Entering my fourth season as BPS XC Head Coach I am fortunate that I have an opportunity to pick the brains of some of the best coaches in the region, I am very fortunate for them to share their wisdom, experiences and stories. Today I got to pick the brains of Coach Art Demers New Hampshire Hall of Fame Legend
DATG: Coach when did you start running ?
Art Demers: I started running in 1973 when I was a freshman in high school. I was walking home from school on the first day of the school year and I saw a group of kids running past me. I turned around and headed back to the high school and saw this man standing in front of the school with a clipboard and a stop watch. I asked him if he was associated with the group that was running. He said, "yes". I asked him if I could join the team. The next afternoon I showed with my black hitop basketball sneakers and I was on the cross country team. One week later still wearing my black hitop basketball sneakers won my first race and the team won the first varsity win in all sports at Pelham (NH) High School. I was hooked. It did take me three meets legendary NH Cross Country Coach Larry Martin saw me in a race and told my coach to have me buy running shoes!
DATG: How many years have you been involved in the running community including your running and coaching years ?
Art Demers: I ran 4 years of cross country at Pelham at Pelham HS. Pelham did not have indoor or outdoor track. I was able to run indoors my senior year.
I then went to Plymouth University for two years. They dropped the indoor and outdoor programs in my sophomore year. So I transferred to UMASS Lowell my Junior year. I wish I had gone there from the start. I am not sure why I did not. The coach there, George Davis assumed I was coming my freshman year. I loved UMass Lowell, the academics, the athletics, and social atmosphere.
I developed as a runner at UMass Lowell. I spent three years at Lowell. I graduated with a double major of economics/political science. My coach suggested that I should become a teacher and a coach at all places Nashua High School!. I said I had other plans, my father and coach thought I was insane when I announced that I planned on joining the Peace Corps.
I joined the Peace Corps and served my two years in the Marshall Islands, but I surprised everyone and extended for another year and a half. I met my wife at the going away party and I extended my original two years.
When my three and a half years were over. Jane and I moved back to the United States in 1987. We both went back to school and both earned teaching degrees. During that time, I became the UMass Lowell assistant cross country/track coach for two years. I also became the Greater Lowell Road Runners assistant for the next seven years.
In 1995, I was going for my second master's degree and I ran into a man who asked me if I had some time to work with his son. I talked with his HS coach at my Alma Marta if he needed my assistance. He was new to coaching and welcomed my assistance. I worked with his team that fall and they showed some success. We were able to get indoor and outdoor track that year. At the end of the first indoor season the coach left the school district and the program fell on my lap.
DATG: How many team titles in NH do you have ?
Art Demers: I won seven Class M/S titles at Pelham HS. The Pelham Boys and Girls won the first State titles in Pelham High School History in any sports. They also had 4 runner-up titles. They also had many individual state champs in cross country as well as track.considering I was not teaching and I was working a job where I got out at 4:30 pm.
I left Pelham in 2001 when I got a job teaching at Nashua High School. I coached at cross town rival Bishop Guertin HS in 2003. We tied for second at the NHIAA Division One meet, but our sixth runner was a few places behind the eventual second place team. This is a great reminder, how important your sixth and seventh runner can be. A former runner of mine at Pelham HS took over the BG program when I was offered the Head Cross Country program at Nashua South program. I coached a team that was now divided. Nashua High became Nashua South and Nashua North.
We went from a dwindled team to Division One Champions in 2008. I am very proud of that team. It was the first team at Nashua High South to win a Division One Championships since the split and the first Boy's Cross Country Championship in the city since 1984. More impressive was I had the five fastest boys in Division One ever to run on the Derryfield course in NH. Two of the boys were 25 minute 5k runners when they were freshman and sophomores. Never give up on a kid.
DATG: How many schools have you coached at ?
Art Demers: Pelham, Bishop Guertan HS, Nashua South High School, and Alvirne HS. Plus Nashua PAL (USATF)
DATG: What kind of attributes and intangibles where you looking for in your captains ?
Art Demers: A love for the sport is one I feel is important. Another who has questions about the sport and my coaching, and understands his teammates ups and downs. I feel a good captain can listen and speak for his teammates. As a coach I do want to know about the lives of every athlete I coach. How is school going? Social life? Family life? Do they have any injuries they are hiding? I do not want a snitch, but extra eyes and ears that benefit the athletes and myself. Sometimes an athlete will tell me direct, or I over heard it when I ran with them but a good captain also keeps a coach informed of any problems an athlete is having on and off the team.
