Raised to the rafters

Boston College retires Duxbury legend Curley’s jersey

February 20, 2019

By Trevor Hass, Sports Editor/Reporter
sports@duxburyclipper.com Twitter: @DuxburySports

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Duxbury’s Billy Curley salutes the crowd during halftime Sunday night. Boston College retired his jersey as part of a long-awaited ceremony, and Curley thanked the fans for all their support over the years. Photos by Trevor Hass

Duxbury High School and Boston College basketball fans are accustomed to seeing Bill Curley raise his left hand high in the air.

The most iconic and lasting image is the March 28, 1994, Sports Illustrated cover, where he’s famously pictured celebrating the ninth-seeded Eagles’ stunning NCAA Tournament victory over No. 1 overall seed North Carolina.

Another recollection – a more all-encompassing one that fueled that Elite Eight run – is Curley’s trademark lefty hook shot. It signified the frustrating moment every basketball player has experienced, where the defender has a hunch what’s coming but has absolutely no clue how to stop it.

Curley’s left hand helped him launch an NBA career, but all elite players turn to their opposite hand every once in a while, and it was Curley’s right hand that spoke volumes Sunday night at Conte Forum.

The 6’9 skyscraper spent many nights occupying center stage at Boston College’s arena, but this was unchartered territory. Curley became the seventh player in Boston College men’s basketball history to have his jersey retired and raised to the rafters. As he finished addressing an appreciative crowd, Curley raised that right hand in the air, pumped his fist and delivered one final remark.

Duxbury’s Billy Curley was thrilled to have so many people he cares about there with him at Conte Forum as the Eagles retired his jersey.

“We couldn’t have done this without all of you,” Curley reminded the fans. “Your enthusiasm and support made Conte Forum a great place to play, and we will be forever grateful for you. Thank you, God bless BC.” Then came the fist pump. “Go Eagles!”

Curley, who grew up in Duxbury, still lives in town and is without question the best basketball player in school history, got his start at DHS. The lasting memory is that 1989 state title his junior year, but Curley notes there was a lot more to his career than one championship.

He garnered plenty of attention from top-level colleges, but he pointed out that the outside noise never distracted him from the experience of competing alongside his best friends. Curley said many of the players on that team were elite athletes who also played other sports, and the Dragons relied on an up-tempo brand of basketball.

Bill Curley used Sunday’s ceremony as a chance to catch up with his old teammates.

“Billy put DHS basketball on the map,” then junior varsity and current varsity coach Gordon Cushing said. “If you ever got to see him play, you better come two hours before game time, because they turned people away at the door one hour before tip due to a sellout.”

Curley, who was a McDonald’s All-American in 1990, could have played just about anywhere he wanted. He mulled over his options, but he decided to stay close to home. Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan called him the most important recruit in BC’s history.

The legendary upset over the Tar Heels was the pinnacle of success for the Eagles, but it didn’t happen by accident. Boston College sputtered to an 11-19 season his freshman year, yet Curley earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors in the process.

Billy Curley and his teammates find it hard to believe it’s been 25 years since they shocked the world in 1994.

BC made back-to-back trips to the National Invitation Tournament in 1992 and 1993, continuing to generate momentum for one final surge. The Eagles – guided by Curley, Howard Eisley and freshman phenom Danya Abrams – finished 23-11 and 11-7 in the venerated Big East, as Curley put up a monster stat line of 20 points, nine rebounds and 1.6 assists during the season.

“Everyone looks at Curls saying that he’s (6’9) and a lefty with a hook shot, but no one would outwork him, even the guards,” Abrams told the Clipper. “You can ask anyone. He was the hardest-working guy on that team.”

The Eagles struggled in the Big East Tournament, but they found a way to regroup and ultimately shock the Tar Heels en route to the Elite Eight.

“I remember growing up getting Sports Illustrateds and looking at them all, checking out the cover and reading what’s inside,” Curley told the Clipper. “I think I had like a million copies, almost like baseball cards you collect them. For us to be able to get on it was an incredible feat. We were in the right place at the right time.”

