Side by Side Courtside

If you did not venture over to the Westminster gymnasium this winter for a Second Boys’ Basketball game or practice, you missed something special, a Westminster moment in time. It was not the fact that the team won its last nine straight games. It actually had nothing to do with the win-loss record. What you missed occurred on the sidelines and came to life in the competitive nature of 14 young basketball players.

This year’s team was privileged to have seasoned and experienced teacher Peter Newman as its coach. Not only was Peter a Westminster student-athlete in his own right, but he returned to the Hill as a coach, teacher and administrator, where he has been a powerful presence for over 25 years. It was a welcome sight to see him pacing the sidelines in his tie and oxford shirt, but the question remained, “Who was the guy collecting the balls?” To learn that the tall, ambling, silver-haired assistant coach was Tony Newman, Peter’s father, was the first sign that this was going to be a meaningful season. Initially, Tony saw himself as a sort of back office type guy, a worker bee, “just a gopher.”  It did not take long to realize that this could not be further from the truth.

Tony played at Hall High School and then Hillyer College in Hartford before entering the Army. After completing his military obligation, Tony returned to West Hartford and played at the University of Hartford. Seeing his still solid and tall frame and his long arms, it is not surprising that he was a power forward and leading rebounder who made it to the University of Hartford Hall of Fame. Tony went on to play on a variety of semi-pro teams, traveling throughout the northeast. He worked as an insurance executive, raised his three boys with his wife and high school sweetheart, Gail, and coached youth basketball. He even played in an early morning insurance men’s league with and against recruited players and moonlighting NBA players like Bob Cousy. Tony continued to play until he was sixty-five, when he hung up his sneakers after two knee replacements and a lifetime of running the hardwood. Even with all this basketball experience and wisdom, Tony was concerned about whether he could “add something” to the Westminster sidelines. Quiet humility seeps out of every pore.  

Peter Newman said his father loved to work but “finally” retired last year at the age of seventy-eight. Tony was looking for something to do and Peter needed an assistant coach. While the idea of coaching was appealing to his soul, it was Tony’s wife who convinced him to accept the invitation. Concerned that he did not know the game today and had not coached players over twelve years old, he was, by his own admission, scared to death. He was confident, however, that he could keep stats, collect balls and fill water bottles.  At the beginning of the season, Tony studied the Westminster Facebook to learn the boys’ names. At first, he perched on the near end of the bench and raised a high five or a fist pump of support as the players substituted in and out. As he became more comfortable in his basketball shoes, he began to teach the boys about the fundamentals of the game. Often, Tony could be seen putting his hand on their shoulders and imparting his quiet words of wisdom. With a nod of the head, the players returned to the bench undoubtedly better prepared for the next time they stepped onto the court. Max Brigham ’18 said that the players could count on Tony to provide the positive reinforcement needed to boost their confidence. Peter focused on the big picture; he was the architect of the offense and defense and could dissect and diagnose player technique on the spot. Tony attended to the brick and mortar. This synergy had a transformative impact on the team. Peter credits his father with one of his guiding principles as a teacher and coach. “It’s pretty simple,” according to Peter.  “If they know you care, they will do anything you ask of them.” Peter, for so many years, has shown Westminster students just how much he cares. Like father, like son.

The Newmans both feel that this was a special group of individual players who coalesced as a team to go on a nine-game winning streak to end the season after losing eight of their first eleven games. The spirit of the season was probably most evident in the final-second win against Avon, as a son held his father back from joining the boys in chest-bumping, high-fiving celebration on the floor. The culmination of the season was a defensive showdown against Taft in the last game of the season. The Martlets pressed, swarmed and surrounded the Taft offense, securing a low-scoring but exciting victory. The end of the bench was empty that day since Tony had to travel to South Carolina. After the game, Peter acknowledged that his phone was buzzing throughout the entire game to the point of distraction. Fittingly, it was Tony incessantly looking for real-time updates on his team.

At the outset of the season, the goal was simple. Peter wanted to ensure that his father felt utilized and valued, and Tony just wanted to contribute. Observing these two men coach together and watching their players listen and respond to them, little doubt remains that Tony felt that and more, much more.

Before his last game, Tony commented that this had been his “favorite season.” Knowing now that Peter and his family have made the difficult decision to leave Westminster at the end of the year, it is clear that Tony was not just referring to a basketball season, but one of life’s seasons that provided lasting memories and unanticipated joy.