DATG: To build a successful program what does it take ?
Art Demers: Enthusiasm and getting athletes to believe. I remember a kid at Pelham saying to me, "We're from Pelham, we do not win anything." The next year we placed second in the division championships losing by 2 pts and then the next year we won. This same kid went on to a very successful collegiate career and then became a phenomenal coach and his team went on to win NH State Championships.
Getting kids to believe that they can. I have kids who told me that they were going to win state championships and I am thinking what planet are you from? And they went out and did it. I had one girl who never won a race in her life, win the Division Three Cross Country title and ran so hard, she did not even remember it.
You have to believe in yourself, your coach, and your team to achieve your goals. I have so many memories of kids believing in themselves and teammates.
I also remember the fun they had. Spaghetti dinners, mini golf, hanging out and building wonderful friendships. Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors all taken care of each other.
DATG: Does Sports and politics coincide ?
Art Demers: Yes, sport and politics coincide. Good coaches have to stand up for their teams. The cross country and track teams are on the same level as all other programs in the school. Some schools put cross country on a lower level than other sports. The coaching staff as well as student athletes, and their families have got to make their sport an equal program in their school and community.
While coaching at Pelham, the student athletes and families pushed the school district and community to build a track complex and sure enough the town and a generous donation from an incredible man's donation built the Harris Family Track.
And at Alvirne HS, the student athletes and their families led the effort to resurface and renovate the Hudson HS Track two years ago.
DATG: How was your experience in the Peace Corps ?
Art Demers: Loved every minute of it. For the first two years I spent two years on the island of Lib. Marshall Islands. No electricity, running water, no radio communication with the outside world. The boat came every five months with the mail. I did little running on this island. It was only one third square mile. I ran but not as much as I would like.
At the going away party, I met my future wife and stayed in the Peace Corps for another year and a half. I taught school and also worked on developing a local government on the outer island. In my third year I taught a few classes at the Community College of Micronesia. I also worked with the Marshall Islands Department of Interior and Outer Island Affairs, working on a handbook for running local governments.
I always wanted to give back to the country and in the early eighties the military was not hiring or at least not in the areas I was interested in.
DATG: What was the feeling to see your son Phil grow as a rising runner ?
Art Demers: When Phil was three I knew we had to get Phil involved in sports. He had so much energy and needed something to do. We enrolled him in gymnastics. From three years old till eighth grade he was a gymnast. He loved it. He would train three hours a day three days a week. He would then compete on weekends. One day on the way home from the Eastern Gymnastics Championships, Phil told me he decided not to do gymnastics anymore. I told him that was fine, but he needed to find another activity to get involved in. I said physical activity, not playing video games. He said, I think I will try running. I really have to thank all the people I coached through the years as well as the people from Camp Foss. Phil has gone there since he was three or four. Walking Mr. Maloney's dog, listening to guest speakers, staying in cabins with or without me in there. He has seen people who love the sport.
I am proud of Phil's accomplishments on and off the course and track. He is now running for UMass Lowell where I ran. He is having a blast running and studying Public Health.
He is also a NH certified official. I think he is the youngest in the organization. He also understands the sport. He is an integral part of setting up the NHIAA Meet of Champions each year at Nashua South High School. He and I have been setting up the course since he was in junior high. We know every landmark in the Nashua South course. If he decided to become a Coach or teacher I think he would be great. Whatever he does, he will do well.
DATG: What does the future behold for the legend ?
Art Demers: Hmm that is a tough question. I still have one or two bad days a week. I wish I knew when they were going to occur. For your readers, I had T-10 tumor that left me with parapalegia in 2012, I cannot walk without hand canes or a walker. I use a wheelchair for most of my day. Since the removal of the tumor I have had a stroke, a blood transfusion, spinal menengitis and continuing bouts of UTI'S.
I had to retire as a coach and teacher, but as soon as I can get healthy I would love to return to full time coaching and possibly teaching.
I will stay involved with the NHIAA Cross Country Committee as well as putting on the NHIAA Meet of Champions as well as the Battle of the Border.
I will continue officiating for the New Hampshire Track and Field Officials