Moments after addressing the crowd, Bill Curley stands behind his jersey with his wife, Kim.

Curley said he didn’t realize they made so many copies, and he dutifully signed dozens that came his way. After dominating at Duxbury, where winning was the expectation, Curley enjoyed the grind of making BC feel the same way.

He said it was a gratifying process to start from scratch and collectively work their way up to a trip to the Elite Eight.

“To be able to grow up and get your butt whooped pretty good, especially coming from Duxbury where you’re used to winning all the time, then you come here and it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ It was an uphill battle, but we stuck together,” Curley said. “We were able to put together a competitive team and move this program in the right direction.”

The Eagles honored that 1994 team late in the first half of BC’s win 64-57 win over Miami on Sunday, just before Curley’s individual ceremony at halftime. Curley, who is currently the head coach at Emerson College, said he and his former teammates still keep in touch, particularly when coach Jim O’Brien is back in town looking to play a round of golf.

Boston College honored its 1993-94 men’s hoops team Sunday shortly before halftime of the Eagles’ game against Miami.

Curley, 46, enjoys reminiscing and joking around with his old pals, though he insists his golf game isn’t quite as crisp as some of theirs.

“I’m a hack,” Curley said. “I get killed. I just like to hit the ball. I’m a better shooter.”

BC fans would likely agree, and they showered him with applause as he spoke during the halftime ceremony. When his jersey was finally raised to the rafters, the consensus among those close to him was that it was long overdue.

He’ll forever be one of the most iconic athletes – not just basketball players – in Duxbury and Boston College history, and his family and friends were beaming with pride as they witnessed his latest accomplishment.

“My brothers and I have heard all the stories about his time at BC and how hard he worked,” DHS senior and Curley’s daughter, Caroline, said, “but to be there and see his old teammates and know how humbled he was to receive such an honor was really special. I know our whole family is so proud of him.”

The NBA is back, baby! Here are some storylines, predictions and bad jokes to get you ready

The NBA is back, baby! Don’t get me wrong, life is wonderful the whole year, but I’m honestly markedly happier during basketball season.

It’s so nice to come home after a long day, turn on the TV and watch the drama unfold.

If you’re keeping tabs on this league with the sole purpose of finding out which team wins the championship, you’re doing it all wrong. Spoiler: It will probably be the Golden State Warriors.

No, I’m not thrilled about the dynasty from a conceptual standpoint, either, but it’s where we are right now, so here are some other storylines to follow:

1) LeBron’s on the Lakers. No seriously, LeBron’s on the Lakers! It’s kind of wild, right? He took his talents to LA to play with Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Lonzo Ball, three of the most proven superstars this league has ever seen. Well, no, not quite, but don’t sleep on this team.

LeBron could probably take a Division III team to the NBA finals, so don’t rule the Lakers out this year. Do I think LA actually will make it to the Finals? No, I don’t, because the West is too loaded, but I do think the Lakers will make some noise.

This team is like a smoothie made by a toddler. You wouldn’t think cookie dough ice cream, Nutella, frozen blueberries, pineapple juice and graham crackers would go together, and you’re laughing as your nephew or niece blends it all together.

Then you begrudgingly drink it, and suddenly you realize that all the parts give you a little something, and maybe this smoothie isn’t as bad as you thought. It’s so crazy, it just might work.

2) Can the Rockets get over the hump? To say that the Rockets would have won an NBA title last year if Chris Paul had been healthy is unfair to the Warriors. To say that they could have is a statement of fact. Heck, they almost pulled it off without CP3, but alas, we were left wondering what could have been.

This year, they’re back and will try to get over the hump. But wait a minute? Where’s Trevor Ariza? You know, that guy who does literally everything well and has an awesome first name? Oh, he’s on the Suns? Well that’s too bad, but who’d they ge – CARMELOOOOO ANTHONYYYYY!!! Whoa! Hold up. Melo? *Googles highlights to feel better* *Remembers that highlights are exactly that and weeps*

But maybe it’ll work? It might. Who knows? But in my opinion, the Rockets got worse, while the Warriors got better. Not ideal for a team that’s really, really good, but likely not good enough.

