SCC > News Releases

5/6/05

By Bill Cloutier

Dick Gagliardi says you can’t put a price tag on the time he’s spent coaching and teaching kids. But he has, and it’s his entire lifetime.

At the end of this scholastic season, Gagliardi will officially close the book on his athletic career, a span of 47 years that has taken him from Yale to Sacred Heart Academy-Hamden and so many places in between.

"There is no better job than working with young people," said Gagliardi, 72, the athletic director at Sacred Heart Academy. "The rewards are better than any monetary values."

Gagliardi began as a three-sport standout at Hamden High and never stopped his involvement in sports. Even when he was called to duty with the U.S. Marines, he found himself as a rifle platoon trainer and a football player.

"After officer training camp, they found out I was a pretty good football player (end and running back)," First Lt. Gagliardi said. He then trained with and became captain of the Quantico (Va.) Marines football team, returning to play against his alma mater Boston College and helping the Marines defeat the Eagles.

"I still remember what they were calling me from the sidelines," Gagliardi laughed.

A year later, Gagliardi was sent to Honolulu to play for the elite Hawaiian Marine team. He was selected as an all-star and played in the Hula Bowl in 1958.

"While most of the officers were getting stationed at Panama City or Paris Island, I was sent to Hawaii," Gagliardi said. "The rest of the officers wanted to kill me."

In 1958, the Hula Bowl was an exhibition game featuring college all-stars playing against a group of NFL and Marine team stars. Gagliardi found himself playing alongside the likes of NFL standouts like Frank Gifford.

Gagliardi’s talents were honed at BC, where he earned a four-year scholarship. He also played hockey there.

After the Marines, Gagliardi began his long career of coaching and, his first love, teaching.

Gagliardi’s resume will perhaps never be closed. He is still working on next year’s sports schedule at Sacred Heart Academy, even though he’ll be gone by the time the fall season starts.

He’s even worried about his teams having enough practice time before games next year — that’s how much he cares for the game and his students.

Sacred Heart seemed to be the perfect place for the Hamden High Hall of Famer to wind up his career. He is careful to stress discipline and academics along with athletics. He is concerned about the direction of today’s game.

"I worried about the win-at-all-costs measures today," Gagliardi said. "I believe that we need to stress that winning isn’t everything. I’ve seen a decline in sportsmanship.

"I’ve seen the parental interference. Parents are worried about playing time or what position a kid plays. The pressure that’s put upon the children is immense."

A retired math teacher, Gagliardi has been a major figure in the development of the programs and facilities at Sacred Heart, an all-girls, private school. His teams have become true forces in the ultra-competitive Southern Connecticut Conference, which is dominated by large, public schools.

And even being a veteran of decades of coaching, he is wowed by the level of progress in the girls’ game.

"I can’t believe the growth in girls’ sports," Gagliardi said. "When I went to school, the extent of girls in s

ports was them spelling out "H-A-M-D-E-N" on the sidelines and then sitting down. "Now we’ve got girls throwing softballs 60 miles an hour. And I can’t believe girls are playing lacrosse, and how talented they are."

Most of all, Gagliardi believes in ethics of the game. He realizes there are no shortcuts to success. He preaches hard work.

He thinks today’s athletes are bigger, faster, stronger and better than they were half a decade ago. He also thinks that they are better coached, which in many cases is a tribute to he himself.

Gagliardi coached hockey at Yale from 1965-1972. His team once defeated eventual national champion Cornell and its future NHL Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden.

He then took a teaching job and returned to coaching hockey at Hamden High for 14 years and won a Division I state title. He thanks Yale hockey coach Tim Taylor for teaching him most of his tricks. He calls Taylor the most innovative hockey coach there is and perhaps his greatest mentor.

Gagliardi will be honored Tuesday night at Laurel View Country Club in Hamden.

Afterward, he may go home and call it a night, but more likely he’ll probably swing by some lighted field and see if there are some kids who need a little help.

For more information on the dinner, contact Kim Curbow at 203-415-2461.

Bill Cloutier can be reached at bcloutier@nhregister.com.

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