

When I spoke with Meader about his team, he had this to say about his players:

“No. 1, they are great kids,” Meader said before the 2019-2020 season began. “I shouldn’t use the word ‘kids,’ but young men. They take their studies seriously. They work hard at it. In basketball, again, they work very hard. 

“You see them going in the locker room at times. They will be sitting on the couch with their computers in their laps and working on problems together. They really take their studies seriously. I just hope we have a good season for their sake.” 

But that feeling of respect and camaraderie worked both ways.

Ruby put it all in perspective about the coming 2019-20 season and his respect for Meader when he said:

“We have built some good relationships the past four years,” Ruby said in that season preview. “We all have the same goal to bring home a NAC championship for the Farmington community and Coach Meader, too.”

Besides being dazzled by Meader’s kindness, I was always impressed at how Meader recalled key moments of each basketball game.

He would invite me into a room and we would have a sit-down after each game I covered, allowing him to speak freely without distractions from all the noise in the hallway. He would give me his explicit rundown of what transpired on the court.

The beloved coach would replay those details like he was sitting courtside and watching the game all over again. There was no hand-waving, outbursts of anger or blaming during the course of our conversations after a hard-fought loss. There was just this mild voice providing details of a game. Again, it was his humanity that contained any frustration he was feeling after a loss.

I have met dozens of good and great coaches throughout my career, but I especially enjoyed just sitting down with a gentleman who made his living coaching college basketball. I also respected him for his temerity to continue coaching despite being afflicted with Parkinson’s disease.

His humility came shining through when he retired in 2020 after coaching collegiate basketball in the state for over four decades.

“I don’t want to be an anchor to any program,” Meader said in a Timeout column I wrote in March of 2020. “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.”

In a world ravaged by COVID-19, war and environmental catastrophes, we all could use a strong cup of Meader’s humanity or humility right now.

Dick Meader was a once-in-a-generation human being who cared about the important things — and for me, our friendship still makes life worth living.

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