3) That leads us to our next topic. Can anyone beat the Warriors in a seven-game series? Kyrie Irving thinks so. But is he right? We’ll have to see the Celtics play for a few months before we can really answer that question, but on paper, it appears they have the best shot. Kyrie looks as lethal as ever, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are one year better and Al Horford and the supporting cast are back doing what they do.

But a lot of how far the Celtics go this year will depend on how Gordon Hayward progresses long term. It’s unfair to ask a guy coming off such a miserable injury to immediately look like the all-star he once was. If I stopped writing for a year, I’d probably come back and forget how to spell. Well, OK, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but you get the idea.

I was tempted to say the Celtics would beat the Warriors, but there are just too many unknowns at this point. I do, however, think that Irving is right. They CAN beat the Warriors. Will they? Who knows, but probably not.

4) Wait a second. Didn’t you say there’s a lot more to the NBA than who wins the championship? Yes, I did! Nice active reading! Here are some other storylines:

- What the heck is going on with Jimmy Butler and the Wolves? This is like when Becca and Arie got together on The Bachelor, but then Arie decided he loved Lauren. Where the hell did that reference come from? I have no idea, but I watched one season and now it finally paid off, I guess?

But yeah, Becca’s the Wolves and Arie’s Jimmy Butler. It all makes sense. Just go with it. Butler decided he’s better off without the Wolves, so adios Becca and Arie. He gone! My best guess is the Heat become the Lauren in this scenario, but I could also see the Knicks or the Nets trading for him.

- There have been talks of having the top 16 teams, regardless of conference make the playoffs. It sounds ludicrous at first, but if you really think about it, it’s not that farfetched. Can you imagine Giannis and Anthony Davis facing off in the 8 vs. 9 matchup? Or the 16-seed Wizards trying to shock the 1-seed Rockets like UMBC did to Virginia last year. It’s like March Madness, but with longer collective wingspans and a less catchy theme song.

It’s something to keep in mind. It would give teams like the Blazers, Pelicans, Wolves, Spurs, Nuggets and Mavericks, who are all in the West and deserve to be in the playoffs, a better chance to dance.

- I mentioned Giannis a little while ago. Giannis, Giannis, Giannis. They don’t call him the Greek Freak for nothing. He’s already become one of the best players in the league, and he’s honestly not even close to as good as he can be.

There have been rumors floating around that his jumper is better than before. If that’s true, and he can hit shots with regularity, then all of a sudden he’s like Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis put together (80 percent of KD and 80 percent of AD = 160 percent of OMG; it’s simple math, people). There’s no denying he’s already a Top 10 player, but if he keeps getting better, he could blossom into the best player in the league in the next 3 to 5 years. Watching him grow (figuratively, not literally; he’s done enough of that, my goodness, slow down, dude) will be fun.

- All right, so we all know the West is loaded, but take a look at it for a second. The Warriors and Rockets are locks for the playoffs, but after that, there are no guarantees. You’d have to think the Lakers, Thunder and Jazz would make it, but we can’t say that with certainty. The Blazers, Pelicans, Spurs, Wolves, Nuggets and Mavericks, and maybe some other teams like the Suns and Clippers, are all in the mix.

- Last year, it came down to the final night, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this year unfolds similarly. Eight teams finished with between 46 and 49 wins a season ago. The Blazers got the 3-seed, but they were just three games from missing the playoffs altogether. The Nuggets were outstanding, but they came up just short. Every game matters!

5) Which brings us to our predictions:

East:

1) 76ers

2) Celtics

3) Bucks

4) Pacers

5) Raptors

6) Heat

7) Wizards

8) Hornets

9) Pistons

10) Cavaliers

11) Nets

12) Knicks

13) Magic

14) Hawks

15) Bulls

West:

1) Warriors

2) Rockets

3) Jazz

4) Lakers

5) Thunder

6) Blazers

7) Pelicans

8) Spurs

9) Nuggets

10) Wolves

11) Mavericks

12) Suns

13) Clippers

14) Kings

15) Grizzlies

Playoffs:

76ers over Hornets in 5

Celtics over Wizards in 5

Bucks over Heat in 6

Raptors over Pacers in 7

Celtics over Bucks in 6

76ers over Raptors in 7

Celtics over 76ers in 6

Warriors over Spurs in 5

Rockets over Pelicans in 7

Blazers over Jazz in 6

Lakers over Thunder in 7

Warriors over Lakers in 6

Rockets over Blazers in 6

Warriors over Rockets in 6

Warriors over Celtics in 6

Awards:

MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, LeBron James

Rookie of the Year: Deandre Ayton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Luka Doncic

Sixth Man Award: JJ Redick, Jamal Crawford, Terry Rozier

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard

Most Improved Player: Josh Richardson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Aaron Gordon

Coach of the Year: Brett Brown, Mike Budenholzer, Luke Walton

All-NBA First Team: Steph Curry, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, JaVale McGee (just seeing if you’re awake; it’s seriously Anthony Davis)

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the season. Please print this out and keep it by you as you watch every game. Just kidding. Don’t actually do that. Stop printing!! Cancel!!! Well, it’s too late. You printed it. Might as well read it religiously every night before you go to bed now. 

Sagstetter continues miraculous recovery after going into cardiac arrest

(From Nov. 2015)

By Trevor Hass

Sports Reporter

Rick Peterson gazed forward and saw someone in the distance waving and calling for help. Right away, he knew something was wrong.

Peterson, Spectrum High School’s cross country coach and athletic director, sprinted across the field at Kliever Park toward Nate Hackbarth, the student who beckoned him.

Next to Hackbarth, sophomore Nevin Sagstetter lay on the ground in an unresponsive state. Peterson thought Sagstetter was having a seizure, and Sagstetter’s breathing was sporadic.

Assistant coach Amy Cornelius swooped in from the other direction as Peterson tended to Sagstetter. He could tell Sagstetter’s breathing was getting even worse, as the gaps between breaths grew longer.

Peterson, who spent 17 years as a paramedic, gave Sagstetter mouth to mouth resuscitation and compressions, but Sagstetter’s breathing stopped altogether minutes later. He was in cardiac arrest.

Cornelius called 911, Hackbarth returned with a First Aid Kit and the medics arrived. Peterson had worked with that same emergency crew years ago, and Cornelius said everything fell into place.

“It was amazing to watch, because they just kind of all fell into this natural routine of what they used to do,” Peterson said. “It was like I was witnessing miracle upon miracle with what was going on.”

Sagstetter was whizzed in an ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and later helicoptered to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He’s currently rehabbing in Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, and is scheduled to return to his Zimmerman home for good two days before Thanksgiving, more than a month ahead of schedule.

For Sagstetter to be walking, talking and learning again is remarkable to those close to him. The incident happened Tuesday, Sept. 22, and less than seven weeks later Sagstetter is doing unfathomably well.

“I’m so thankful that he was where he was at when it happened and that help was there,” Nevin’s mother, April Sagstetter, said. “He could have just been out running on his own and been laying there, and who knows what would have happened then.”

***

April Sagstetter was heading home when she got the phone call no parent wants to receive. Amy Cornelius was on the other line, and Cornelius tried to speak as calmly as she could to convey the facts to Sagstetter.

Cornelius drew from the bravery and poise her mother showed when she was a child and ambulances appeared at her house multiple times to whisk her sister – who dealt with juvenile diabetes – to the hospital. Cornelius, now a mother herself, knew she couldn’t panic, just like her mother didn’t.

Telling Sagstetter her giggly, sarcastic, intelligent son was in critical condition wasn’t easy, but Cornelius’ motherly instincts kicked in immediately. From one mother to another, Cornelius delivered the news, and Sagstetter – who was surprisingly just as calm – rushed to the fields right away.

“She was in perfect mom mode,” Cornelius said of Sagstetter.

April Sagstetter called Nevin’s father, Tom, at 5:05 p.m. telling him the news. When April and Tom Sagstetter arrived at Mercy Hospital, unable to see their son, April remembers the nurse coming their way and informing them that the chopper had arrived.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, they’re not talking about Nevin.”

But they were. At that point, Tom and April thought their son might have suffered a seizure. They had no idea he had stopped breathing. No heartbeat. No pulse. Nothing.

“We didn’t have a clue how bad it was until we got to Mercy and they were loading him on the helicopter,” Tom Sagstetter said.

The horrific whirlwind of an evening continued, as the chopper took off and rushed Sagstetter to the intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital.

***

Nevin Sagstetter was sedated and cooled for 72 hours straight. He was on a respirator and was out cold.

Day by day, progress was made. Small victories, such as removing the Electroencephalogram measuring his brain activity, became huge victories.

“He was literally covered with tubes and wires,” Tom Sagstetter said, “but day by day things started disappearing.”

The doctors had Nevin scratch his head, scratch his leg, squeeze his father’s hand, to distinguish between purposeful and non-purposeful movements. They wanted to decipher whether his movements were reflexes, or if he was consciously aware he was doing something. It was a brutal exercise, but one that had to be done to determine exactly where he was at physically and mentally.

Nevin Sagstetter is Spectrum’s second fastest runner. He loves nothing more than to move around. In those first few days at Children’s, he was deprived of that passion. Sitting in bed resting was a challenge, but without a diagnoses and without an implant in his chest, moving wasn’t an option.

Once he got a defibrillator in place to monitor his heart rate and a pacemaker to ensure his heart beats in rhythm, Sagstetter gradually began to do some of the things he’s accustomed to.

In fact, he made such steady progress that he was sent to another location – Gillette in St. Paul – on Oct. 12.

***

When Nanette Aldahondo, pediatric rehabilitation medicine specialist at Gillette, first met Sagstetter, the cross country runner was cooped up in a wheelchair and largely unaware of his surroundings.

Since then, in less than three weeks, she’s seen him regain the ability to walk to and from his therapy sessions. Though cognitive redevelopment isn’t occurring quite as rapidly as physical improvement, Aldahondo has seen Sagstetter make tremendous strides since she’s started working with him.

“He’s out of the danger zone medically,” Aldahondo said. “We still keep track of all those things and we monitor his heart, but we’ve really shifted the focus to physical, occupational, speech therapy.”

Sagstetter’s day is long and tiring. He starts school in the hospital between 8 and 9 a.m., takes classes until 3 to 4:30 p.m. and has a lunch break in the middle. He does therapy in addition to school, so every-day life can be exhausting.

“He’s pretty tired by the time 8 o’clock rolls around,” Tom Sagstetter says, turning to Nevin and smiling. “Usually you’d make it to 10 or 11.”

“Not anymore,” Nevin replies, smiling back at him.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Sagstetter looked at a computer screen with 100 dots on it. He moved the mouse and clicked on three different colors of dots – 100 in total.

“You actually were clicking on them so fast that the little computer couldn’t keep up,” Tom Sagstetter said to his son.

Nevin’s physical progress has been astounding, but his mental ability is lagging behind. First he started to walk, and now he can do so close to normally, however he believes he has started to run when in reality he hadn’t done so as of late October. He’s briskly power walked, but he hasn’t jogged quite yet.

When his father tells him he hasn’t run yet, Nevin grins and concedes. “OK, fine,” he says. He’s played Zoom Ball – a game involving a buoy and knocking things out of his parents’ hands – and now he’s starting to bike and swim.

It’s clear Sagstetter desperately wants to run, but considering there was the possibility he wouldn’t ever walk again less than two months prior, he’s ecstatic just to be alive and regaining his health.

“I didn’t know (if he would live),” Peterson said. “He had been in cardiac arrest for a long time at the scene. I don’t think there were any of us that knew at that time how this was going to turn out, not only if he would live but how much function he would regain.”

***

It was an unimaginably nightmarish scene for Peterson. Having to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of his athletes and not knowing whether someone whom he considers family would live.

But he did live, and since that day Peterson and Co. have done everything they can do ensure the Sagstetters know Nevin is on their minds. They made green wristbands with white writing that reads,” Running with Nevin,” as well as white T-shirts that say, “#forNevin” in blue block lettering, with black and white shading, on the front and feature the Spectrum mascot with a cross country logo on the back.

Amy Cornelius recalls eating pancakes and donuts with Nevin and his teammates after Saturday morning meets. She remembers going to Camp Shamineau in Motley, Minnesota, and watching Nevin running, paintballing, horseback riding and shooting rifles with his friends. The camp also had something called the blob, that Nevin loved, where kids would sit on the far end, and parents and coaches would jump off and launch them into the water. The memories are limitless, which is why those close to Sagstetter have constantly checked up on him to make sure he’s doing OK.

The Sagstetters have appreciated the overwhelming number of requests they’ve received to visit Nevin. They’ve had to decline some so he can stick to his tight schedule, but they’ve welcomed many others.

Tom Sagstetter set up a CaringBridge account to give family and friends updates about his son’s progress. He said the last time he checked the site, more than 3,200 people had viewed it. The Spectrum volleyball team brought Sagstetter a gift basket, and coaches and runners from other teams have reached out as well.

“They’ve been really supportive,” Nevin Sagstetter said. “People visiting me from school, and all the people from the cross country team, a lot of them have visited, which makes it really nice because it’s nice to talk to them and see them. It makes my stay here a lot better to know that they’re supporting me.”

While having visitors at the hospital is fun for Sagstetter, returning home is even better. And on Sunday, Oct. 25, he had that opportunity for the first time in more than a month.

They arrived home around 10 a.m. watched the Vikings beat the Lions, 28-19, played with his yellow lab, Kenya, and his cats. The family barbecued, Nevin saw his 13-year-old sister, Nicole, and he chatted with his grandmother and grandfather about the new lake they moved to – a prime spot for both hunting and fishing.

“I can’t wait,” Nevin Sagstetter said. “I’m more than ready to go to the lake.”

***

Nevin Sagstetter reclines peacefully in a wooden and cushioned chair in front of a flat-screen TV in a meeting room on the fourth floor at Gillette at 11:06 a.m. on Oct. 28. He’s sporting his green Spectrum cross country jacket, black sweatpants and an infectious smile.

His father, wearing a gray hooded Spectrum Sting sweatshirt, sits to his right, and his mother, donning the #forNevin shirt, rests diagonally from him.

They don’t know what the future holds, but they hope they can put this terrifying chapter of their lives behind them. The climb toward becoming the fully functioning person he was two months ago is a daunting one, but Tom and April are confident their son will continue to shatter expectations. 

“I’m more of a spontaneous person, but it’s really hard to plan for what’s going to happen six months from now because we don’t know what you’re going to do that’s going to surprise us,” Tom Sagstetter says, looking at Nevin. Then he pauses and laughs. “Don’t worry about that, just keep going. Keep surprising us. It’s all good, man.”

There’s still no exact diagnosis. Doctors have run plenty of tests, but they haven’t deduced the cause of the incident. The Sagstetters hope they won’t have to change too much to the setup of their house once Nevin returns Nov. 24.

Tom and April Sagstetter now know that awful things happen to amazing kids, but they’re just relieved their son is still with them. 

“It’s truly a miracle that he’s alive,” Tom Sagstetter said, tears swelling in his eyes.

Then he turned to his 15-year-old son, who nearly died before he did, and placed his left hand on Nevin’s left shoulder.

“You are our miracle boy,” he said. “You are amazing.”

  

From grids to the gridiron

Maimaron thrives as teacher, coach, by using similar approach in both

By Trevor Hass, Sports Editor/Reporter

sports@duxburyclipper.com
Twitter: @DuxburySports

It’s just after 9 o’clock on a typical Wednesday at Duxbury High School. A middle-aged, sharply dressed math teacher paces the room, making sure his students are fully engaged.

When he spots one surfing the web, on the 13-inch MacBook Air given to everyone from seventh grade up, he politely asks him to focus on the material. A few minutes later, the same student pops in some headphones, and the teacher reminds him why they’re there, this time a little more sternly.

“It’s like the equivalent of being on a diet and having someone put a hot plate of brownies in front of you,” he says, referring to the benefits and the drawbacks of the sleek computer.

It’s clear he runs a tight ship when necessary, but for the most part he doesn’t have to. His students are largely engaged, and it quickly becomes evident they respect both him and his co-teacher. When he explains a concept, they’re listening, answering the questions he poses and jotting down notes.

The man, sporting a spiffy blue and white button-down, tan slacks, gray Under Armour shoes and a red, white and blue belt with the American flag on it, eventually meanders back to the front of the classroom and scans the attentive audience of 23. He takes off his glasses momentarily, pauses for a sip of Aquafina and then rests those glasses back on his nose.

“See how you have a grid here?” he inquires. “X intercept at 3 is right there. The X intercept is a point. Once you have two points, you can count the slope.”

He has a knack for explaining the issues at hand, and his students swiftly latch on and grasp what he’s saying.

During the school day, this is what the teacher does, and he loves it. After school, the teaching doesn’t stop. In fact, it continues in an extremely similar manner, only now the subject matter is something different. Football.

From intercepts to interceptions, grids to gridirons and MacBooks to playbooks, Dave Maimaron is always teaching. Perhaps the most recognizable high school sports figure on the South Shore, and one of the most successful, Maimaron is rightfully known for his acumen on the football field.

But what about his day job? What’s he like as a teacher? As he’ll tell you, the two are inextricably intertwined. His approach as a teacher funnels into his mindset as a coach, and he uses the same methods in both disciplines.

As someone who was a lost and often confused high school student himself, Maimaron knows how to relate to his students and players, and he prides himself on bringing out the best in them.

“They’re the same in my eyes,” Maimaron said. “You’re teaching in the classroom or you’re teaching on the field. You’re still teaching.”

“Football kind of saved me”

Plenty of the kids Maimaron grew up with in Quincy went down the wrong path. He knows that could have easily been him. Truthfully, he admits, it almost was.

When he was 14, his older sister, Nancy, died. Two years later, his older brother, Bobby, died. It shook the Maimaron family to its core, and he started asking more philosophical questions about life than any teenager should have to.

He’ll always cherish the memory of Nancy, who was six years older, teaching him how to ride a horse. She appreciated nature and the arts, and he still enjoys those parts of life to this day.

Bobby was his best friend. He was four years older, but they were inseparable. Dave’s son is Bobby, whose grandfathers are Bob as well.

Time has passed, and the wounds have mostly healed, but there will always be two massive parts of Dave missing.

“It’s a pretty traumatic thing for any family to go through, losing a sibling,” Maimaron said. “Losing two was difficult on everyone.”

Around that same time, as those doubts swirled, Maimaron met a man who would go on to become one of his biggest mentors. Football coach Kevin Macdonald took him under his wing at Archbishop Williams, in Braintree, and molded him into a confident, polished person.

Maimaron earned a spot on the UMass Boston football team and turned a metaphorical corner. He was back in better spirits, and he knew Macdonald was a major reason why.

“I had some challenging times in high school, and football kind of saved me,” Maimaron said. “He kind of saved me. The amount of anger you have, dealing with the grief, football really channeled that for me in a positive direction. If it wasn’t for that, and Kevin Macdonald, it would have gone negatively. My life would probably be a mess.”

He graduated with a sociology degree and spent his time bartending at Clarke’s at Faneuil Hall. The tips were nice, but he still didn’t feel satisfied. Something was missing.

He knew he didn’t go to school to bartend. There was more he wanted to do.

One day, he got a chance to substitute teach in the Boston Public School System, and he pounced on the opportunity.

“I loved it right from my very first day,” Maimaron said. “I’ve been teaching ever since.”

Trial by fire

Back when he was breaking into the field, the way Maimaron saw it, education was getting hammered and heaps of people were being laid off.

He knew he had to stand out somehow, so he chose to zero in on special education. Maimaron got his masters in special education at Eastern Nazarene College, and his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies through Fitchburg State,  and he found a job as a teacher in a self-contained, behavioral management classroom that he held for 13 years.

“It was trial by fire,” Maimaron said. “You’re figuring it out on your own.”

He’s still close with a couple students from that program. That’s the way he is. When he builds a relationship, he always tries to keep it, because that’s what means the most to him.

The job, as exhausting and grueling as it was, was satisfying in many ways. He loves a good challenge, and this was no different, but he decided it was time for a change.

“Once I started my own family, I realized I was completely emotionally drained by the time I got home, so it wasn’t going to be fair to my own family,” Maimaron said. “I knew I had to get into a more stable situation.”

Dave, Colleen, Tiernan and Bobby Maimaron moved to Duxbury. Dave found a job in town in the early 2000s, and now his whole life is here.

“It was my goal,” Maimaron said. “Once I realized I wanted to teach and be a high school coach, not a college coach, it was my dream to teach and coach in a town on the South Shore. I don’t think I could have ended up in a better place.”

Parallel lines

In a typical day, Maimaron – who also taught sophomore English and MCAS prep in the past – teaches two co-taught geometry classes and one co-taught algebra course, and he oversees two learning centers with six and 13 kids.

He and his good friend, Tony Fisher, co-teach the math courses – a concept Maimaron was instrumental in bringing to Duxbury years back.

Principal Jim Donovan credited Maimaron for improving the special education model at Duxbury High. He said his versatility makes him stand out.

“He has a way of developing relationships with students that are multi-dimensional,” Donovan said.

He’s a joke-cracker, a hearty laugher and a gregarious guy, but he also demands a lot. He holds everyone he encounters to a high standard, and he strives to get the best out of them.

When a student doesn’t understand an issue, his goal is to help them master the concept.

“Breaking down a complex math assignment is really similar to breaking down a complex play on the field into simple, manageable steps that kids can understand,” Fisher said. “Whether it’s a test or an important game, keeping that same approach and that consistency is important.”

Maimaron echoes what Fisher says, noting that experience goes a long way. When senior Liam Kraemer first moved from Colombia to Duxbury, for example, Maimaron helped him learn English the same way he helped him learn football – through repetition, a variety of strategies and attention to detail.

“At this point, because I’ve been doing it for so long, a lot of times by the look on a kid’s face, or the question they ask, I can understand what they don’t understand,” Maimaron said. “I usually have a tool or a trick to show them a different way to understand that problem. If a play we run doesn’t work, I usually know right away why it didn’t work. I also know we can do this the next time and it will work. It’s no different in the classroom. A lot of that comes from experience. I’ve been doing it almost 30 years now.”

In the classroom, he rarely yells, unless he needs to. On the football field? The approach is essentially the same, but the demeanor can sometimes reach a whole new level – like a tiger let out of its cage. This is what he loves, so it’s only natural.

As senior Jake Quilty discusses Maimaron’s shrewdness in both settings, Maimaron peeps his head in from the hallway.

“I won’t play you again if you bash me,” he jokes.

Quilty chuckles and shakes his head.

“He’s pretty scary when he gets angry.”

Biggest classroom in the school

With his teaching background as a driving force, and plenty of help, Maimaron has built Duxbury football up into the Godzilla of the Patriot League ever since the turn of the millennium.

Duxbury, fresh off a 14-13 victory over Hingham on Saturday, has won the league title 10 straight years, and 14 of the last 17, along with five Super Bowl championships during that span.

To say he’s solely responsible would be inaccurate. He has an experienced coaching staff, a rabid fan base and, of course, supremely talented players year after year.

But to call him the engineer and the visionary behind that success isn’t farfetched at all. He deflects the credit, but frankly he’s the puppeteer behind the entire operation.

He’s a teacher, both in the classroom and on the field, and oftentimes the lines are blurred. Those lines can be viewed as both parallel and perpendicular – always going in the same direction but also forever intersecting. It’s a dizzying nightmare for most math teachers, but a beautiful equation for Maimaron.

“Friday night is like a community event, when the whole town shows up,” Maimaron said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, what we’ve created. It takes a lot of work. The football field is the biggest classroom in the school.”